The Philadelphia Flyers opened up a 3-0 lead in the first period, with Denver Barkey scoring career goal #1, followed by Travis Sanheim and Bobby Brink lighting the lamp to put the Edmonton Oilers in an early hole. Connor McDavid converted a breakaway in the final four minutes to give the Oilers life, but Dan Vladar and a solid defensive effort (minus one failed penalty kill following a Matvei Michkov high-stick) allowed Philly to take a 3-2 lead into the third period.
And it was solid defense that held Edmonton to one shot on goal through 16 minutes of play in the third period before Kris Knoblauch elected to pull Cal Pickard with four minutes left. A very impressive performance for Philly, who end the Disney On Ice trip with a win against the team that came into the game leading the Pacific Division in standings points.
First period
Highlight: Denver Barkey scored his first NHL goal after orchestrating a breakout and then driving the net as Sean Couturier dished to Owen Tippett for the entry and Tippett found Barkey streaking into the slot. Barkey has been impressive since his call-up, but hasn’t shown up on the score sheet in five games after recording a pair of primary assists in his debut against the New York Rangers on December 20th. The Flyers’ second goal of the first period came off Travis Sanheim’s stick and will officially be unassisted, but Barkey, Coots and Tippett had a hard-working shift in the o-zone leading up to the goal, and Barkey was working in front of the net when Sanheim scored.
What I want to see next period: MORE SHOTS! Whether Cal Pickard remains between the pipes, or Connor Ingram comes in in relief, they need to pepper Edmonton’s underperforming goalies. In order to get more shots, the Flyers need to stop turning the puck over, especially in the defensive zone. A two-goal lead isn’t insurmountable for Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. McDavid made it 3-1 on a breakaway after Sanheim got picked off attempting a cross-ice pass. Avoid all these turnovers. You don’t have to play super conservatively to protect the puck better than the Flyers have thus far.
Dan Vladar: Very solid, making 12 saves on 13 shots. The only goal Vladar allowed was a McDavid breakaway, and he erased a lot of poor puck management with his typically solid play.
Second period
Highlight: Matvei Michkov needs to stop taking penalties. The Oilers cut Philly’s lead to one midway through the second after Michkov got whistled for a high-stick against Mattias Janmark. Michkov leads the Flyers with 38 PIM and 18 minors. I want to see #39 playing more, but he’s not helping himself with all the stick penalties he’s taken this year. And also, he’s not drawing them to even it out. For comparison, Garnet Hathaway has taken 10 minor penalties, and he’s drawn 13. Michkov has only drawn seven penalties this season, which is nowhere near enough. As I’m typing this, Rodrigo Abols gets called for holding McDavid, so I’m expecting this game to be tied at some point in the next 120 seconds. They, shockingly, got the kill, and even had a really strong short-handed opportunity.
What I want to see next period: Michkov needs to get going. He was playing a decent game with the playmaking and then took the high-stick penalty midway through the second, and only saw 56 more seconds of ice-time after that. One of his two shifts after he got out of the box was cut short by a penalty, and he got 45 seconds on the power play, but Bouchard’s goal released him from the penalty box with 10:05 left, and he didn’t get back on the ice until there was 2:35 left on the clock. But regardless of ice time, Michkov has zero shot attempts through two periods. He played over 16 minutes against Calgary and finished the game with no attempts. His passing has been very good lately, but he needs to get a few shots for himself.
Dan Vladar: Only faced five shots in the period, and it would be cool if he made the stop on Evan Bouchard’s power play goal but I’m not going to blame the goalie too much when I see Bouchard from McDavid (PP) in the box score. This is Edmonton’s specialty, and they cashed in on one of their two second period power plays.
Third period
Highlight: NICK SEELER SCORES! After seemingly ending his goal drought in Calgary only to have it overturned on goalie interference, Seeler lights the lamp to make it 4-2, his first goal since NYE 2024. Always happy to see a culture guy like Seeler get his name on the scoresheet. Would love to see this lead hold and end the road trip with a win against a team that has been excellent since Thanksgiving.
Dan Vladar: Only faced one shot in the first 16 minutes of the period, but it doesn’t get much more high leverage than 6v5 against McDavid and Draisaitl and
Final note: Loving the third period approach. They’re not sitting back and by playing a more aggressive style, they’ve seriously limited Edmonton’s offense. Prior to Edmonton pulling the goalie with four minutes left, the Flyers were out-shooting the Oilers 7-1, and had scored the period’s only goal. This is much better hockey, both aesthetically and execution-wise, than the Orange & Black typically play while protecting a lead.