Whoever said fighting had no place in hockey?
View the original article to see embedded media.
There was more to it than that, but a pair of fights inspired the Oilers to their first win of the season in an overtime thriller against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.
The Oilers got off to an inauspicious start, taking a too-many-men penalty four minutes into the first period. The Flyers made them pay, as Matvei Michkov notched his first career NHL goal by jamming the puck past Stuart Skinner. Kris Knoblauch challenged for goaltender interference, but the goal stood.
Michkov made the Oilers pay on the powerplay yet again less than five minutes later on with a Draisaitl-esque one-timer from near the goal line, giving the Flyers a 2-0 lead.
The Oilers answered back early in the second, when Adam Henrique buried a centering pass from Mattias Janmark that deflected into the slot off goaltender Samuel Ersson. The third line came up big again in the second, with Connor Brown finishing off a beautiful tic-tac-toe to tie the game at 2.
That lead didn’t last long, however. One of the Oilers’ many, many penalties came back to bite them, as a pass from Bobby Brink deflected off Mattias Ekholm’s stick and past Stuart Skinner just as a Flyers powerplay was ending, giving the Flyers a 3-2 lead heading into the final frame.
Edmonton got a huge boost from an unlikely source in the third period. After Flyers captain Sean Couturier bowled over Stuart Skinner behind the net, defenceman Troy Stecher caught up to him and dropped the gloves. Despite a six-inch size defecit, the Oilers defender fought the 6’4″ Couturier to a draw, eliciting huge cheers from the crowd and his teammates.
The pugilism wasn’t over, as Corey Perry fought Joel Farabee off the ensuing faceoff to even louder cheers. From there, the Oilers were on a mission.
They were finally rewarded in the final four minutes of the period, when Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid, and Evan Bouchard connected on another vintage Oilers tic-tac-toe to knot the game up at 3 and send the game to overtime.
Overtime didn’t last long. Draisaitl, who was benched for a while during the third period after taking an ill-advised cross-checking penalty late in the second, redeemed himself with his second point of the game less than a minute into the extra frame. The game winner was another McDavid-Draisaitl affair, as Draisaitl buried the second chance on a foiled McDavid breakaway to put the Flyers and end the game at 4-3.
Oilers Player Of The Game: Leon Draisaitl
Not often a player who gets benched in the third period is named the player of the game. Draisaitl’s cross-check on Garnet Hathaway was borne out of frustration after the Flyers took the lead late in the second period, and his turn was skipped a couple times in the third.
He redeemed himself in very Leon Draisaitl fashion, however, finding McDavid with a gorgeous spin-o-rama move to set up the tying goal. He than of course did what he does best in overtime, following McDavid to the net to give the Oilers their first win of the season in dramatic fashion.
Oilers Play Of The Game
What else but the first Oilers game winner of the year? Leon Draisaitl from that close with no Flyers near him (thanks to a fly-by from rookie Matvei Michkov) is as automatic as it gets.
It was far from perfect, but every two points count, and by the end of the game the Oilers looked like their usual selves. A comeback overtime win fueled by a dominant third line, two fights from depth players, and finished off by the team’s stars is exactly what the doctor ordered to finish the team’s first homestand.
The Oilers are back in action on Thursday, starting their first road trip of the season against the Nashville Predators.
Bookmark The Hockey News Edmonton Oilers team site to never miss news, interviews, or any other updates on the Oilers.
Related: Behind The Oilers Fighting Their Way To Victory
Related: Oilers Have Opportunity To Turn Things Around Against Flyers
Related: Former Oilers Forward Hangs Up His Skates
Related: Oilers Should Target Disgruntled Maple Leaf
Related: Connor McDavid About To Pass ‘Multi-Point’ Messier
Related: ‘It’s Very Personal’: Troy Stecher Lays Out What Makes His Game Day Routine Different From Most Players
