The Edmonton Oilers continue their four-game road trip at the Wells Fargo Center on Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers.
You can watch the game on Sportsnet West or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 630 CHED.
Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin at 4:30 p.m. MT, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.
PRE-GAME REPORT: Oilers at Flyers
The Oilers continue their Eastern Conference four-game trip with a stop in Philadelphia to take on the Flyers
By
Michael Arcuri & Jamie Umbach @EdmontonOilers / EdmontonOilers.com
YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS
© Icon Sportswire/Getty Images
GAME DAY VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Pre-Game vs. PHI
PRE-GAME RAW | Coach Woodcroft
PRE-GAME RAW | Philip Broberg
RECENT VIDEOS
PRACTICE | Coach Jay Woodcroft
PRACTICE | Ryan McLeod
PRACTICE | Vincent Desharnais
BY THE NUMBERS
Oilers Statistics
Flyers Statistics
Stats Comparison
Game Notes
RECENT BLOGS & ARTICLES
BLOG: Routine leading Desharnais to success
POST-GAME: Oilers Fired Up
GAME RECAP: Oilers 5, Red Wings 2
VIEWING INFORMATION
You can watch Thursday's game on Sportsnet West at 5:00 p.m. MT.
INSIDE THE OILERS
News and notes from Oilers practice at Wells Fargo Arena on Wednesday, including Vincent Desharnais' long journey to NHL success.
>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG
PRE-GAME REPORT
PHILADELPHIA, PA - Following an extended All-Star break for the Edmonton Oilers and the rest of the NHL, it was reassuring for the Blue & Orange to continue their winning ways on the other side of the pause when play resumed on Tuesday evening in Detroit.
The Oilers conceded the first goal to the Red Wings, but a three-goal second frame led by Warren Foegele's pair of tallies helped guide Edmonton to their eighth in their last nine games (8-0-1).
"I think it was important to get a win there," defenceman Philip Broberg said. "We had eight days off almost, so it was just good to get back on track and we've just got to keep building on that tonight."
With a point on Thursday against the Philadelphia Flyers, who've lost four straight on home ice at Wells Fargo Center, the Oilers can claim their first 10-game point streak since 2005-06 when they went 7-0-3 from December 1-23, 2005 during their last season that included a trip to the Stanley Cup Final.
However, the focus in the Oilers room is firmly on the day-to-day process that will allow the squad to secure the two points and lift themselves potentially as high as first in the Pacific Division by night's end.
The Flyers have a physical brand of hockey they've become accustomed to playing over their existence as a franchise and under Head Coach Jon Tortorella this season that the Oilers will expect, and Tuesday's fiery affair in Detroit was a good warm-up for them with 32 combined PIMs and plenty of after-whistle scrums.
"The Philadelphia Flyers are a proud organization and they want to play a certain way," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said following Edmonton's optional skate this morning. "They have a certain mentality and we better be ready for that type of physical game. There are teams that are going to give you everything they have, and we better be ready for it. I thought last game against Detroit was a good way to make sure we're ready for tonight's game as well."
Preparation for a game like tonight within the Oilers locker room falls more upon the individual, so while that physical message might not be preached directly to the group in the morning meeting, it's every player's commitment to their role and playing a hard game that contributes to the collective approach.
"The biggest thing we would talk to our players about is just making sure that they're individually ready to go," Woodcroft added. "So buckle your helmets up and know that the opponent is going to play a certain way, and it's our job to make sure that we rise to that competitive challenge.
"When we do and play our game, we think we're a tough team to beat, so it's going to be a good challenge for us tonight. They're a well-coached group. They're a group that's going to give you everything they have and we better be ready for it. We feel good about that tonight."
BURGEONING BROBERG
It's only the tip of the iceberg for Philip Broberg on Edmonton's back end.
The young Swedish blueliner returned to Bakersfield over the All-Star break to bring back more of his belongings to Edmonton, because he's pretty sure he won't be heading back anytime soon before the end of the season.
The 21-year-old has shown more and more with each passing game why Oilers GM & Pres. of Hockey Ops Ken Holland stepped up to the podium at the 2019 NHL Draft to select the Swede with the eighth overall pick as he continues to gain more responsibility on Edmonton's blue line.
Broberg posted a career-high two assists on Tuesday in Detroit for his first career multi-point game, including a slick feed to Ryan McLeod to set up the tying goal in the second period of the victory.
"Yeah, I feel confident in my game," he said. "I just want to go out and play my style of game, play my defensive game and still contribute with a good first pass.
"I think it comes with time. I want to be reliable in the defensive zone and be trustworthy there, so I think that's coming for sure."
Over the last 12 games, Broberg is an impressive +13 and has steadily seen his ice time tick upwards with an average ice time of 14:43 that's over a minute higher than his career average (13:31).
"I think it's been going good so far," he said. "I just want to kill building on that and just work day by day and try to get a little bit better for every game."
LICENSE TO (PENALTY) KILL
Strong special teams, especially shorthanded, have been one of the hallmarks of Edmonton's success over the past month.
Since Jan. 11, the Oilers own the NHL's top-ranked penalty kill (92.6 percent) that features a 5-for-5 evening in Detroit on Tuesday. It's been especially assuring for the Oilers following some tough spells shorthanded prior to that mark, including giving up four power-play goals in a 6-3 loss to the Los Angeles Kings on Jan. 9 at Crypto.com Arena in the game that preceded their successful run.
"I think we've tightened some things up," Woodcroft said. "We've had a couple of games this year that got away on us where we got touched up. One was the Washington Capital game in Washington and that forced us to make some changes, and I thought were really going in the right direction from that point forward, but in early January we got touched up in Los Angeles. Sometimes, those things happen.
"What I've really liked is our response. I think we're killing less. I think when we do kill, we have more people involved. We're on our toes and we're making it tough on the opposition, so all those factors combined have led to those good numbers.
"But that's in the rear-view mirror and we're looking out the windshield."
Coinciding with that short-handed success has been the recall of Vincent Desharnais, who's become an important piece of the penalty kill. Part of that early trust from the coaching staff for Desharnais stems from their shared time in Bakersfield, where Woodcroft and assistant coach Dave Manson observed him becoming indispensable shorthanded.
"My experience and Dave's experience in Bakersfield allowed us to see certain prospects in different types of situations so that you could find out what they could do at that level," Woodcroft said. "You get up to the National Hockey League, it's certainly a different level with different skill sets on players, but when you know some of the people coming up the pipe, it gives you a comfort level that you've seen them do some things at a different level.
"For me, I think Vincent is someone who's gotten better at every step along his career path or career journey. One of the things and you're right, you're very right on one of the things in his repertoire is that he's a real good penalty killer, is that he takes up a lot of space. He's a fearless shot blocker and he makes opponents pay a price to get to the front of our net. All of those things make our kill better.
"I think his arrival into the lineup coincides with the spike in the numbers."
-- Jamie Umbach, EdmontonOilers.com
PREVIEW
OILERS vs. FLYERS
WATCH: 5:00 p.m. MT; televised on Sportsnet West
Oilers Team Scope
The Oilers are coming off a rough and tumble affair to begin their post All-Star break playoff push. Edmonton came away with a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night to push their consecutive point streak to nine games (8-0-1).
The team was backstopped by the exceptional goaltending of Jack Campbell, who turned aside 30 of 32 shots in his return to the state he grew up in. The 31-year-old offseason acquisition's game has begun to really round into form, with Campbell winning his last eight starts for the Oilers.
The contest could have gone a lot different if it wasn't for the a pair of excellent breakaway stops by Campbell, who denied both Jonatan Berggren and Dominik Kubalik midway through the third period in a one-goal hockey game.
The Oilers continued to see their roster depth pay dividends for them in the standings. Warren Foegele scored twice on the evening for his sixth and seventh goals of the season and just narrowly missed out on a hat trick late in the third period.
Ryan McLeod, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and an empty netter by Evander Kane rounded out the scoring on the evening.
"I really like the contributions from some of our depth pieces tonight," Head Coach Jay Woodcroft said after the win. "I really liked our penalty kill, and as I said, our power play came up big when it mattered most, and I thought our goaltender was excellent."
Flyers Team Scope
The Flyers come into Thursday's contest with a 21-22-9 record and are sitting eight points out of a potential playoff spot in the East. Philadelphia are fresh off a 2-1 defeat to the Metropolitan Division rival New York Islanders on Monday.
Semyon Varlamov started in place of NHL All-Star Ilya Sorokin, and was great on the evening with 25 saves on 26 Flyers shots. The lone Philadelphia goal was scored by Nicolas Deslauriers midway through the second period for the gritty forwards third of the year. Deslaurier swooped in front of Varlamov to tip a Tony DeAngelo point shot by the goaltender for the tally.
After the game, Head Coach John Tortorella gave a frank assessment of the Flyers performance.
"It was men against boys in the first period. (We) played better in the second, we had a lot of almost chances, but I thought we were a little sloppy offensively," Tortorella said. "We're going to find out about some people, when we play some games here, in the checking department. Teams are going to ramp that up. It's going to be really interesting to see how guys react."
Canadian netminder Carter Hart received the start in the contest. The Sherwood Park, AB native made 28 saves on the night and continues to be a bright spot for a lagging Philadelphia squad. Hart currently sports a 15-15-8 record with a .911 save percentage and one shutout on the season.
Thursday will be the first of two matchups between the Flyers and Oilers, with the two teams reconvening in Edmonton later in the month on Feb. 21.
By The Numbers
Since Jan. 11, the Oilers rank either first or second in the NHL in: Record (8-0-1), goals per game (5.00), goal differential (plus-24), shooting percentage (13.5 per cent), power play percentage (37.5 per cent), and penalty kill percentage (92.6 per cent)... The Oilers are on a nine-game point streak and have not had a double-digit streak since the December 2005... Edmonton has scored four or more goals in eight of their last nine games... The Oilers are 25-1 this season when scoring at least four goals... Edmonton averages 3.76 goals per game, which leads the entire NHL...The Oilers are 9-1-1 in their last 11 road games and their .864 point percentage over that time leads all NHL teams...
Connor McDavid is currently on a 13-game point streak (9G, 12A) and has recorded at least a point in 30 of his last 31 games... There has only been a single Oilers road game this season that McDavid has not recorded a point in... McDavid has 21 points in 11 career games against the Flyers and enters Thursday on a six-game point streak vs. Philadelphia... Jack Campbell's seven-game win streak in currently tied for the fifth longest by an Oilers goaltender... Philadelphia has lost four consecutive home games and has been outscored 15-8 during that stretch... The Flyers 322 man-games lost to injury is the third most by any NHL team this season... Philadelphia are fourth in the NHL in hits per game, averaging 28.5 per contest...
Injury Report
OILERS - Oscar Klefbom (shoulder) is on IR; Mike Smith (undisclosed) is on IR;
Ryan MurrayÂ
(undisclosed) is on IR;
Kailer Yamamoto
(undisclosed) is on IR.
FLYERS - Cam Atkinson (neck) is on IR; Sean Couturier (back) is on IR; Ryan Ellis (undisclosed) is on IR.
-- Michael Arcuri, EdmontonOilers.com