Flyers play complete, fall just short in overtime to Oilers

The Flyers played one of their most complete games of the season Wednesday night. They erased a two-goal deficit, kept two of the top goal scorers quiet, and took one of the most talented teams in the NHL to the end. It was not enough, though, losing 3-2 in overtime to the Edmonton Oilers.

The first period was tight and physical, with the Flyers outshooting the Oilers 13-6 in the scoreless frame. The second period kept that trend going until Zach Hyman took a Mattias Ekholm pass and slipped it past Daniel Vladar for the first goal. The Oilers struck again on the power play; Hyman put in work in front of Vladar and pushed it through for a goal.

Tyson Foerster got a one back on the power play when he jumped a pass and shot past Tristan Jarry to make the game 2-1.

In the third period, the Flyers were peppering the net, and Travis Sanheim came in with a strong move on Jarry and dug it in five-hole to put the puck into the net, tying the game at two at the 11:42 mark and forcing overtime.

In overtime, a couple of Flyers mistakes led to a three-on-two against one of the most talented lines in hockey, and Evan Bouchard took a one-timer that Vladar had no chance at to send the Flyers back to the United States with one point.

Physical, Tight Hockey

The Oilers are one of the best teams in the West and have one of the NHL’s most potent offenses — the second period showed just that.

Zach Hyman showed on the first goal just how fast Edmonton can score, when it looked like he was falling and batted the puck into the net past Vladar, who was not ready, starting the scoring.

What separated this contest from other Flyers games was that they didn’t suffer from a drop in energy after the goal was given up. When they gave up the second goal, there wasn’t a feeling of dread or drop in intensity.

The Flyers stayed on the checks and were even in hits, mostly from the defensemen; the only Flyers player without a hit was Jamie Drysdale. The Flyers haven’t been particularly good this season when it comes to board battles, but in this game, they were not only in every wall battle, but they were dictating most of the scrums on the wall.

The intensity that the Flyers played with in this game was reminiscent of the post-Olympic break Flyers from last season.

Ristolainen’s Return Changes Flyers Defense

The defense has a different look when Rasmus Ristolainen is on the ice, particularly on the blocks. He ended Wednesday night with three blocks.

One of his biggest was when Leon Draisaitl came in with speed, and Ristolainen took a smart angle to choke off any chance, forcing a weak shot that went into Ristolainen’s skate for a blocked shot on what looked like he would have a high-stress shot at Vladar.

Where his return was felt was in the way Ristolainen and fellow defensemen played up to the offensive zone blue line, and attacked the net in smart ways. Ristolainen was incredibly important in the first goal, where he ripped two shots, the second of which was harvested by Matvei Michkov, who got it to Foerster and brought the puck in.

Getting the shots on goal from the point allowed the Flyers to catch Jarry out of position. This is something for the Flyers to build on, and as long as Ristolainen can stay healthy, this version of the Flyers team can bounce back.

Overtime Remains Unkind to the Flyers

Getting to overtime, at this point, is an achievement for the Flyers against one of the best teams in the NHL, especially being down 2-0 in the second.

When you line up in overtime, and you look across and see Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Bouchard across from you, the intensity has to ratchet up a bit. The Flyers would need to play pretty perfectly to have a chance of getting that second point.

That wasn’t what happened, when back-to-back Flyers blunders gave the Oilers an odd-man rush, and their trio on the ice can get back the other way in the blink of an eye. The Flyers misplayed the puck in their zone, and things went from a possible Flyers chance to an odd-man rush, exacerbated by a slow Flyers line change. When the Oilers trio is coming up the ice on a three-on-two, it takes a miracle to keep the game tied.

There wasn’t much that Vladar could do when Draisaitl got the puck to Bouchard on a one-timer, ending the game.

The fact that the Flyers got one point is a very positive step forward for them. After a full 60-minute effort, they need to slay the overtime dragon, but that will be for another night.

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