The Edmonton Oilers are finally in the win column with a 4-3 overtime thriller against the Philadelphia Flyers. This game had everything. A lot of power plays, some big saves, a first NHL goal, a few fights, and an overtime hero. Edmonton had to battle back and fight from behind all game which showed their character that was nonexistent through their first three games. This was a gutsy win for a desperate Oilers squad, so here are a few takeaways:
What Is Goaltender Interference?
Once again, goaltender interference is a topic of conversation for the Oilers. Matvei Michkov opened the scoring for the Flyers after he jammed the puck and the goaltender’s pad into the net for his first career NHL goal. The Oilers challenged for goaltender interference, but the call on the ice stood as a good goal. This exact same play was called no goal during the Vancouver Canucks and Tampa Bay Lightning game earlier that night. So, what is the standard? Nobody knows.
Later in the period, Evan Bouchard ripped a puck past goaltender Samuel Ersson, but it was immediately waved off because Zach Hyman was ruled to be in the blue paint and made contact with the goaltender. That was another extremely questionable call. If that’s going to be called all season, there are going to be a ton of goals called back. The NHL should just reimplement the crease violation rule if this is how the games will be called. The interpretation of the rule seems to change game by game and there’s no consistency.
Through four games, the Oilers have had four goals called back, three for goaltender interference and one for an offside challenge. For a league that encourages scoring, they sure like taking goals off the board. The NHL has a serious problem on their hands.
Oilers‘ Secondary Scoring Contributes
The Oilers got some much-needed depth scoring at five-on-five courtesy of Adam Henrique and Connor Brown. Henrique cut the Flyers lead in half, going backhand, upstairs past the Flyers netminder. Eight minutes later Brown tied the game at two, on a one-timer from a great pass by Jeff Skinner. The new look third line of Skinner, Henrique, and Brown was really good. If they can build some chemistry, they have the potential to add an offensive layer to this forward group.
Oilers Show Bad Discipline
Through the first two periods, the Oilers looked like a frustrated group. They took seven minor penalties including an egregious cross-check at the end of the second period by Leon Draisaitl. That was an extremely dumb and unnecessary penalty to take with your team down a goal. Corey Perry also took an unnecessary slashing penalty well away from the play. That is poor leadership from two veteran players on this team and they need to be better and lead by example. Some of those penalties are inexcusable and they need to take accountability. Draisaitl was benched for a few shifts early in the third period as a result.
Related: Is it Too Soon for the Edmonton Oilers to Panic?
Ultimately, the Flyers were two-for-seven on the man advantage which kept them in the game. The Oilers outscored the Flyers 3-1 at five-on-five which paid dividends in the end. With their recent struggles on the penalty kill, it’s imperative that the Oilers stay out of the box as much as possible, especially when it comes to avoidable infractions like we saw in this game.
Oilers Finally Show Some Emotion
It took until halfway through the third period, but the Oilers finally showed some emotion. It started when Sean Couturier made contact with Stuart Skinner behind the net. Troy Stecher defended his goaltender by dropping the gloves with the Flyers forward. Then on the ensuing faceoff, Perry dropped the gloves with Joel Farabee which injected some more life into the building. Last game against the Flames, Skinner got slashed in the back of the legs and no one did a single thing about it, so it was good to see someone step up and defend their goalie this time.
These fights ultimately woke up the big dogs. After that sequence, Bouchard scored his first of the season, Connor McDavid got two assists, and Draisaitl got an assist and scored the overtime winner.
That was the turning point of this hockey game and ultimately woke Edmonton up from its slumber. These fights tilted the momentum and energized the team. They were getting pushed around far too much through their first 11 periods, so it was nice to see some fight and pushback in the third period. Hopefully, this momentum can carry over and the Oilers can bring this same intensity, energy and compete level on a consistent basis for the rest of this season. The last 10 minutes of the third period is how they should always play. An aggressive, energetic, and motivated Oilers team is tough to beat. This is a good start, but they need to continue playing this way if they want to have success.
The Oilers finished this home stand with a record of 1-3 with only seven goals for and 18 goals against. They still have things they need to clean up as they hit the road for a mini two-game road trip starting in Nashville on Thursday night (Oct. 17).
