PHILADELPHIA – Adding players such as Dan Vladar and Trevor Zegras to the Flyers roster was a pretty big deal this past offseason.
But one player who might have been overlooked a bit was Christian Dvorak, a free-agent by way of Montreal, who has really made his mark about a third of the way through the season.
Dvorak can play in all situations and he’s really had impact as a center on a line with Zegras and Travis Konecny.
In Tuesday night’s game against San Jose, Dvorak was back at it. He scored a crucial tying goal in the first period and later assisted on a Konecny goal in the Flyers’ 4-1 win at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Flyers goalie Dan Vladar, rebounding from a subpar loss to Pittsburgh last week, came back with one of his better efforts of recent vintage. The Flyers’ team defense also played a major role in the outcome.
Dvorak seems to take his utility role in stride.
“I think the offense is coming,” said Dvorak, who notched his seventh goal and 12th assist. “I think the way I finished last year in the playoffs (for the Canadiens) was a big step for me. I just carried that over into this season. I think it’s just more about confidence. I’m playing with some really good linemates. I think we read off each other very well.”
Why does this line click so well together?
“We keep it pretty simple,” Dvorak said. “They’re just two high-skilled guys. It’s a pleasure to play with them.”
Coach Rick Tocchet said Dvorak is valuable in a lot of ways. The coach matched that line against Shark standout Macklin Celebrini when he could.
“You can play good offense by playing good defense,” said Tocchet, who previously coached Dvorak when the two were together in the former Arizona Coyote franchise. As for the line, “they all bring something to the table.
“I think he’s getting a chance (to show more offense). That’s why he signed here. He saw the opportunity here and grabbed it. He and Trevor are pretty close. They’re feeling it together.”
Goals by Carl Grundstrom and Noah Cates in the second period put the Flyers in command heading into the final 20 minutes.
Grundstrom, playing in just his second game in a Flyers uniform, got his first goal for the home team. He connected at 3:20 when he deflected home Nick Seeler’s point shot past goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic.
It was just the second goal the Flyers have gotten from their fourth line all year.
“I didn’t know that,” Grundstrom said. “I like to help a little bit on the offense, too. I have a hard working style.”
Later, with time running out in the session, Cates finished off a pinpoint lead pass via Bobby Brink with only 10.9 seconds left on the clock for a 3-1 lead.
The Flyers were dominating the first period, holding a 10-0 shot edge through 11 minutes. But the Sharks got on the scoreboard first.
John Klingburg, skating into the right circle, spotted Collin Graf open in front for a clear shot and goal at 11:33.
The Flyers finally countered at 18:39. Konecny lobbed a high clearing pass into the air at center ice. The descending puck hit the shoulder of Zegras and deflected to Dvorak. He raced in and deked his way past Nedeljkovic at 18:39.
Konecny’s assist on the play was his 500th NHL career point. He’s the 17th Flyer to achieve that milestone.
“Yeah, ‘TK’ put a nice feather on it,” Dvorak said in a first period intermission interview. “I wouldn’t say we work on it a lot but it’s a sound play when you don’t have anything. One of our best first periods in a while here.”
Konecny completed the scoring with an empty-net goal with 1:43 to play in the game.
Vladar had praise for the effort in front of him. The Sharks were held to 18 shots and the Flyers won 34 of 51 faceoffs, a number of them in the Flyers’ defensive zone.
Pretty good performance by Vladar after a week off.
“I mean you want to play every single game,” he said. “But at the same time it’s a long year. Try to battle for every single puck.”
>Great start for Murchison
Ty Murchison, making his NHL debut, was pleased with how he played. He played 15 minutes, including a minute of penalty kill and came out of it even on plus-minus.
“It was a surreal experience,” the defenseman said. “The guys made it extremely easy, giving me a bunch of feedback. I’m very happy to be here.”
What was it like battling a big forward like Ryan Reaves?
“It was fun, he’s heavy,” Murchison said. “That was definitely something for sure. That’s the type of hockey I want to play. Leading up to the game, definitely nervous. Once I got to the rink, I kind of settled down.”
Murchison said he went to grab a helmet before the game but it didn’t have a visor on it.
“That made it even more special,” he said with a laugh. “That was cool.”
>Short shots
Next up for the Flyers are the Vegas Golden Knights on Thursday at XMA. Ex-Flyer goaltender Carter Hart, now competing for the Knights, could possibly play but he’s already played in two straight. .Grundstrom competed on the fourth line at left wing (Nic Deslauriers’ spot). . .Matvei Michkov turned 21 on Tuesday. He has 34 goals, putting him fourth on the list of Flyers’ goals scored before age 21. The others: Eric Lindros (76), Simon Gagne (47 and Mike Ricci (41).
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