POSTGAME 5: Flyers Overcome Oilers, 5-3

Opening a three-game western Canada road trip, the Philadelphia Flyers downed the high-octane Edmonton Oilers, 5-3, at Rogers Arena on Wednesday evening. Two goals by Cam Atkinson led the way offensively for the Flyers.

Five keys to the Philadelphia win: 1) an offensively opportunistic first period for the Flyers, 2) a very strong overall third-period after a rough middle frame; 3) clutch goaltending, 4) 26 blocked shots by the Flyers and 27 credited hits (led by six hits and four blocks by Rasmus Ristolainen), and 5) taking only one penalty over the final 40 ,minutes after three in the opening stanza.
A wild first period saw the Flyers emerge with a 3-2 lead despite taking three penalties. Goals by Claude Giroux (4th goal of the season) and Nate Thompson (1st) built a 2-0 lead. Tyson Barrie got one back (1st) on the next shift after the Thompson goal. The deadly Connor McDavid (PPG, 7th) tied the game with a power play goal in the final 18 seconds of the first period only for the Flyers' Cam Atkinson (5th) to score a buzzer-beater with 0.6 seconds left on the clock.

Zack Hyman (6th) knotted the game at 3-3 less than a minute into the second period. Early in the third period, Atkinson (2nd of the game, sixth of the season) restored another lead for the Flyers. Sean Couturier iced the win with an empty netter (2nd) in the final minute.

Carter Hart earned the win in his hometown, getting better and better as the game went along. Overall, he stopped 34 of 37 shots.
Edmonton counterpart Mikko Koskinen had a rather uneven game. He finished with 29 saves on 33 shots. There were two goals allowed that he'd probably have wanted back, including the Atkinson goal that proved to be the game-winner.
TURNING POINT
Getting the game to the second intermission tied at 3-3 put the Flyers in "win a period, win the game" territory despite being significantly outplayed overall in the middle frame. In the third period, it was the Flyers who dictated most of the play especially for the first half.
MELTZER'S TAKE
1) Going into the game, the Flyers preached the need to stay out of the penalty box and to be clean with the puck so as to avoid turnovers that gave the Oilers extended offensive possessions or short-ice on counterattacks. Nick Seeler was charged with four giveaways, to cite the most glaring example. That's not how the period went for Philly but the Flyers posted an overall even frame from a shot attempt standpoint (50-50 Corsi) and had the better of the overall scoring chances. They also benefited from some iffy goaltending from the Oilers.
2) Giroux's wraparound goal at 7:22 was a true 200-foot goal by Philadelphia. It started out with a good defensive play by Rasmus Ristolainen behind the Flyers net and a Travis Sanheim outlet pass to Travis Konecny. TK backhanded a neutral zone pass to Sean Couturier who gained the offensive zone and passed back to Konecny between the circles. Konecny's shot ended up wide of the net but Giroux swooped around behind the net and scored off a wraparound. The assists went to Konecny and Couturier.

The Thompson goal at 10:05 saw the Flyers take advantage of a Koskinen miscue. It was hard to tell at first glance if the goal was scored by Nicolas Aube-Kubel or jammed in by fourth line center Thompson. The tally was credited to Thompson with an assist by NAK. One shift later, at 10:40, the Oilers cut the gap to 2-1. The Flyers got scrambled in the defensive zone. Finally, from the bottom of the left circle Barrie lifted a backhander upstairs over Hart; questionable save selection to go into an RVH from that angle.The assists were credited to Leon Draisaitl and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins.

In the final minute of the opening period, the Flyers paid for an undisciplined Zack MacEwen boarding penalty as McDavid scored a power play that deflected in off Justin Braun at 19:42. The assists were credited to Barrie and Nugent-Hopkins. However, Atkinson's goal over the middle -- collecting the puck with his skate after it went off Darnell Nurse and shooting immediately -- beat the buzzer with a mere sixth-tenths of a second to spare.
3) The Flyers' 3-2 lead lasted just 54 seconds into the second period when the Oilers tied the game off a broken play. From inside the hash marks, Hyman used Sanheim as a screen, firing between the defenseman's legs. Hart moved over but wasn't able to prevent the puck from dribbling through into the net. The assists went to Jesse Puljujärvi and McDavid.
4) The rest of the second period saw the Flyers generate a few good chances on Koskinen but Edmonton dominated most of the play until the Flyers stabilized the game as it progressed.
Overall, Hart was tested severely several times but came up with 11 straight saves. The Flyers were outshot, 12-6, and out-possessed (Oilers with a 60 percent team Corsi in a frame played entirely at 5-on-5). Philly blocked a number of shot attempts -- the Flyers had 22 blocks overall. Overall, Edmonton outchanced the Flyers, 14-5.
5) Ristolainen did not come out for the third period but later returned. At 4:18, Atkinson took a pass from Derick Brassard and blew a shot from above the dot through Koskinen. It was a stoppable shot for the Edmonton goalie but Atkinson can make many goalies look bad. The assists went to Brassard and Braun.
The Flyers generated good pressure on their second power play of the game but couldn't extend the lead. With play back at 5-on-5, Koskinen made a 10-bell save on Laughton to erase a McDavid turnover. The Flyers dominated the first half of the period, racking up a 12-3 shot edge through the midway point.
Philly retained control until a very questionable interference penalty was called on Konecny (in fairness, the Flyers got the benefit of several non-calls earlier in the period). The Oilers applied pressure but the Flyers survived the kill. Giroux won four straight defensive-zone faceoffs.
With Koskinen pulled for an extra attacker, Konecny failed to gain the red line on an attempt at the empty net. The play went for a potentially costly icing. At 19:01, Couturier hit the empty net to make it 5-3. The play was reviewed to see if Konecny was off-side. After a lengthy delay, the goal was upheld. Sanheim got the lone assist.