The Day After 52.0: Oilers lucky to get a point in awful outing against Flyers

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If you were looking for an end-to-end affair with tons of offence last night between the Edmonton Oilers and Philadelphia Flyers like they were in the 1980s, well last night’s game was not for you.

That game, to put it lightly, stunk. The Oilers looked clunky and disinterested seemingly burnt out after a testy win over the Detroit Red Wings Tuesday. While one would’ve hoped Edmonton built off of that Thursday night in the City of Brotherly Love, it was quite the opposite.

Edmonton played down to the Flyers all night ultimately losing to them 2-1 in a shootout.

It was about as ugly as you could ask for. Philadelphia opened the scoring 7:50 into the game when a Kevin Hayes shot deflected off something and into the Oilers’ net. It took Edmonton a while to respond, but ultimately, Evander Kane was the one to tie this game up scoring 1:56 into the second period. For Kane, at least, it was a much-needed tally. He’s been slowly but surely finding his way back after his wrist injury. He’s now got goals in each of his last three games and is up to eight in the 20 games he’s played this season.

Somehow, the Oilers managed to stumble out of the ring like Rocky stealing a point in the shootout. One reason you could argue they deserved it was thanks to a push late in the game. In the last 10-odd minutes of the third period, the Oilers seemingly remembered they were in the middle of a playoff race. They turned on the jets outshooting the Flyers for the only period of the game, and they had a few good looks.

A catalyst for that was a Zach Hyman goal that called back. A little under eight minutes into the period, Warren Foegele had driven hard to the net with the puck on his stick leaving a rebound that Hyman was able to bang in. The only problem? Foegele collided with Flyers goalie Carter Hart. It was enough that a John Tortorella-led challenge to count, and the goal to be called back.

From there, the Oilers all of a sudden seemed interested in the game. They played with about as much spunk as they did all night, but it shouldn’t have taken them 50 minutes to get there. Credit where it’s due as Stuart Skinner looked Stuart Skinner-esque Thursday night turning aside 35 of the 36 shots while saving 2.78 goals above expected. It was one of his best performances of the season and he was the reason the Oilers were even able to steal a point out of that game. That’s what good goalies will do.

The Oilers now fall to… 8-0-2 in their last 10 games, so ultimately this game in and of itself isn’t too much of a concern. Watch a bit of tape, park it, and move on. That’s about the best you can do from a game like that.

Because truth be told, the Oilers have a chance to get four points this weekend. On Saturday morning, they take on the Ottawa Senators at 10:30 AM MST and the Montreal Canadiens on Super Bowl Sunday, once again at 10:30 AM MST. Go Eagles, by the way.