SAN JOSE, Calif. -- Logan Couture returned to the San Jose lineup on Wednesday, and all is well in the Sharks' world again.

Right winger Joe Pavelski's tiebreaking goal at 13:45 of the third period enabled the Sharks to snap a four-game losing streak at home with a 4-2 win over the Philadelphia Flyers.

Couture chipped in two assists and helped spark the power play.

"It feels good to win, I'm very happy," the center said. "We needed that. It was a big win at this rink in front of a great crowd. We need to build on this."

Pavelski dropped to one knee to one-time a cross-ice feed from defenseman Justin Braun past Flyers goalie Steve Mason to put San Jose on top 3-2. Pavelski's second power-play goal of the period, and 20th goal of the season, came at 19:11 to add insurance.

The tiebreaking goal came off a rush and just three seconds after the expiration of San Jose's fifth power play of the night.

"Coming in on the entry, he kept holding onto it until it developed," Pavelski said of Braun, who provided a perfect feed. "That's the template we need to copy and play with. We can't get ahead of ourselves."

While the deciding goal came at even strength, the Flyers got burned repeatedly by going to the penalty box. They just didn't have an answer while short-handed.

"It's not a singular thing. It's little things that end up hurting you," Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. "The last few games, we have given up one or two each night. We've done an outstanding job before that."

The Flyers took a 2-1 lead 4:19 into the third period on a breakaway goal by center Sean Couturier. Brent Burns and Philadelphia right winger Wayne Simmonds got tangled at the visitors' blue line, and the puck squirted off the San Jose defenseman's stick to a breaking Couturier.

Burns quickly atoned for his botched play with a power-play strike at 5:54. Couture's no-look pass from beside the Flyers goal found Burns pinching just to the left of the slot. Burns' hard wrist shot beat Mason for his 15th goal of the season.

"I usually try to take a little peak to see if Burnsie is creeping down there," Couture said. "I was probably lucky to get that through skates and sticks."

Couture returned after missing seven games following emergency surgery to repair an arterial bleed in his right thigh. Prior to that injury, he missed 23 games with a broken right fibula. Couture logged 15:22 of ice time while taking his customary spot between Patrick Marleau and Joel Ward on the team's second line.

"It's tough when you see a guy out for a while, you see how hard he's working," Burns said of Couture. "It's going to be a little while before he feels comfortable, but it's great to have him back."

The Sharks finally broke a scoreless tie midway through the second period with a power-play strike. However, the Flyers scored the equalizer in a strange manner, and the game was tied 1-1 after 40 minutes.

San Jose center Joe Thornton scored his seventh goal of the season at 9:53 with a chip from the side of the net over Mason. The goal on the hosts' third power play of the game came 1:33 after defenseman Nick Schultz was called for hooking San Jose left winger Dainius Zubrus.

Mason was not supposed to play Wednesday, but he was pressed into duty when Michal Neuvirth got ill after the morning skate.

"I found out after I woke up from a nap," Mason said. "That happens. You try to get prepared as well as you can."

The lead was San Jose's first on home ice since Nov. 28, covering a span of four games.

"We've been playing good, just not winning at home," Thornton said. "It's nice to see all this hard work pay off."

The visitors struck at 15:49 of the second period when right winger Claude Giroux shot directly off a faceoff from the right circle to surprise goalie Martin Jones. The Sharks goaltender couldn't corral the high shot by Giroux, and the puck slipped between Jones' upright pads and across the goal line.

Giroux, who scored his 12th goal of the season, beat Thornton on the draw.

NOTES: Philadelphia D Michael Del Zotto remains out and day-to-day with a wrist injury. D Mark Streit was activated off injured reserve. RW Sam Gagner was assigned to Philadelphia of the AHL after clearing waivers. ... The Sharks sent D Matt Tennyson to AHL affiliate San Jose on a conditioning assignment. ... Philadelphia winds up its three-game West Coast trip on Saturday in Los Angeles. ... San Jose continues its five-game homestand with a game on Saturday against the Winnipeg Jets. ... C Ben Smith and RW Mike Brown were San Jose's healthy scratches, while D Brandon Manning and C Vincent Lecavalier did not dress for Philadelphia.