Matvei Michkov and Sean Couturier each had a goal and two assists, Owen Tippett scored a pair of goals and the Philadelphia Flyers beat the Edmonton Oilers 6-3 on Saturday.
“We left Skins out there to dry way too many times, giving up breakaways, 2-on-0’s — it wasn’t a very good, sound effort by us defensively — what so ever,” Oilers head coach Kris Knoblauch said after the loss.
In the first game back from the 4 Nations break for both teams, Michkov opened the scoring in the first period when he followed up his own missed shot and put the rebound past Stuart Skinner, who made 26 saves.
In the second period, Michkov made two no-look passes that turned into Flyers’ goals. He found Couturier with a cross-ice pass on the door step and later with a pass into the slot for Tippett’s second tally on a 2-on-none breakaway.
Couturier’s goal was the 200th of his career.
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Tippett also scored on a breakaway earlier in the second period, for his first goal in a month. Tippett missed the last five games with an upper-body injury.
Andrei Kuzmenko and Rasmus Ristolainen also scored for Philadelphia.
Leon Draisaitl scored his league-leading 41st goal of the season for Edmonton. John Klingberg and Mattias Ekholm also scored for the Oilers, in the loss.
“As D-men we didn’t deny the line enough and we didn’t get back fast enough also, so when you have that combination against a team with skill, it’s going to sting you,” Oilers defenceman Darnell Nurse said.
Philly’s Samuel Ersson made 15 saves.
Takeaways
Oilers: Matt Savoie made his debut for the Oilers and picked up the primary assist on Draisaitl’s goal. It was the second career game for Savoie, who was a first-round pick by Buffalo in 2022.
Flyers: Four Flyers returned from injury in the game and a fifth, Jakob Pelletier, played his first game for Philadelphia after being acquired in a trade with Calgary.
Key moment
In a back-and-forth second period, a neutral zone turnover by Edmonton — a puck bounced over defenseman Brett Kulak’s stick — led to the breakaway that resulted in Tippett’s game-winner.
Key stat
The Flyers held Connor McDavid without a point in the game.
Up Next
The Oilers visit the Washington Capitals on Sunday while the Flyers are off until Tuesday night when they host the Pittsburgh Penguins.
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