In their first games after the 4 Nations Face-Off, the Edmonton Oilers (34-18-4) and Philadelphia Flyers (25-26-7) took the ice with a purpose. The Flyers came away with a 6-3 home-ice upset.
Game Recap
At the 2:07 mark of the first period, Matvei Michkov broke the ice for the Flyers. He took a rush shot that went wide, got his own rebound, and potted the 17th goal of his rookie campaign. Scott Laughton and Egor Zamula came through with assists.
John Klingberg responded with his first goal in an Oiler uniform, breaking a 671-day goal-scoring drought. Fellow defenseman Ty Emberson and winger Connor Brown put up the assists.
Related: 3 Edmonton Oilers Takeaways From the 4 Nations Face-Off
Still before the midway point of the opening frame, Leon Draisaitl scored on an uncontested backhand shot for his league-leading 41st goal of the season. Matt Savoie’s centering feed made it possible, which was his first NHL point. Klingberg, too, contributed with a helper—he put up his first assist as an Oiler less than three minutes after his first goal.
The scoring wave paused for the remainder of the first period, but the second was even more hectic. Owen Tippett tallied on a solo rush to tie the game 2-2. He didn’t register any points on the play, but served as a decoy on a Michkov pass to Sean Couturier to reclaim the lead, 3-2. It was Couturier’s 200th NHL goal.
The oop from Mich. The slam from Coots. #EDMvsPHI | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/rR4V0KyZuZ
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) February 22, 2025
Mattias Ekholm briefly stopped the fun, as he had a top-shelf strike courtesy of a brilliant dish from Draisaitl. Tying the game was momentary, though.
Tippett scored his second of the game about four minutes later, with Michkov again coming through with a primary assist. Couturier got a secondary helper.
Expanding the Flyers’ lead to 5-3 was Andrei Kuzmenko, who notched a power-play marker for his first as a member of the team. Travis Konecny got his 40th assist of the season on the play, while Rasmus Ristolainen put up his 14th.
After eight goals in the first two periods, the final one was much tamer. The clock ticked and ticked, forcing the Oilers to empty their net for one last attempt at salvaging the game. A long-range Ristolainen goal and a 6-3 final was their reward, however. Couturier got his third point of the day, joining Michkov for that honor.
Though one side scored two-thirds of the goals, it was an afternoon for a goaltender to forget stats-wise. The Oilers’ Stuart Skinner turned aside 26 of the 31 shots he saw, while the Flyers’ Samuel Ersson stopped 15 of 18. A victory is all that really matters in the end, though.
What’s Next for Oilers & Flyers?
Next up, the Oilers will be back in action on the road against the Washington Capitals tomorrow, who lead the Eastern Conference in points (80). That’ll be at 11 a.m. MST. As for the Flyers, they’ll take on the Pittsburgh Penguins at Wells Fargo Center on Tuesday, Feb. 25. It’s a 7 p.m. EST start time.
