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Wrap: Oilers Drill Flyers, 6-3

October 17, 2019, 12:47 AM ET [286 Comments]
Bill Meltzer
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • RSSArchiveCONTACT
Wrap: Oilers 6 - Flyers 3

The Philadelphia Flyers dominated 30 of the first 32 mins but it produced only a 2-1 deficit and Philly subsequently got buried under a deluge of Edmonton Oilers goals in a 6-3 loss at Rogers Place on Wednesday night.

Connor McDavid led the assault with a five-point outburst. The Flyers scored a pair of goals in garbage time, long after the outcome was sealed. The Flyers had a 52-22 edge in shots.

The Flyers concluded their western Canada trip with a 0-2-1 record, and will return home with a 2-2-1 mark on the season.

Leon Draisaitl (even strength and power play, 5th and 6th goals), Ethan Bear (1st), McDavid (5th goal, assists No. 9, 10, 11, and 12), Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (power play, 1st) and ex-Flyer Brandon Manning (1st) scored for the Oilers. Jakub Voracek (power play, 1st and 2nd) had two goals and an assist. Oskar Lindblom (3rd) scored late in the third period.

Carter Hart never looked comfortable in net on this night. He lasted the first 34:32 of the game, yielding four goals on 14 shots before he was pulled in favor of Brian Elliott (6 saves on 8 shots). Mikko Koskinen earned the win, denying 49 of 52 Flyers shots.

The Flyers entered the game having yielded only one power play goal on the young season but went 0-for-2 on this night. Philadelphia's power play went 2-for-6.

For the second straight night, the Flyers started out hemmed in their own zone and turning pucks over. On the second shift of the game, it bit them. An Oskar Lindblom turnover off the left wall to Connor McDavid rapidly turned into a Leon Draisaitl goal from the right dot against loose coverage by Travis Sanheim at 1:13.

The Flyers play picked up significantly thereafter, especially on the forecheck, but it was another tough way to begin a game.

The Flyers generated good puck movement, but couldn't get shots through on their first power play. On their second, Claude Giroux appeared to shoot for a rebound from the right circle, and the puck went right to Voracek on the left side. He buried it to get off the goals and points schneid for the early season. The assists went to Giroux and Sean Couturier at 7:36.

Philly established a strong forecheck for the balance of the period, and had numerous quality chances but couldn't bury one. Edmonton regained the lead at 14:52.

The Oilers scored going the other way after what initially looked like a surefire goal for Kevin Hayes on the doorstep. Ethan Bear joined the rush and scored from the left circle. Hart, who never looked quite settled in on this night, may have been a tad off-angle or the puck may have changed direction slightly off Provorov. The assists went to Neal and Nugent-Hopkins.

The ice was tilted in the Flyers' favor for the first 12 minutes of the second period, as Philly had one high-quality scoring chance after another with a chance to tie the game at 2-2. At 12:34, the game's key turning point unfolded.

McDavid easily beat Justin Braun in a foot-race to get to a high flip by Kris Russell, avoid an unsuccessful poke-check attempt by Hart, and score. That tally ripped open the floodgates for the Oilers.

On the Oilers' first power play, fortuitous puck bounce on a broken play ended up on Nugent-Hopkins' stick and he went bar down from inside the dot for a power play goal than made it 4-1 game and chased Hart from the net. Draisaitl and McDavid got the assists at 14:32.

With Elliott on in relief, Draisaitl's power play goal in a scramble around the net added further insult to injury at 16:26. McDavid picked up his third assist and fourth point of the game.

Buried in a cavernous hole, the Flyers generated a lot of pressure again at the start of the third period. Again, they couldn't finish, and then Manning scored on a seeing-eye point shot off a pass from McDavid at 3:40; the Oilers superstar's fifth point of the game.

Stymied in Calgary and up to that point in Edmonton, Lindblom deflected home a Voracek shot from up high at 15:20 of the third period. The goal, quite frankly, would have been a lot more valuable back in the first period when Edmonton led 1-0 and an Oilers giveaway went right to Lindblom's stick in the slot -- or on a 2-on-1 rush with Konecny when the Flyers were in striking distance in Calgary. This one was merely a stat sheet notch.

An Oilers too many men on the ice penalty created a two-man advantage for the Flyers. At 17:42, Voracek scored again on a one-timer with the Flyers attacking 6-on-3 (Elliott pulled). Ivan Provorov and Giroux received the assists.

The Flyers return to Philadelphia on Thursday. They will practice on Friday at noon before playing the Dallas Stars at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.
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