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Oilers get the monkey off their backs with 4-3 OT win over the Flyers

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You know the old saying: “What can go wrong, will go wrong”?

Well, it was all that and more for the Edmonton Oilers against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. A bizarre series of goals allowed and disallowed saw the opening stages end 2-0 to Flyers and left a fan base wondering if this club was on the verge of falling to 0-4 on the year.

But Edmonton fought back, first with pucks and then with fists, making this match a highly entertaining 4-3 Overtime affair… especially for those of the old-fashioned persuasion. Lots of hard work from the bottom six early on, and the big guns late.

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Here’s the story of the tape…

STUART SKINNER. 6. His best game of the season so far. The instant replay showed the 1-0 going past Skinner after his path was pushed aside by the Flyers player. Skinner should have his post. But is the blue paint his or not? However, I won’t argue in his favor at 2-0, because that’s when your team really needed a save. Little chance of the Ekholm deflection. But with the game tied 3-2, Skinner gave his team a chance: a stop on Sanheim. A save on Tippett. A sharp path saves on Konecny. Another stop at Tippett high. Dumped hard by Couturier, but no call was made. But Skinner gave his club a chance to win… and they did.

CONNOR McDAVID. 6. A steal and a pass up front to Hyman who got stoned. A keen defensive eye prevented a Philly goal net side. A slick feed across the ice to a hard-charging Evan Bouchard who batted home the 3-3. Then, after being thwarted on a breakaway in O/T, he picked up the puck again and fed a wide-open Leon Draisaitl for the game winner. Could there perhaps have been a report on 97 for that? Maybe. But it’s not like the Flyers didn’t benefit from a call or four before that. 55% in the circle. Still not at the top of his game, but they won’t win this game without him either.

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LEON DRAISAITL. 6. Nice feed to Perry, the mail called at home. Hard one-timer off the post early in the second. Press the post on the PP. A backcheck on the same-man advantage foiled a Flyers opportunity. Undisciplined cross-checking penalty at the end of the second (for which he was benched). He redeemed himself when the game was on the line. First he made a spectacular backhand pass to McDavid, which Bouchard then made it 3-3. He then grabbed the 4-3 winner in O/T. 77% on draws. The grade goes down a notch because he put his club in a bad spot early on. But to his credit, Draisaitl came back and had a big impact on the game late. Stay tuned to Kris Knoblauch and the player for how it was ultimately handled and responded to.

ZACH HYMAN. 4. It was his “presence” up front that led to the apparent 2-1 goal being called back. Couldn’t get the McDavid feed home from behind the net. It seems like I’m having trouble getting on track.

EVAN BOUCHARD. 5. Beat the puck square in the first period, because in a bad case of yips, one puck after another bobbled or flipped. Turned out to have scored the 2-1 after a hard hit, but the whistle was blown back due to (wait for it) intervention by the goalkeeper. His rough night culminated in the second with a blueline bobble early and a penalty late, making it 3-2. But after all that, he fired in from the point and punched in the 3-3 late in the third. And his 24-9 CF 5v5 is beyond debate. Maybe that goal will give him a new sense of confidence.

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MATTIAS EKHOLM. 5. Stick was knocked out of his hands on an Oilers run, but there was no call. Called the bar in the second. The 3-2 went off his stick and came in at the end of the second frame. Four shots, 2 blocks. Perhaps not his best performance, but he also led the club in TOI at 25:56.

RYAN NUGENT-HOPKINS. 3. Not a good performance at all. A bad turnover on a power play in the third period. Crushed in 5v5 CF. 40% on draws. Haven’t been close so far.

VASILY PODKOLZIN. 4. Played 9:43 and didn’t do much with the puck. He contributed four goals.

VICTOR ARVIDSSON. 5. He couldn’t capitalize on a nice setup by Kulak and Emberson. Good second period check back. Quite possibly the best man on the line.

DARNELL NURSE. 7. He was in No Man’s Land at 2-0, with the eventual result being the Flyer shooter with all kinds of time and space to make the move. Part of five zones is erased on the PK. Couldn’t capitalize on Henrique’s rebound. Strong defensive play disrupted the developing Flyers 2-on-1. Great goal on the offensive blueline and earned a second assist on the 2-2. Three more zero points for a third period PK. 2 hits, 23:28 over 30 shifts. Played with an edge. By far his best performance this season.

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TROY STEKER. 8. Won a battle along the wall to finally clear the zone on the PK (with help from Ryan). Very effective next to Nurse on that second pairing. Big dangers 5v5 3-0. His grade was increased by one full point from a “7” to an “8” because he threw off the gloves and fought Sean Couturier after he knocked down Stuart Skinner (without being called). Without a doubt, he won the respect of his teammates and 18,000+ at Rogers Place.

ADAM HENRIQUE. 7. He was excellent. Some valuable time on the PK in the first with some faceoff wins and zone clears. Narrowed the lead to 2-1 with a great backhand, burying a Janmark rebound. Created a wide open look for Nurse. Signed a second period PP. A D-zone draw on the PK and a key kill seconds later. A faceoff win turned into an Ekholm shot. 56% on draws. Excellent on the penalty kill. 5v5 20-11, 65%.

JEFF SKINNER. 7. Smooth, no-look pass to Brown on the 2-2. Press a message. Good feed to Arvidsson for a third period shot. Drove the net and drew a hooking call in the third. Good shot of a brown food. Led the Oilers ahead in 5v5 CF (22-7, 76%). He has really stepped up after a quiet training camp.

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CONNOR BROWN. 7. Cleared the middle lane at 2-1. He scored the 2-2 after an excellent passing game by Nurse and Skinner. Found Skinner again late in the third. Effective, especially on the PK.

BRETT KULAK. 5. Not fast or strong enough with his man on the side of the net for the controversial 1-0 goal. Good feed to Arvidsson for a late chance in the first period. The leader’s pass to Janmark provided the second assist to make it 2-1. Second period high stick. Big dangers 5v5 5-3.

TY EMBERSON. 4. Still struggling. A nice leading pass later in the first inning eventually led to Arvidsson’s shot on the net. But he was beaten clean by Tippett, but Skinner saved him. One shift later, another turnover. HDSCs 1-3.

DERK RIAN. 5. Played a small but important role. Signed a first period PP. Second period PK free. Third period face-off win in the D-zone. Only 7:14 but two takeaways and 67% draw.

MATTIAS JANMARK. 6. Punched the puck down the left side at 2-1 and then got the puck on the net, leaving a nice rebound for Henrique. Added in two hits. Sturdy.

COREY PERRY. 5. Took what will surely be one of the softest hard calls of the year, leading to the 2-0. Whistled a Draisaitl pass off the crossbar in the second. I dropped the mitts and got the better of Joel Farabee. That also increased his grade by one full grade.

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So the Oilers season record goes to 1-3. On the way to Nashville and Dallas next.

Now on Topics @klavins. You can also find me on Twitter @KurtLeavins, Instagram at LeavinsOnHockey and Mastodon at [email protected]. This article is not AI-generated.

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