This one is going to sting a little bit but the Philadelphia Flyers earned a hard fought point in their 4-3 overtime defeat to the Edmonton Oilers.
Matvei Michkov opened the scoring with 2 power play goals before the Oilers tied it up with goals from Adam Henrique and Connor Brown in the second period. Bobby Brink then re-took the lead late in the second, setting up an eventful final frame.
Evan Bouchard forced overtime with a late game-tying tally that was set up by Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl and then the latter two stars combined for the overtime winner after a controversial no-call just moments before on Travis Sanheim’s breakaway attempt.
Samuel Ersson played brilliantly but was tagged with the overtime loss as he allowed 4 goals on 34 shots, while Stuart Skinner earned his first victory of the season with a 27-save performance.
Looking to rebound from a disappointing 6-3 defeat on Saturday night against the Calgary Flames, the Philadelphia Flyers traveled north to play Edmonton, a team that has started 0-3-0 – all on home ice – with their star players frigid to begin the year.
The Flyers welcomed back Jett Luchanko who was given a scheduled game off on Saturday and he was positioned on the second line with Travis Konecny and Tyson Foerster. Scott Laughton and Rasmus Ristolainen were questionable ahead of the game but made it into the lineup. Samuel Ersson received the start in goal.
As for the Edmonton Oilers, they’ve been outscored 15-3 by Winnipeg, Chicago, and Calgary, and Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl have combined for 1 goal and 2 assists. However, the former has 31 points in 15 career contests against the Flyers and the latter has tallied 21 points. Stuart Skinner received the start, entering tonight with a 5.39 GAA and a .805 SV%.
FIRST PERIOD
Just 4:02 into the game, the Philadelphia Flyers jumped on the power play after the Edmonton Oilers were nailed for too many men on the ice. 45 seconds in, Matvei Michkov was hacking away at the puck with Stuart Skinner trying to hold the post before celebrating under the assumption that the puck went in.
The referees didn’t make a call, they then convened and ruled it no goal, but then after reviewing it they awarded the Russian with his first career goal. However, the Oilers then decided to challenge the ruling for goaltender interference because they felt Michkov pushed Skinner’s pad before the puck crossed the line.
After a lengthy review, the Flyers were not only awarded a goal but they were also given another power play due to the Oilers’ failed challenge. They weren’t able to double their lead but Michkov’s tally was the Flyers’ 3rd power play goal in their first 9 attempts to start the season.
Shortly after the expiration of the delay of game minor, Corey Perry was sent to the sin bin for a slashing penalty away from the play. Michkov then doubled the lead with his second goal in less than 5 minutes with a one-timer from near the goal-line. It was aided by a good keep-in by Jamie Drysdale at the point before Morgan Frost fed Michkov for the one-timer – his second assist of the night.
After taking the first 3 penalties, the Oilers got their first power play at the 10:50 mark after Bobby Brink was nailed for a high-sticking minor. Edmonton had difficulties setting up and Evan Bouchard had a few fumbles at the point as the Flyers started the game with stout special teams.
With 4:41 remaining in the period, Bouchard’s blast from the point got past Samuel Ersson but it was emphatically waived off as the referees believed that Zach Hyman interfered with the goaltender. They weren’t able to challenge the play since they used it on Michkov’s first goal; it was the Oilers’ 4th disallowed goal of the early season.
A minute and a half later, Hyman was assessed with a 2 minute minor for elbowing as the Oilers’ frustration started to boil over. Unlike their first 3 attempts, the Flyers weren’t able to create much of anything, nor were they able to set up offensively.
SECOND PERIOD
3:01 into the period, Jett Luchanko was found guilty for an offensive zone high sticking minor against Perry. The top unit created a decent amount of buzz but weren’t able to get any pucks past the shot blocking defenders in Orange and White.
Adam Henrique got the Oilers on the board with 13:34 remaining in the period after roofing his backhander glove-side on Ersson. Mattias Janmark’s centering feed went off Ersson and bounced right to Henrique who was wide open in the slot for his first of the season.
With the Oilers buzzing and the Flyers struggling to get their offensive game churning, the Oilers went back on the power play with 10:18 to go after Travis Konecny was nailed for a hooking minor. The top unit was moving, circulating, and had the Flyers frozen but their shots were either going high and wide or being blocked by the defenders.
At the 14:01 mark, Edmonton’s third line struck oil again as Connor Brown beat Ersson with a quick one-timer in the slot. The Flyers couldn’t get control of the puck after failing to clear, Darnell Nurse then kept the puck in at the point before finding Jeff Skinner who fed Brown to finish off the the tic-tac-toe for his first of the season as well.
With a chance to regain their lost momentum, the Flyers jumped back onto the power play after Brett Kulak was called for a high sticking minor with 3:52 remaining. With Michkov bursting through the defense, Bouchard could not control his breakaway attempt and was nailed for a holding minor, sending the Flyers onto a 5-on-3 advantage for 40 seconds.
The Flyers couldn’t retake the lead but it wasn’t for a lack of trying as Michkov had a few chances and Konecny danced his way into the slot before ringing a shot off the post. However, shortly after the penalty had expired, Brink made it 3-2 after his centering feed went off of Mattias Ekholm’s stick and into the net.
Leon Draisaitl was then called for a cross-checking minor with just 7.1 seconds remaining, sending the Flyers onto the power play for the 7th time.
After 40 minutes the Flyers held a 22-18 edge in shots and Konecny had a game-high 17:42 TOI – Ekholm was leading the way for the Oilers at 17:19.
THIRD PERIOD
With 12:04 remaining in regulation, Travis Sanheim was called for a hooking minor. The Flyers survived with the Oilers’ top unit firing 3 shots on goal but at the end of the penalty, Sean Couturier took down Stuart Skinner behind his own net, which resulted in Troy Stecher challenging the Flyers captain to a fight.
Couturier’s fight with Stecher led us right into a TV timeout and as we came back, Joel Farabee dropped the gloves with Perry off the draw as tensions really started to boil over.
It almost felt like an inevitability with how the ice tilted but the Oilers’ top players combined for the game-tying goal with 3:42 remaining in the third. A lot of tight passes along the boards but Ekholm dropped it to McDavid who sauced it to Draisaitl who then sent a spin-around pass back to McDavid before he fed Bouchard for the one-timer.
The Oilers were relentless and while the Flyers didn’t completely sag back, they certainly weren’t able to create offensive opportunities at the same pace as they created in the first 30 minutes of the game. Ersson stood his ground and the shot-blocking kept them ahead for as long it could but McDavid and Draisaitl always seem to find a way.
OVERTIME
Both teams traded breakaways as Sanheim looked like he was impeded by a hook on his attempt that went wide, which then led to McDavid going the other way. Ersson made the big pad save but McDavid gathered his own rebound and found Draisaitl walking into the slot before wiring a shot low-blocker for the winner.
UP NEXT
The Flyers will finish off their season-opening road trip on Thursday night when they take on the Seattle Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena (10:00pm ET; NBCSP).
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