A game of great goalie play and heads-up defense. The Philadelphia Flyers win in a shootout over the Oilers (29-18-5). Yeah, you read that correctly. Philadelphia picked up a grind-it-out, well-earned, 2-1 shootout win at the Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers’ 30th-ranked power play went 0 for 3. However, the Flyers stayed out of the box the entire game to keep high-powered Edmonton at bay. The duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl was held in check by the recently struggling Flyers’ defense.
To the Action
Philadelphia starts the scoring in period one. Kevin Hayes scores with a laser shot from the backhand pass from Travis Sanheim. The puck fires past the left of the Oilers goalie Skinner. Sanheim may have had the assist but set the score up. He intercepted the turnover in the Philly zone. He scurries up the ice, and the rest is history. The 1st period ends with the Flyers up 1-0 over Edmonton.
The lead did not last long past the first intermission. Evander Kane fans the puck right past the glove hand of Carter Hart. Assists coming from McDavid and Janmark. The Oilers tied the game up at one apiece.
It looks like the Oilers take the lead with a goal from Zach Hyman. After a long look from the zebras and a challenge from the Flyers bench, it is overturned, keeping the game tied up. Warren Foegele called for goalie interference. Tortorella, with the guidance of the club’s video crew, has gone 4-for-4 on his challenges this season.
The third and overtime periods were defensive shows from both goalies, Hart and Skinner. It all comes down to a shootout which we all know is not the Flyers’ forte. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins was the only Oiler to find the back of the net in OT. Morgan Frost and James van Riemsdyk give the Flyers the OT win. The Flyers win in a shootout. What an amazing sentence. This was their third win since January 19th.
The Breakdown
Connor McDavid, a two-time Hart Trophy winner, had one assist. He has a whopping 41 goals and 94 points this season. Draisaitl was kept scoreless. He came into the night as the NHL’s second-leading scorer at 76 points.
Despite a mismatch, Noah Cates held his own against McDavid. He was 2 for 12 in the faceoff circle. The 24-year-old rookie tied him up a couple of times. Fun fact: Cates was playing college hockey for the majority of last season before signing his entry-level deal and making his NHL debut.
Shots on goal were almost even at 36-35, favoring Philly. The Flyers were the more aggressive team with 23 hits vs. the 13 hits from the Oilers. In 12 days, the Flyers face the Oilers again with a matchup at Rogers Place.
Al is one of the two co-creators of Edge of Philly Sports. Al started radio and podcasting in 2012 and covering sports in 2015. A lifelong Philly sports fan since watching the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Flyers with his grandfathers at age 7. Al always looks at the other side of the hot topics and gives his different outlook on those topics. Web and Graphic Design.
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