Atkinson scores twice, helps Flyers hand Oilers first loss of season

EDMONTON --The Edmonton Oilers lost for the first time this season, 5-3 to the Philadelphia Flyers at Rogers Place on Wednesday.

Cam Atkinson's second goal of the game, a slap shot from the right face-off circle at 4:18 of the third period, put the Flyers ahead 4-3. He has six goals in his first five games.
"He is a real smart player that plays that 200-foot game," Flyers coach Alain Vigneault said. "He plays power play for us, he kills penalties, he's a big part of our team right now."
Sean Couturier scored into an empty net at 19:01 for the 5-3 final.
The Oilers had won their first five games of the season.
Claude Giroux and Nate Thompson scored, Justin Braun had two assists for Philadelphia (3-1-1), which was playing its first road game of the season. Carter Hart made 34 saves and had his first NHL point, an assist on Atkinson's first goal.
"[Hart] was great," Flyers defenseman Keith Yandle said. "Against a team like that, they're super explosive and they can make plays out of nothing. You always have to be on your game defensively and the goaltender is a big part of that. He made a lot of big stops for us and it was a big team effort."
Connor McDavid had a goal and an assist to begin the season with six consecutive multipoint games, one behind Wayne Gretzky's Oilers record set in 1983-84.
"I liked parts of our game. I thought we played real quick," McDavid said. "We had our looks. Maybe we could have defended a little better, I guess, but it is hockey, and they are going to get chances. I thought we did a pretty good job, just obviously not enough to win."

Tyson Barrie had a goal and an assist, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two assists, and Mikko Koskinen made 29 saves for Edmonton (5-1-0).
"That could be some of the best hockey we played all season," Oilers coach Dave Tippett said. "Our second period was arguably our best period of the year; a couple of mistakes, a couple of bad bounces and we're chasing the game. And once they got the lead in the third, they shut it down pretty good."
Giroux gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead 7:22 into the first period, taking a long rebound off the end boards on a shot from Travis Konecny and scoring on a wraparound.
Thompson made it 2-0 at 10:05, capitalizing on a giveaway behind the net by Koskinen.
"They're very explosive, and you can't really take a shift off against them because they can make plays out of nothing, it seems like," Flyers forward James van Riemsdyk said. "It was a strong effort by us, a big two points."
Barrie cut it to 2-1 35 seconds later, taking a backhand pass from Leon Draisaitl in the Philadelphia zone and lifting a shot over Hart's shoulder at 10:40.
"I think we had enough chances, especially in the second period," Nugent-Hopkins said. "The second period, if not our best, may have been one of the best we have played so far this year. We definitely had enough chances. The bottom line is they just got that extra one. That is just the way it goes in this league. I thought we worked hard and kept pushing at the end but, unfortunately, couldn't get it."
McDavid tied it 2-2 on the power play at 19:42 on a centering pass from the left face-off circle that was deflected in by Braun.

Atkinson made it 3-2 with less than one second left in the period when he kicked a loose puck to himself after it was batted down by Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse in the slot.
"Anytime you get a goal late in a period it always gives you huge momentum," Giroux said. "You always get more excited, and it was obviously a huge goal for us."
Zach Hyman tied it 3-3 54 seconds into the second period. It was his fifth goal in a three-game goal streak.
"There are probably games that we played that we didn't deserve to win, or the goaltending was spectacular," Barrie said. "Tonight, I thought we played well. There are a couple we would have liked to have back. It would have been nice to go 6-0 to start the year, but you are not going to win them all."
NOTES:McDavid is the second active player to have six multipoint games to begin a season. (Auston Matthews, Toronto Maple Leafs, seven in 2018-19). McDavid leads the NHL with 15 points (seven goals, eight assists). … McDavid and Hyman are the first Oilers teammates to each score six goals in the first six games of the season since Mark Messier and Glenn Anderson in 1987-88. … Giroux (four goals, two assists) and Atkinson (six goals, one assist) each extended their point streak to start a season to five games. … The Flyers play the second of a back to back at the Vancouver Canucks on Thursday.