PHILADELPHIA, PA – Defenceman John Klingberg scored his first Oilers goal and forward Matt Savoie recorded his first-career point, but the Edmonton Oilers were beaten 6-3 by the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday afternoon at Wells Fargo Center in their first game back from the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
Klingberg’s first goal since Apr. 3, 2023 and Savoie’s first NHL assist on Leon Draisaitl’s 41st goal of the campaign during the opening period gave the Oilers a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes before the Flyers scored four of the next five goals while taking advantage of Edmonton’s turnovers to build their lead.
Philadelphia’s second line of Owen Tippett, Sean Couturier, and Matvei Michkov combined for eight points on Saturday and did the heavy lifting for the Flyers, who solved Oilers netminder Stuart Skinner five times on 31 shots. Defenceman Rasmus Ristolainen’s goal was an empty-netter with 2:59 remaining.
“I think what really cost us was the turnovers and trying to make plays when there’s not a play to be made, or not being able to get the puck in deep,” Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. “Four even-strength goals, and all of them were just direct result of turnover. We’re not in a good position to defend because usually on turnovers, everyone’s thinking something else and they capitalized.”
Leon Draisaitl finished with a goal and an assist after scoring in the first period before setting up defenceman Mattias Ekholm’s eighth of the campaign during the middle frame that made it 3-3 before the Flyers scored three unanswered.
“To a man, I think a lot of those plays and the execution, we can have a higher level,” defenceman Darnell Nurse said. “This is a big trip coming up, and competition only gets higher from here. So for us, we gotta shake it off and tomorrow’s another big test for us.”
The Oilers will look to respond on Sunday afternoon at Capital One Arena against the Washington Capitals in the second of back-to-back games.
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