The Flyers headed into 2025 with a win.
But also with an injury at the most important position in the game.
Samuel Ersson had to leave after two periods Tuesday night with an undisclosed injury as the Flyers went on to blank the Sharks, 4-0, at SAP Center in San Jose, California.
The team's No. 1 goaltender stopped all 15 shots he faced before departing. Aleksei Kolosov finished the shutout with seven third-period saves.
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The New Year's Eve win marked the Flyers' largest margin of victory so far this season.
Nick Seeler, Ryan Poehling, Travis Konecny and Egor Zamula all found the back of the net. Zamula (one goal, one assist), Jamie Drysdale (two assists) and Bobby Brink (two assists) had multi-point performances.
Konecny's marker put the Flyers in total control at second intermission. It came on the power play and 1:35 minutes after Poehling cushioned the Flyers' lead to 2-0.
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The Flyers (17-17-4) improved to 2-1-0 on their five-game road trip out of the holiday break.
John Tortorella's club was able to finish 5-7-1 in December. Last season, it went 8-2-3 and was 19-12-5 when the calendar turned to New Year's Day. So the Flyers definitely have work to do, especially in the consistency department.
They swept their two-game regular-season series from the Sharks (11-23-6). In November, they held on for a 4-3 shootout decision over San Jose at the Wells Fargo Center. Matvei Michkov had a big night, returning from a pair of healthy scratches.
The Sharks have lost 11 of their last 12 games (1-10-1), a stretch in which they've been outscored 49-25.
• A very good sign for the Flyers had been Ersson starting to look like himself again. Going into second intermission, he had stopped 47 of 48 shots in two starts following the holiday break.
But that promising sign dissipated when the 25-year-old didn't return to the net at the start of the third period. While the specifics of the injury are unknown, Ersson did collide with San Jose center Luke Kunin late in the second period.
Ersson has had trouble staying healthy this season, missing 13 games because of a lower-body injury.
Update: Flyers consider Ersson day to day with lower-body injury
The rookie Kolosov delivered two fantastic saves in the third period. One came on Macklin Celebrini after the 2024 No. 1 overall pick made of pair of moves in close.
Ivan Fedotov is the Flyers' third goalie on the roster. He hasn't played since Dec. 5.
"I want to be honest, it's not easy," Fedotov said two weeks ago. "But I'm good. I have extra time for some specific work, concentrate more on some details. ... Just be ready for my chance, my opportunity. That's all I can control."
Sharks netminder Alexandar Georgiev stopped 30 of the Flyers' 34 shots.
• The Flyers have been patient with the development of Zamula and Drysdale. And they were rewarded Tuesday night as the two young defensemen were solid all the way around.
Seeler, a defensive-minded guy, got into the offense with a highlight-reel goal to open the game's scoring.
Rasmus Ristolainen also played well, recording a plus-2 mark.
The Flyers didn't have to ride Travis Sanheim and Cam York, a real positive for their depth on the back end.
• Michkov and Celebrini both went scoreless, but they were pretty active offensively. They'll be fun to watch in the rookie scoring race.
• The Flyers open 2025 in Las Vegas with a matchup Thursday against the Golden Knights (10 p.m. ET/NBCSP+).
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