The Philadelphia Flyers wrap up a four-game road trip in the Pacific Northwest with a stop in Edmonton to face the streaking Oilers on Tuesday evening.
The Flyers are coming off a 4-3 loss in Calgary on New Year’s Eve that saw the team’s impressive nine-game road point streak come to an end that began on November 30th. Rasmus Ristolainen recorded his first goal of the season and the game saw four goals in the final 5:31 of regulation, but in the end, the Flames were too hot for the Flyers.
GONE STREAKIN’
Over the past few weeks, the Oilers have flipped their season upside down. After starting 3-9-1 and firing their head coach, the Oilers have gone 15-6-0 under new head coach and former Flyers assistant coach Kris Knoblauch. Edmonton has become one of the top teams in the National Hockey League and are currently riding a five-game win streak. The Oilers rank first in goals per game and you can thank Connor McDavid for that stat.
McDavid skated in his 600th NHL game on December 30th in Los Angeles, potting two points, becoming the eighth player in Oilers history to score in their 600th game, joining the likes of Wayne Gretzky, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Leon Draisaitl.
SPECIAL TEAMS
The Flyers’ PK has been something special this season and has been a huge factor in their success over the course of the season. The Flyers have held the opposition to 16 goals in 112 opportunities on the power play, which is 85.7% successful for the Orange and Black and puts them tied for first in the NHL. Meanwhile, Edmonton’s power play ranks seventh at an even 25%, going 28 for 112.
On the other hand, the Flyers’ power play is the complete opposite. Their power play ranks last in the entire NHL at a 10.5%, going 12 for 114. The team needs some spark in not only shot quality but goals on the man-advantage. Edmonton’s penalty kill is 20th at 79.2%, going 25 for 120.
HUG YOUR GOALIE
The goaltending tandem of Carter Hart and Samuel Ersson has been one of the best duos in the NHL this season. Hart is 3-0-3 in his last six starts and has made 30-plus saves in five of his last seven starts. He tied Wayne Stephenson for fourth-most wins in Flyers history with his 93rd victory on December 9th in Colorado. Ersson is 9-3-1 in his last 13 games, including two shutouts and five games decided past regulation. The Swedish native is tied for first in the NHL with shootout wins at three.
PHI Record: 19-12-5, 43 pts, 3rd in Metropolitan
EDM Record: 18-15-1, 37 pts, 5th in Pacific
When: 9:00pm ET
Where: Rogers Place, Edmonton, AB
Broadcast Info: NBC Sports Philadelphia, 93.3 WMMR
Last Game PHI: 12/31/23, 4-3 L at Calgary
Last Game EDM: 12/31/23, 7-2 W at Anaheim
PHI Goalie: Carter Hart (9-6-3, .915 SV%, 2.54 GAA, 1 SO)
EDM Goalie: Stuart Skinner (14-9-1, .892 SV%, 2.86 GAA, 2 SO)
PHI Projected Lineup
#86 Joel Farabee – #14 Sean Couturier – #11 Travis Konecny
#74 Owen Tippett – #48 Morgan Frost – #10 Bobby Brink
#71 Tyson Foerster – #25 Ryan Poehling – #89 Cam Atkinson
#44 Nicolas Deslauriers – #21 Scott Laughton – #19 Garnet Hathaway
#8 Cam York – #6 Travis Sanheim
#24 Nick Seeler – #26 Sean Walker
#5 Egor Zamula – #55 Rasmus Ristolainen
#79 Carter Hart
#33 Samuel Ersson
Scratches: #18 Marc Staal, #49 Rhett Gardner
Injuries: #27 Noah Cates
EDM Projected Lineup
#93 Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – #97 Connor McDavid – #18 Zach Hyman
#71 Ryan McLeod – #29 Leon Draisaitl – #37 Warren Foegele
#91 Evander Kane – #1o Derek Ryan – #13 Mattias Janmark
#21 Adam Erne – #57 James Hamblin – #28 Connor Brown
#25 Darnell Nurse – #5 Cody Ceci
#14 Mattias Ekholm – #2 Evan Bouchard
#27 Brett Kulak – #73 Vincent Desharnais
#74 Stuart Skinner
#30 Calvin Pickard
Scratches: None
Injuries: #55 Dylan Holloway, #89 Sam Gagner
News and Notes
– Carter Hart makes his second start of the year against the Oilers. Hart, a native of Sherwood Park, Alberta – just outside of Edmonton – is 4-3-0 in seven career games against Edmonton.
– Oilers captain Connor McDavid needs just two points to hit the 900 point mark for his career. Thus far in the season, McDavid has 48 points in 32 games on 13 goals and 35 assists.
– After the firing of coach Jay Woodcroft on November 12th, the Oilers have been streaking over the past few weeks, outscoring opponents 24-10 during a five-game winning streak.
– Travis Konecny potted two assists in Calgary to extend his point streak to four games (1-4=5) and owns 14 points in the previous 12 contests (5-9=14).
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