PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Flyers

The Oilers close out their season-opening four-game homestand at Rogers Place searching for their first win of the campaign against the Flyers on Tuesday night.

You can watch the game on Sportsnet at 8:00 pm MT or listen live on the Oilers Radio Network, including 880CHED.

Subscribe to Oilers+ to unlock the Pre-Game Show that will begin 30 minutes before puck-drop, along with more exclusive live and behind-the-scenes content.

Tickets for tonight's matchup are available at EdmontonOilers.com/tickets.

PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Flyers

EDMONTON, AB – From the Flames on Sunday to the Flyers tonight, the Oilers will be looking to put their first mark in the win column after suffering their third straight defeat to begin the regular season in the Battle of Alberta this past weekend at Rogers Place.

"We're not quitters in here. We never have been," McDavid said. "Losing three in a row off the bat is not ideal, but it's nothing we can't work ourselves out of."

“I'm sure there are lots of ways to explain it, but ultimately, it hasn't been good enough. I've said that numerous times here, up and down the lineup, that everybody can be better, and everybody will be better.”

Despite scoring the first goal last time out on Sunday against Calgary, the Oilers had two goals overturned by coach’s challenges before seemingly losing their focus in a 4-1 defeat to their provincial rivals that dropped their record to 0-3-0 to begin the '24-25 NHL campaign.

Jeff Skinner's first Oilers goal 1:16 into the first period was one of the lone bright spots for the Blue & Orange on a night when there appeared to be a notable disconnect in all areas of their game – from the defencemen moving the puck up to their forwards to Edmonton's lack of second and third opportunities around their opponent's crease.

"I thought we played a good first half of the game and then obviously had a couple of goals disallowed, got distracted, and we were just making mistakes out there," Hyman said. "I think everybody's not taking care of their own job, and obviously, that's the result you get."

"The puck play's been bad all over," McDavid added. "Guys fumbling it, guys not handling it, passes in the air, passes behind guys. It's just not good enough in terms of the puck play. When you're not clean with the puck, it's tough to generate offence."

Averaging 31.3 shots per game, the Oilers have just three goals over their three opening three defeats (3.2 SH%), having been outscored 15-3 and scoring only one PPG on only five opportunities while the penalty kill is a league-low 44.4 percent (4-for-9) despite killing off all three penalties they took during Sunday’s defeat to the Flames.

"There's no excuse," Zach Hyman said. "That happens all the time in games. You have to be able to just continue to play well, and we scored one goal so we could do a better job of getting to the net and scoring in the hard areas. When things aren't going easy, you have to be able to get to those areas to score."

While there’s no debate from the Oilers players that the buy-in is there, a lack of connectivity in their puck play and inability to work as a five-man unit is what’s contributed to their slow start.

The Blue & Orange will need to try to raise their emotional levels and intensity to find their way out of another early funk to start the year, having gone 2-9-1 in ’23-24 in their first 12 games.

By beating the Flyers on Tuesday, the Oilers can avoid starting a season with four straight losses for the first time since ‘15-16 – having only done it twice in franchise history (‘15-16 & ‘95-96)

“Everybody's going out there and working hard. It's about bringing a level of urgency, though, doing your job and just worrying about what you need to do and understanding that everybody else is going to go out and do their job,” Zach Hyman said. “So I think we're not playing up to our standard.”

Head Coach Kris Knoblauch observed the disconnect in his team's game at both ends of the ice on Sunday's loss in the Battle of Alberta – a result that was a microcosm of Edmonton's season so far with the number of mistakes they've committed at different times of games and at different execution points.

For the bench boss, the turnaround starts with every player following through on their responsibilities, whether it's the defencemen having their heads up to make the first pass of the forwards being in the right positions to accept breakout passes and work in tandem with their linemates to move the puck up ice.

"You got to have guys in the right positions moving their feet, making the right passes and knowing who's where and when to react," Knoblauch said. "Everything's just – I guess a good word to say is disconnected. Sometimes, a lot of those things are in line, but if you're missing one, then it just doesn't work out.

"Everything's just not going as it should."

It's only natural a team coming off a trip to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final takes time to adjust after a long season and short summer, but it's no excuse not to play with desperation, which is something that needs happen when Philadelphia comes into Rogers Place on Tuesday night to close out Edmonton's four-game homestand.

If the Oilers are to head out on the road for their first trip of the season later this week through Nashville and Dallas with their first win already under their belts, those levels will have to be elevated right from the opening puck drop as they try to put another opponent on their heels early like they did against Calgary.

The Oilers have an NHL-high 23 goals scored in the first five minutes of games since the start of '23-24, but the Flyers are one of the best in that area too, having scored 19 of their own to place them fifth over that span. Philadelphia was 29-7-6 when scoring first in last season, but were 8-26-5 when giving up the first goal (the fifth-lowest Points% in the NHL), so the first goal will once again be vital on Tuesday.

"Obviously, we have to play with more desperation," Knoblauch said. "I think when you had a season like we did last year and coming back with the expectations being really high, I don't think there's enough desperation. I think we can't just show up and play hockey. That's good enough. This game is about playing with desperation, and right now we're lacking that."

The Oilers have a 10-2-1 record on home ice against the Flyers since the start of the '06-07 campaign.