Goalie James Reimer and the San Jose Sharks shut out the Flyers, 3-0

On the second night of their second back-to-back of the week, the Flyers looked like a team that just got off a plane from a three-game road trip.

The Flyers failed to get much going offensively and made costly defensive mistakes against the lowly San Jose Sharks in a 3-0 loss at the Wells Fargo Center on Sunday night. Goalie James Reimer earned the shutout, denying all 31 Flyers shots. When the Flyers weren’t putting pressure on Reimer, they were handing the puck back to their opponents, finishing the night with 13 giveaways to the Sharks’ four.

“We have to learn how to play back-to-back games,” coach John Tortorella said. “We’ve played two sets of back-to-backs. In our second game, we absolutely don’t give ourselves a chance because of turnovers.”

Tortorella wasn’t pleased with the performances of two of his top skaters, opting to bench center Kevin Hayes and winger Travis Konecny for the entire third period, the exact reasons for which he decided to keep “in the room.” Konecny was on the ice for two Sharks goals and Hayes was out there for one, both goals coming in the second period. According to Natural Stat Trick, Konecny had three giveaways on the night.

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Winger James van Riemsdyk left the game late in the first period after blocking a shot with his left hand and did not return. So, without van Riemsdyk and with Hayes and Konecny benched, the Flyers rolled with nine forwards for the third period.

Winger Joel Farabee scored on an odd-man rush on the power play in the first period, but the play was ruled offside and the goal came off the board. The Flyers later saw some of their most dangerous scoring looks in the third period, including a two-on-one chance between Farabee and center Morgan Frost. However, Frost was unable to jam the puck past Reimer. The Sharks scored an empty-netter with roughly four minutes remaining in the third period to put the game even further out of the Flyers’ reach.

Since assuming the role as Flyers bench boss, Tortorella has preached the importance of his teams killing plays quickly in their own zone. The Flyers were inconsistent at that task, and they paid the price on the first Sharks goal of the night.

The Flyers’ top line of Konecny, Hayes, and Farabee and the second defensive pairing of Travis Sanheim and Justin Braun couldn’t move the puck out of their own zone cleanly thanks to the Sharks’ aggressive forecheck.

The Flyers turned the puck over, setting up scoring chances for the Sharks. Goalie Felix Sandström denied winger Timo Meier’s wrist shot, and while Sanheim won the puck battle on the rebound, Konecny turned it over with a careless pass to winger Alexander Barbanov at the top of the left faceoff circle. The sequence ended in a goal by defenseman Erik Karlsson from the right circle to put the Sharks up, 1-0. Tired skaters Sanheim and Braun were on the ice for 1:38, and the forwards were out there for roughly 54 seconds.

The Sharks gained more ground in the second period, capitalizing on the Flyers’ mistakes in the defensive zone. With just a minute and a half remaining in the second period, Sandström passed the puck to defenseman Tony DeAngelo behind the net. DeAngelo let the puck go through his skates, and winger Matt Nieto recovered it. He passed the puck to defenseman Jaycob Megna at the blue line, who shot the puck from a distance on net. Center Steven Lorentz beat DeAngelo for positioning in front of the net, tipping the puck past Sandström to give the Sharks a two-goal lead.

“It was on me,” DeAngelo said. “Wanted to hard-rim it and didn’t communicate in time, and I let it kind of go ... it went right up top, and then my guy gets back to the net, gets tipped there. So it’s on me. Sandy [Sandström] played really well.”

The Flyers have cleaned up their act in the second period after struggling last season, but the Sharks’ two goals marked the first time the Flyers have given up a goal in the middle frame at home this season.

The Flyers’ new top defensive pairing for the 2022-23 season, DeAngelo and Ivan Provorov flaunted their blossoming offensive chemistry throughout the first period. Roughly seven and a half minutes into the game, Hayes hit a late-arriving Provorov with a pass at the point. The 25-year-old defenseman drove to the crease with the puck, sending a wrist shot wide of Reimer. DeAngelo recovered the puck by the blue line and passed it back to Provorov, who then fed DeAngelo for a one timer.

The duo was held scoreless, but they finished the game with a combined five shots on goal.

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The Flyers play their second of three games at home to end October on Thursday against the Florida Panthers (7 p.m., NBC Sports Philadelphia).