Oilers Game 4: Philadelphia Flyers

Oilers fans are sane again, splendid. Lose the first game by seven goals, then the next game by one goal, and win the next game by five goals. It’s just as the hockey gods intended. I didn’t realize this until the first goal was scored, but Leon Drasaitl is now Edmonton’s franchise leader in powerplay goals. That record was previously held by both Glenn Anderson and Ryan Smyth with 126 PP goals. Draisaitl scored two last night to put him at first with 128. He’ll be turning 28 next week and already possesses this record. For as long as he’s an Oiler, just imagine how much bigger the lead will end up being. It also helps that he is literally a predator against Nashville. Warren Foegele, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, and Zach Hyman provided good production as the team’s second line. Foegele is one of those middle-six to bottom-six forwards that needs to get going offensively and has always had good chemistry in a second line role. While that was mostly with Drasaitl, RNH might go back to being a centreman with ease if that line continues it’s stellar chemistry. Connor McDavid fell, spun, still went on a breakaway, and scored. Another day, another highlight goal. Jack Campbell had a great bounce-back game, stopping 43 of 44 shots. Don’t let the final score fool you, there were plenty of moments where he had to bail out his team with big saves.

Related Article: Opinion: The Oilers Defence is a Mess…Again

I’d hate to rain on Campbell’s parade just a tad with this next bit of news. It’s been reported that Ken Holland looked into possibly trading with the Boston Bruins for either Linus Ullmark or Jeremy Swayman during the summer. Edmonton’s first two games of the season just amplified this feeling more. Ullmark and Campbell both make $5M per season. The difference is that the former has one more season after this one, whereas the latter has three more. Swayman will be a restricted free agent this summer and in need of a new contract. While Boston is slightly worse on paper than last season and not expected to break regular season records again, they’re still decent enough to either finish third in a jampacked division or challenge for a wild card. Even if Campbell plays inconsistent again, and even if the Bruins plan on trading Ullmark, I don’t see why they’d want to switch one more season of $5M with three more seasons of $5M. I’m not saying I wouldn’t want Ullmark. Who wouldn’t want a Vezina winning goalie? But cap wise, I think it would be a weird trade from Boston’s perspective. And Swayman is to the Bruins what Stuart Skinner is to the Oilers. Of course, every GM should do their job and talk to teams. It would just really surprise me if this move ever happened unless I’m missing something. But enough about trades and signing that don’t happen. Let’s talk about games that do and will happen. The keys to the game are…

Special Teams: Edmonton’s powerplay looked more organized against Nashville compared to their games against Vancouver. Philadelphia’s penalty kill is ranked 22nd in the league. But if you don’t cheer for either the Oilers or the Flyers, it should be funny to watch the league’s 26th ranked PP and the league’s 32nd ranked PK duke it out at some point in the game. It’d be funnier if Philly’s PP was 32nd.

A Good Konec-tion: There was talk of the Oilers having an interest in Travis Konecny during the offseason. He missed 22 games last season but managed to put up 61 points. With a 5’10” frame, he’s kind of like Kailer Yamamoto, with more offensive upside. A smallish, feisty forward; Feistiness is always the essence of Flyers hockey.

More Confidence In Net: Jack Campbell will be making his second straight start, coming off the 43 save performance mentioned earlier. It was great for him to shake off his poor performance during the season opener, and now he’s tasked with building on his bounce-back performance. It’s still very early in the season, but consistency has always been a career trend for Campbell. You never know if the Soup will be hot or cold.