Needed to get a save or two. Final Score: 5-3 Flyers
I can’t be the only one that was nervous about how this game was going to go, was I? I mean, the boys were just getting back to work after a bender… uhh… team bonding trip in Vegas, and I know exactly how long it can take the body to recover after what was likely going on after Friday’s win over the Golden Knights. I know I’m not a finely tuned professional athlete by any means, but I’ve powered through my share of long nights in Vegas and feel like I had every right to be concerned about how this thing would go. And in the early going, the results were about as sloppy as I expected but not because the boys were necessarily sluggish but because they weren’t able to cover up some costly mistakes in their own zone nor could they get a save to bail them out if something happened. Over their first five wins, the Oilers were able to bend without breaking in their own zone but that was not the case early in this hockey game. Instead, the yard sale they had going on inside their own blue line put the boys in a hole after 20 minutes.
Moving into the second period, the Oilers did a nice job of cranking up the pressure in the offensive zone to manufacture scoring chances while also limiting what they gave the Flyers down at the other end. Once the boys were able to finally settle into their game plan, the ice started to tilt in our direction a little bit and things started to look up. And just as they had done twice before, the boys were able to come through with a timely goal and claw their way back into a tie game, giving themselves a chance to earn at least a point or more. And with the game tied heading into the third, the Oilers had the chance to pull out a victory that looked anything but certain when they were down by a pair of goals early on. But even though the tides seemed to be turning in our favour and the Oilers looked like they were going to find a way, their inability to get a big save when they needed it the most was too big of a hole to overcome and ended up being the difference.
At the end of the day, the Oilers probably played well enough to win but Carter Hart made the extra saves that Philly needed and, all of a sudden, our five-game losing streak has come to an end.
The wrap.

THE BRIGHT SIDE

  • Only moments after the Flyers got their second goal, Tyson Barrie pulled the Oilers back to within one (2-1) with a beautiful backhander that beat Carter Hart up over the shoulder and into the top of the net.
  • Connor McDavid knotted the score (2-2) with a power play goal after he threw a wrister towards the net and had the puck slip through Hart and into the back of the net. With Puljujarvi causing havoc in front of the net, it’s never a bad idea to throw the puck on net and that’s exactly what McDavid did on his seventh goal of the year. We’re six games into the season and McDavid already has his sixth multi-point night.
  • Zach Hyman is on a ridiculous heater right now, scoring his fifth goal in his last three games (3-3) after he was set up for a quick one-timer in the slot by Puljujarvi. When he was signed to his contract during the offseason, I hoped Hyman would be able to fit in with his new team but I don’t know that I ever would have expected him to look this comfortable this early on. Thanks, Toronto!
  • Happy birthday, Leon! I’m happy you got an assist for your big day.
  • Another multi-point night for Ryan Nugent-Hopkins as the guy is collecting assists like they’re high-quality Pogs and we’re all back living in 1993. With nine helpers already in the bank, we just need to get our guy a goal but I can’t help but feel like he’s going to get one soon, especially if he keeps playing at the level he’s at right now.
  • Evan Bouchard makes so many quietly awesome plays with the puck that it makes me excited to see just how good he can be down the road. I mean, how good was the shift where he stripped the puck and sent Nuge in all alone? In 23:22 in TOI, Bouchard finished with four shots on goal, one hit, one blog, and three takeaways.
  • As we’ve seen each and every night, the Edmonton Oilers’ power play is ridiculously good, and murderous run was on display again as they were able to tag Philly with one goal on four chances with the man advantage.
  • I’m also going to give some love to the PK for yet another strong effort that saw the boys kill off both of their shorthanded situations.
  • Oilers outshot the Flyers by a 37-34 margin even though the Corsi failed us in the end.

THE FACE PALMERS

  • Claude Giroux opened the scoring for the Flyers (1-0) on a quick wraparound after he picked up the puck below the goal line and tucked it inside the post before a diving Koskinen could get there.
  • Nate Thompson added to Philly’s lead (2-0) with a goal that was nearly identical to Giroux’s after Thompson drove to the blue paint and found a way to knock the loose puck over the line. I’m not sure what Koskinen was doing way out of his net on this goal, but he was nowhere to be found when Thompson took his hack.
  • Cam Atkinson restored the Flyers’ lead (3-2) with less than one second left in the first period after he took a swing at a bouncing puck and had it slip through Koskinen’s arm and body. I’m not going to lie, this was about as deflating of a goal as you could imagine after the team came back from a two-goal deficit to tie knot up the score. Atkinson added a second goal early in the third period (4-3) to put the Flyers back on top after he teed off on a slapshot that beat Koskinen through the five-hole.
  • Sean Couturier got the empty-netter (5-3) to sink the dagger in our hopes of an 82-0 season.
  • After picking up back-to-back wins on Thursday and Friday, Mikko Koskinen was back between the pipes and looking to extend his club’s winning streak to six games. Unfortunately, this was not Mikko’s night as he allowed two or three goals that he desperately needed to stop, forcing his team into a trailing position rather than giving them an opportunity to win. Koskinen finished the night with 29 saves and a .879 save%.
  • I know he got a goal and an assist, but I didn’t like Tyson Barrie’s game on the defensive side of the puck and we really need him to get back to being at least average in his own end.
  • Kailer Yamamoto, where are you?
  • My complaint with the refs is that they were inconsistent from period to period and it was annoying because it blurs the line of what is and is not a penalty. a
  • Shout out to all the parents that had to yell earmuffs to their kids during the game. Bunch of sailors, those Philadelphia Flyers.
  • I know you’ve been patiently waiting for this unfortunate part of the Wrap Up where I tell you that the Oilers won only 42% of the faceoffs.
  • The NHL site has the giveaways at 19 for the Oilers but I can’t help but feel like that number is a touch generous.

SCORING SUMMARY

#GOODCONTENT

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