The Edmonton Oilers will aim to wrap up their four-game homestand on a winning note Wednesday when they face the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Pacific Division leaders have earned points in seven of their last eight games (5-1-2), including a 3-1 win Monday night over the New York Rangers. It was the usual suspects for the Oilers as Connor McDavid scored his 11th goal of the season, and Leon Draisaitl netted a pair.
Draisaitl now sits at 18 goals and holds the league lead over Minnesota’s Kirill Kaprizov (16).
While McDavid saw his assist streak end at 18 games, the Oilers center still holds a comfortable lead in that category, with 37 helpers, 15 more than Florida’s Matthew Tkachuk, who sits in second.
Only the Carolina Hurricanes (78 goals) have scored more than Edmonton’s 77 this season. McDavid leads the league with 48 points, while Draisaitl is second at 36. Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard is tied for third with Kaprizov at 31.
One reason for the Oilers’ success this season has been a change in philosophy. First-year coach Mike Babcock has gotten McDavid and Draisaitl to dump and chase more pucks into the offensive zone rather than trying to skate past defenses that check in the neutral zone.
Babcock said that reviewing film from last season’s playoffs showed that the seemingly conservative style of play was more successful.
“When we made them turn, we had success,” he said. “Now, it’s more fun when you carry it in … but if you spot it behind them and you get the puck at the same spot, is it any different?”
Goalie Devon Levi (8-1-0, 2.75 goals-against average) has started Edmonton’s last two games and won four straight. Tristan Jarry (4-1-3, 2.57 GAA) is 2-0-2 in his last four starts, with his last coming in a 4-3 shootout loss at New Jersey last Tuesday.
Jarry, who played nine-plus seasons for the Pittsburgh Penguins, has more experience against the Flyers, with a 13-4-2 record and a 2.94 GAA in 20 appearances (18 starts). Levi faced Philadelphia once when he played for Buffalo two seasons ago. He allowed four goals on 31 shots in a 5-2 loss.
The Flyers snapped a three-game winless streak with a 3-1 victory at Vancouver on Monday, limiting the Canucks to six shots over the first two periods before surviving a third-period push. They are 5-4-2 since starting the season 0-6-3.
Michael Bunting, Travis Konecny and Travis Sanheim scored for the Flyers, and Christian Dvorak assisted twice.
Bunting scored his first goal of the season in his first game since Oct. 27. He had been a healthy scratch in the Flyers’ previous five games. The free agent signee had only one assist in his first eight games with Philadelphia.
“To sit as long as he did, he looked like he didn’t really miss a beat,” Flyers coach Rick Tocchet said about the eight-year veteran. “I’m proud of the guy.”
Matvei Michkov also earned an assist, his fourth of the season. He leads Philadelphia with 10 goals and is tied with Trevor Zegras (four goals, 10 assists) for the team lead with 14 points.
Daniel Vladar (3-4-3, 3.27 GAA) could return to the net for Philadelphia after Joseph Woll started Monday’s victory over Vancouver. Vladar, who played four seasons for Calgary, is 4-2-1 in seven starts against the Oilers with a 2.30 GAA.
Wednesday’s game marks the first of two matchups between the teams. They will face each other again on Sunday in Philadelphia in the second game of Edmonton’s six-game road trip.