The Philadelphia Flyers will host the Edmonton Oilers on the night of Oct. 19 as both teams look to establish a two-game winning streak. It will be no easy test, as the Orange and Black have had their struggles suffocating Edmonton’s offense over the last few years. How can the Flyers come away with the win?
Stay Out of the Box
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that a power play with Connor McDavid, Leon Draisaitl, and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins on it is quite deadly. The Flyers’ penalty kill has been performing well lately, but they have not faced a power play as dangerous as Edmonton’s. If they can’t stay out of the box, trouble looms.
Last season, Edmonton’s power play was the best in the league, and 6.4 percent more efficient than second place. In addition, it had double the efficiency of Philadelphia’s, so the Oilers win the special teams battle on paper pretty easily. It is unrealistic to expect the Flyers to have a masterclass of a game killing off the Oilers’ power play if they are insistent on taking penalties, but taking the potential for a disastrous game on the penalty kill away by limiting their time in the penalty box is not.
The Flyers’ penalty kill on the season is skewed a bit, as all three of the goals they gave up came against the Ottawa Senators. Other than that game, the penalty kill has been a huge positive. Philadelphia is destined to take some penalties in this matchup, but too many could cost them the game altogether. Head coach John Tortorella will have to instill that knowledge in his players, as they have taken some unnecessary penalties along the way.
Play Edmonton Aggressive
With the amount of talent the Oilers have, it is really only a matter of time before they break through offensively. Oftentimes, they make it look easy with their ability to strike when they sustain pressure. For a Flyers team that has been hemmed in their own zone plenty of times during the season, they will pay for it against Edmonton. Playing them a bit more aggressively is certainly a risk, but it comes with rewards, as well.
This is something that the Flyers have employed in the past, most recently in a 2-1 win against them last season. They played aggressively on the forecheck, were not afraid to throw the body, and limited the space that their stars had. Funny enough, the only goal that the Oilers scored that game was when the Flyers gave McDavid too much room. Preventing space for Edmonton to generate offensively could work in restricting their offense again.
Tippett, Atkinson Need to Produce
So far this season, forwards Owen Tippett and Cam Atkinson have combined for just one goal and no assists over the Flyers’ first three games. For the team’s offense to start humming, they need these forwards to show up. It has been a rough showing for them so far, but there is no better time than the present to start contributing on offense.
Despite their struggles offensively, Tortorella has given them both another shot. They have to take advantage, otherwise, their lineup spots should be in jeopardy considering how the coach handled Morgan Frost. Both have been a bit better than how they started out, so there should be hope that they can finally start contributing. For Tippett, starting to settle in will be financially vital for him, as he is in a contract year and set to become a restricted free agent (RFA) this offseason. He has been driving the net well, but it’s just about finishing on his opportunities offensively at this point in time.
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Atkinson has a knack for shooting the puck often, so it is really only a matter of time before he starts to score more frequently. His defensive play thus far has been valuable, but he needs to be generating offense to justify being in the top-six. The offense will come back at some point, but it would be for the best if it’s against a strong Oilers team.
Don’t Let Odd Man Rushes Go Awry
If the Flyers want to beat a powerhouse like Edmonton, they will have to capitalize on their chances. Philadelphia’s power play has scored just once in 13 attempts, so it is unlikely that their man advantage is how they get on the board. If the Oilers give the Flyers an odd-man rush chance, they need to score on it.
In Edmonton’s 8-1 defeat at the hands of the Vancouver Canucks, it was a dominating effort all around. Vancouver was firing away and getting great bounces, but they also finished on a 2-on-1 chance late in the game. The Flyers will have to do the same if they wish to beat the output of a high-powered Oilers offense.
The Flyers will have their hands full with the Oilers, being arguably their biggest test of the season yet. The Orange and Black have shown that they can beat this team, it’s just a matter of being at their absolute best in order to do so.
