After a crushing 2-1 loss on Monday night to the New York Islanders, the Philadelphia Flyers have another test against another blue and orange squad with goal scoring talent tonight.
The Flyers will host the Edmonton Oilers, led by All-Stars Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Stuart Skinner. McDavid and Draisaitl sit first and second in total scoring across the league, with the former setting the pace at 93 points in just 51 games so far, while Draisaitl currently has 76 in 49. McDavid also leads the league in goals at 41 and is tied for second in the league in assists (52) behind just Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov (55).
While the offense is the attraction for the Oilers, they’ve received solid goaltending from Stuart Skinner as well. The 24-year-old is coming off his first All-Star appearance and maintains a 13-10-3 record, .914 SV%, and a 2.92 GAA this season. Skinner has been a major relief for Edmonton, who signed Jack Campbell to a five-year, $25 million contract this past offseason. Campbell has struggled mightily despite his 16-8-1 record as he has recorded an .889 SV%, and 3.28 GAA. Campbell has shown flashes of the brilliance he possessed in Toronto the last 2+ seasons, but he hasn’t been able to put it all together with his new team and that has opened the door for Skinner to show why he’s the advertised future in goal for Edmonton.
Philadelphia will have a tall task tonight to fend off an Oilers club that has won 8 of their last 9 and hasn’t lost in regulation since January 9th, exactly one month. The Flyers will need to stay out of the penalty box against the league’s top power play (31.8%), and they’ll really need to buckle down defensively as Edmonton fires 33 shots a game and has scored more goals than any other club this season (192).
Philadelphia will also need some help in the goal scoring category as well. Travis Konecny is now approaching one month since his last goal, Joel Farabee has actually hit one month since his last goal, Morgan Frost hasn’t scored in 6 games, Scott Laughton hasn’t scored in 5 games, and All-Star Kevin Hayes has been held scoreless in 4 straight contests. The Flyers need their top players to shoot the puck more often and really pepper Skinner tonight if they want a shot at beating this high-octane Oilers team.
PHI Record: 21-21-9, 51 pts, 7th in Metropolitan
EDM Record: 29-18-4, 62 pts, 4th in Pacific
Last Game PHI: 2/6/23, 2-1 L vs. NY Islanders
Last Game EDM: 2/7/23, 5-2 W @ Detroit
When: 7:00pm ET
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, PA
PHI Goalie: Carter Hart (15-15-8, .911 SV%, 2.86 GAA, 1 SO)
EDM Goalie: Stuart Skinner (13-10-3, .914 SV%, 2.92 GAA, 0 SO)
PHI Projected Lineup
#25 James van Riemsdyk – #49 Noah Cates – #11 Travis Konecny
#13 Kevin Hayes – #21 Scott Laughton – #74 Owen Tippett
#86 Joel Farabee – #48 Morgan Frost – #57 Wade Allison
#44 Nicolas Deslauriers – #38 Patrick Brown – #20 Kieffer Bellows
#9 Ivan Provorov – #45 Cam York
#6 Travis Sanheim – #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
#24 Nick Seeler – #77 Tony DeAngelo
#79 Carter Hart
#32 Felix Sandström
EDM Projected Lineup
#55 Dylan Holloway – #97 Connor McDavid – #18 Zach Hyman
#91 Evander Kane – #29 Leon Draisaitl – #10 Derek Ryan
#21 Klim Kostin – #93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – #26 Mattias Janmark
#37 Warren Foegele – #71 Ryan McLeod
#25 Darnell Nurse – #5 Cody Ceci
#27 Brett Kulak – #22 Tyson Barrie
#86 Philip Broberg – #2 Evan Bouchard
#73 Vincent Desharnais
#74 Stuart Skinner
#36 Jack Campbell
PHI Injuries: Sean Couturier (back), Ryan Ellis (hip), Tanner Laczynski (upper-body), Zack MacEwen (jaw)
Scratched: Justin Braun
EDM Injuries: Kailer Yamamoto (undisclosed), Ryan Murray (back)
Scratched: Jesse Puljujärvi, Devin Shore, James Hamblin
News and Notes
– Edmonton is expected to roll with 11 forwards and seven defensemen tonight. Philadelphia will not be changing their personnel from Monday, with the lone change of any kind being Rasmus Ristolainen and Tony DeAngelo swapping second and third pair spots.
– This is the 81st meeting between the Flyers and Oilers since Edmonton joined the league in 1979. The Flyers lead the all-time series 37-34-8-1.
– Both teams split the season series last year, with the Flyers winning 5-3 in Edmonton on October 27th, 2021, while the Oilers got their revenge on March 1st, 2022 with a 3-0 shutout victory in Philadelphia.
– Milestone game marks tonight: Kevin Hayes – 605, Scott Laughton – 490, Travis Konecny – 475, Carter Hart – 185.
Broadcast Info: TV – NBC Sports Philadelphia, Radio – 97.5 The Fanatic
