Philadelphia 6, Edmonton 5
When: 7:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 8, 2016
Where: Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Referees:
Jean Hebert, Kendrick Nicholson
Linesmen:
Ryan Galloway, Mark Shewchyk
Attendance:
19346
By The Sports Xchange
PHILADELPHIA -- The Philadelphia Flyers are scoring and allowing goals at an alarming clip and on Thursday night Michael Raffl made the last shot count.
Raffl finished off a furious comeback by scoring the game-winning goal with 1:29 remaining to give Philadelphia a wild 6-5 victory over the Edmonton Oilers at the Wells Fargo Center.
The Flyers (16-10-3) trailed 5-3 with less than 15 minutes to play but pulled out their seventh straight victory.
Raffl cruised down the right wing, held off a check by defenseman Oscar Klefbom and roofed a shot over Oilers goaltender Jonas Gustavsson for the game-winner.
Claude Giroux had two goals and one assist, and Mark Streit, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Jakub Voracek also scored for Philadelphia, which is enjoying its longest winning streak since 2011.
"Right now the team's just rolling and we're winning," said Giroux, who leads the NHL with 15 power-play points. "It's not one guy on the ice, it's five guys, and know it's working, so we've got to keep going."
Leon Draisaitl had a goal and two assists, and Connor McDavid and Andrej Sekera added one goal and one assist apiece for the Oilers (14-11-4). Benoit Pouliot and Klefbom also scored for Edmonton, which blew a lead for the fourth consecutive game.
"It's definitely something we need to find out real fast here," said McDavid, who increased his league-leading point total to 38 points. "I think as a group we're still trying to learn how to win games. We did a good job of it early, and there's definitely a certain talent to being able to win games and close it out. I think maybe we're still trying to figure that part out right now."
Flyers goalie Steve Mason stopped 28 shots to earn his sixth straight win. Gustavsson stopped 25 to take the loss and fall to 1-2-1.
"The guys bailed me out tonight," Mason said. "It's a sign of good things, hopefully. When your goalie's not making saves that you need, but the guys are still battling in front, from a personal standpoint, it's huge to see that."
"Once we got to 5-4, I just tried to lock it down as best I could."
The Oilers built two-goal leads in the second and third periods, but each time the Flyers rallied back to tie.
Third-period goals by Pouliot and Klefbom gave the Oilers a 5-3 lead 5:12 into the third period, but the Flyers answered with goals from Voracek at 6:31 and Giroux at 12:11.
"We had a number of leads in the game," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "One of the things we didn't want to do was put them on the power play, and we put them on the power play continually."
The Flyers went 1-for-5 on the power play while the Oilers went 2-for-4.
McDavid's only other NHL game in Philadelphia came last season when Flyers defenseman Brandon Manning rode him into the boards, fracturing his collarbone and forcing him to miss 37 games. Apparently, neither forgot the incident because they jabbed each other throughout the first period, both with their sticks and gloved fists.
The Oilers set the tone early when Jordan Eberle broke free on a clean breakaway on the opening shift. Mason turned away the shot, but could not stop Draisaitl's snap shot from the left circle at the 4:39 mark. The goal was Draisaitl's 12th of the season and fifth in five games.
McDavid made it 2-0 early in the second period, drilling his first power-play goal of the season past Mason at the 4:35 mark. McDavid's goal was his 12th of the season and he had a few words for Manning after celebrating with his teammates.
The Flyers used a dominant stretch midway through the second period to score three goals in 72 seconds and take a 3-2 lead. Shortly after veteran forward Matt Hendricks was released from the penalty box after serving a holding penalty, Streit's blast from the point beat Gustavsson for his fifth goal of the season.
Bellemare, whose primary role was to slow McDavid, tied the score 53 seconds later with his first goal of the season. With the crowd roaring, Giroux gave the Flyers the lead five seconds later, taking a pass from Voracek and hammering a one-timer past Gustavsson, who allowed goals on three consecutive shots.
McDavid wasn't though yet. With the Flyers on the power play, the Oilers' captain fought through checks from Bellemare and Flyers defenseman Andrew MacDonald to help set up a one-timer by Sekera.
NOTES: Edmonton rookie D Dillon Simpson, the son of former Oilers forward Craig Simpson, made his NHL debut in place of D Mark Fayne, who sat out with a groin injury. ... Flyers D Radko Gudas returned to the lineup after missing the previous three games with the flu. He replaced Michael Del Zotto. ... The Oilers conclude their four-game road trip Friday night in Minnesota, then return to Edmonton for games against Winnipeg, Columbus and Tampa Bay. ... Philadelphia closes out its three-game homestand Saturday afternoon against the Dallas Stars, then hits the road for games in Detroit, Colorado and Dallas.
Top Game Performances
Edmonton |
|
Philadelphia |
Leon Draisaitl 3 |
Points |
Jakub Voracek 4 |
Leon Draisaitl 1 |
Goals |
Claude Giroux 2 |
Leon Draisaitl 2 |
Assists |
Jakub Voracek 3 |
Connor McDavid 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Jakub Voracek 1 |
Andrej Sekera 1 |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Jonas Gustavsson .806 |
Save Percentage |
Steve Mason .848 |
Jonas Gustavsson 25 |
Saves |
Steve Mason 28 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Edmonton
|
33 |
5 |
2-4 |
4-5 |
10 |
24 |
Philadelphia
|
31 |
6 |
1-5 |
2-4 |
8 |
36 |
Upcoming Games
-
Philadelphia will play their next game at home against Dallas. The Flyers have a W/L % of .533 after a win and .571 after a loss.
-
Edmonton will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Oilers have a W/L % of .643 after a win and .333 after a loss.