SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Aaron Dell hadn't received a postgame text from his college coach immediately after recording his first career NHL shutout Friday night.

One reason might be his coach at the University of North Dakota -- Dave Hakstol -- might be a tad ticked since he now coaches the Philadelphia Flyers, who Dell victimized as the Sharks posted a 2-0 win at SAP Center.

"I haven't seen anything yet, but I'll definitely look," Dell said. "It's nice to get that against a guy I know. He did a lot for my career, to get me to where I am today. It's probably good for him to see as well."

The 27-year-old back-up goalie Dell stopped 21 shots to improve his record to 4-1 during only his fifth start and sixth appearance of the season. Also impressive is the fact Dell hadn't appeared in a game in 20 days.

"He's a kid that's worked very hard to gain an opportunity," Hakstol said. "Pleased for him that it's paying off for him."

"He's played awesome when he's come in," Sharks captain Joe Pavelski added. "It's not an easy job, not seeing a lot of action. He steps up tonight and made a lot of good saves."

Patrick Marleau scored a first-period power-play goal and defenseman Justin Braun added insurance late in the third to provide Dell with his offensive support.

The Sharks (23-12-1), who face the Kings in Los Angeles on Saturday, won their fourth straight and eighth in nine games.

The Flyers (20-14-4), losers of five of six after winning 10 straight, have beaten the Sharks only once in their last 20 head-to-head meetings.

Nursing a 1-0 lead late, Braun pinched, took a cross-ice feed from captain Joe Pavelski and wired his second goal of the season at 15:23. Marleau collected his second point of the game with the second assist.

Solid if not spectacular all night, Dell was fortunate, too, when Claude Giroux's drive with 5:44 left in the game drew iron.

"We had a couple of scoring chances but we couldn't put in over the cash line," Philadelphia forward Jakub Voracek said. "He made a lot of big stops."

Sharks defenseman Marc-Edouard Vlasic needed assistance off the ice with 29.9 seconds left after getting struck in the head by a slap shot by Philadelphia's Shayne Gostisbehere. Coach Peter DeBoer said the injury is not serious, but doubted the defenseman would play Saturday.

The Sharks cashed in on the only score of the opening period as Marleau ascended another notch on the NHL's all-time goal-scoring list in the process.

Marleau swooped in to put a loose puck on the power play past Flyers goalie Steve Mason at 16:29 for his 10th goal of the season and No. 491 of his career. That moved Marleau into a tie for 46th place on the all-time list with Jean Ratelle.

The Sharks struck 1:36 into their second power play of the period, this one courtesy of Philadelphia defenseman Ivan Provorov for a trip of rookie right wing Kevin Labanc.

"I was able to get a good stick on it," Marleau said.

With the game-winning goal Marleau achieved two more milestones. He now has a game-winner against all 29 NHL opponents -- the Flyers were last to cross off the list -- and his 95th career game-winner moves him into ninth place all-time ahead of Steve Yzerman.

The Flyers replaced Mason with rookie Anthony Stolarz to start the second period. Mason appeared to sustain an injury to his left hand during San Jose's late first-period power play.

Mason's stick got tangled with Joe Thornton as the San Jose center circled in front from behind the Philadelphia goal. Mason shook off the injury at the time to finish the period.

"Just trying to go out there and do my job, get warm to the puck and settle in," said Stolarz, who stopped 21 of 22 shots. "It's just a mental approach. You just have to be ready. Any time I get an opportunity I want to go out there and show I can play at this high level."

NOTES: San Jose G Aaron Dell was 49-20-5 with a 2.15 goals-against average and .912 save percentage at North Dakota from 2009-12. ... Without a goal in 22 games, Flyers LW Travis Konecny was a healthy scratch on Friday. Michael Raffl stepped in for Konecny on the top line while RW Boyd Gordon replaced RW Roman Lyubimov on the fourth line for Philadelphia. ... Sharks D David Schlemko returned to the lineup after three straight healthy scratches. He played in place of a healthy Dylan DeMelo. ... The Flyers continue to play without injured D Radko Gudas (lower body), G Michal Neuvirth (sprained knee), RW Matt Reed (oblique) and D Mark Streit (shoulder). Experiencing back pain, Gudas expects to be available on Sunday when the three-game trip concludes at Anaheim. ... San Jose is back in action Saturday night at Los Angeles.