The first Edmonton Oilers game in over two weeks didn’t go so well.
On Saturday morning, the Oilers started a five-game Eastern Conference road trip by taking on the Philadelphia Flyers. It was not their best performance, as they fell 6-3.
The Oilers once again got off to a poor start, as Matvei Michkov opened the scoring just over three minutes into the game. Poor defence led to a two-on-one, with Michkov’s first shot missing the net. However, he followed up after the puck was redirected off the boards and beat Stuart Skinner.
However, the Oilers got one back just four minutes later, as Ty Emberson’s shot was saved. The rebound ended up on John Klingberg’s stick, with the right-shot defenceman making no mistake in scoring his first as an Oiler.
The Oilers took the lead midway through the first period, as rookie Matt Savoie won a puck battle behind the net and made a nice pass to Leon Draisaitl, who made no mistake in scoring his 41st of the season.
Another poor start to the period allowed the Flyers to tie the game. About two minutes into the period, the Flyers’ Owen Tippett won a foot race against Brett Kulak, beating Skinner on the backhand to make it 2-2. Just over seven minutes into the middle frame, Evan Bouchard gave the puck away in the defensive zone and no one covered Sean Couturier beside the net, as the Flyers took a 3-2 lead.
The Oilers answered back nearly a minute and a half later, as Draisaitl made a terrific pass to Mattias Ekholm in front of the net. Ekholm made no mistake in scoring his eighth goal of the season, with Draisaitl picking up his 44th assist of the year.
Unfortunately, the Oilers’ defence couldn’t stop shooting themselves in the foot. The Flyers retook the lead with seven and a half minutes left in the period. Brett Kulak got caught out and the Flyers had a rush chance, with Tippett scoring his second of the game. With 4:23 left in the second period, Andrei Kuzmenko scored his first as a Flyer on a deflection, giving Philadelphia a 5-3 lead. The Flyers added an empty net goal.

Takeaways…

  • It’s hard to blame Stuart Skinner on any one goal but allowing five goals on 31 shots for an .839 save percentage is not ideal. At some point, you need your goaltender to make a save and bail your team out – Skinner was unable to on Saturday, at least until the third period.
  • The Oilers’ defence cannot be excused in this game either, as the core gave up far too many odd-man rushes. Skinner needed to make a save but the defence could’ve made his job a lot easier.
  • In fact, the offence wasn’t much better. It’s not often the Oilers are outshot in a game, but the Flyers put 32 shots on goal while the Oilers had just 18, including just three in the third period. For the record, they were trailing 5-3 heading into the final frame.
  • Draisaitl continues to be the front-runner for the Hart Memorial Trophy, picking up two points (one goal, one assist) in the game. His 41st goal leads the league and it’s essentially a foregone conclusion that he’ll win the Rocket Richard Trophy this season, especially if he keeps up the pace.
  • Matt Savoie looked good in his first game as an Oiler. He also picked up his first career point by getting involved on the forecheck and setting up Draisaitl for an easy goal. Expect to see the 21-year-old back in the lineup some more.
  • With the loss, the Oilers drop to second in the Pacific Division as they have an equal number of games played as the Vegas Golden Knights while winning five fewer games in regulation. The Oilers could move back into first if the Golden Knights lose on Saturday night to the Canucks.
  • This was a game the Oilers had to win, as the Flyers are by far the weakest team on their five-game road trip. They’ll face off against the Eastern Conference-leading Washington Capitals in another matinee game.
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