Flyers have late goal wiped away, suffer OT loss to two-time defending West champs originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia
The Flyers had another tight, low-scoring game Wednesday night and couldn’t win it as they fell to the Oilers, 2-1, in overtime at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Jack Roslovic scored the OT winner for Edmonton on a 2-on-0 opportunity after Cam York had a turnover.
The Flyers dropped to 4-3-3 in games decided by one goal. It was the seventh time they’ve gone to OT.
Travis Konecny scored what could have been a game-winning goal for the Flyers on a deflection with 23.5 seconds remaining. But league-initiated review determined the play was offside.
The Flyers (8-5-3), who came in with the NHL’s third-fewest shots per game at 24.8, had just six at the midway mark Wednesday night.
But Matvei Michkov provided a spark by burying a game-tying power play goal with 4:22 minutes left in the second period.
Despite the loss, Rick Tocchet’s club extended its point streak to four games (2-0-2).
The Oilers (8-6-4) went into the third period with a 25-11 shot advantage on the Flyers.
The Flyers face Edmonton again Jan. 3 when they visit the two-time defending Western Conference champs.
• Dan Vladar was excellent again, making 30 saves on 32 shots.
The 28-year-old has given up two or fewer goals in eight of his 10 starts.
He wasn’t too happy when Mattias Janmark ran into him with 5:35 minutes left in the third period. After some pushing and shoving, which included Vladar, the Flyers ended up on a power play, but failed to convert.
The Oilers struck first with under a minute remaining in the opening stanza. Evan Bouchard blasted one off a nice feed from three-time MVP Connor McDavid, who finished with one point.
The Flyers have actually slowed down the superstar center in his visits to Philadelphia. They’re 6-2-1 at home against McDavid’s Oilers teams. In those nine matchups, they’ve held him to 10 points (three goals, seven assists).
But it has been a different story up at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, where McDavid has put up 24 points (eight goals, 16 assists) on the Flyers over nine games. The Flyers are just 2-6-1 in those matchups.
“Having the puck helps, making him play defense, making them stop and start,” Tocchet said after morning skate. “I don’t care who it is, any team with great players, you want to make them stop and start, so you try to muck it up a little bit, too. He’s going to get his looks, he’s just too good of a player.”
Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner stopped 20 of the Flyers’ 21 shots.
• Michkov is really starting to find his form.
The 20-year-old winger has put a goal in three straight games. He now has four on the season and nine points.
He just looks like that dynamic scorer from last season when he delivered 26 goals and 63 points as a rookie.
His skating is there, he’s holding onto the puck and he’s determined to shoot it.
More: How Flyers are ‘staying with it’ on Michkov’s learning process
• Tyson Foerster was activated off injured reserve and returned to the lineup after missing the last four games because of a blocked shot.
To make room on the roster, the Flyers loaned Carl Grundstrom back to AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley.
The 23-year-old Foerster was back on his regular line with Noah Cates and Bobby Brink.
• Next up for the Flyers is a back-to-back road set as the club visits the Blues on Friday (8 p.m. ET/NBCSP+) and Stars on Saturday (8 p.m. ET/NBCSP).