The Philadelphia Flyers opened their March schedule with a loss to the Edmonton Oilers at the Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday evening. The Flyers played a solid game in terms of process but hurt their cause by taking five minor penalties and by passing up some open looks at the net or firing wide on their best chances. Too many of the shots were one-and-done attempts.
Leon Draisaitl had a power play goal and two assists for the Oilers. Connor McDavid had an empty-net goal and an assist. Draisaitl (37th goal of the season) gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead on a power play goal late in the first period. Kailer Yamamoto (11th) extended the lead to 2-0 lin the latter stages of the second period. The play was borderline goaltender interference by Evander Kane and would likely have been waved off for being kicked into the net had it gone in off Kane but Yamamoto jammed the puck in with his stick, making it a legal goal.
McDavid (29th) tacked on an empty net goal late in the third period. The Flyers dropped to 3-15-4 in the 2022 calendar year and 16-27-10 overall for the season.
Carter Hart stopped 29 of 31 shots in a losing cause. Mikko Koskinen earned a 39-save shutout.
The Flyers went 0-for-2 on the power play. A failed 5-on-3 in the first period loomed large. Philadelphia has not scored a 5-on-3 goal this season (they do have a 6-on-3). The Oilers went 1-for-5. The Philadelphia PK was strong overall but there were just too many of them.
For a full recap and analysis, see the
Postgame 5 on the Flyers' official website.
The Flyers will host the Minnesota Wild at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night.
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Phantoms Update
The Lehigh Valley Phantoms will open their March schedule on Wednesday with the first match of a three-game homestand. On Wednesday, the Phantoms will host the Providence Bruins at the PPL Center. That will be followed by a weekend back-to-back with the Charlotte Checkers.
Morgan Frost will rejoin the Phantoms' lineup on Wednesday. The team may also get back Wade Allison, who is nearly ready to be cleared to play after suffering a knee injury in an NHL game in Buffalo on Jan. 22.
The Phantoms have 28 games remaining in the regular season. Six teams will make the playoffs in the eight-team Atlantic Division. The Phantoms are currently in seventh place by points percentage, and six standings points behind the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins for the final playoff spot.
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Flyers Daily
In case you missed it, Flyers analytics director Ian Anderson was Jason Myrtetus' guest on the most recent edition of Flyers Daily, On a macro level, he discussed the evolution and ever-increasing sophistication and scope of analytics in the National Hockey League, data procurement and integration of data analysis within the bigger picture of hockey operations. He also discussed the recent expansion of the Flyers' Analytics staff.
Few NHL organization grant media access to analytics staff, so this interview is a rare peak behind the curtain of sorts about what the Analytics department does and how the field has grown rapidly.
To listen,
click here.
Philadelphia Flyers Blogger •NHL.com • 
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