Michael Raffl scores Ilya Bryzgalov for the game-winning goal in the shootout of the Flyers 4-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers. (Photo Courtesy of ESPN.com)
A rusty first period allowed Ilya Bryzgalov and the Edmonton Oilers to shine while the Philadelphia Flyers struggled. That was the benefit of playing the night before for Edmonton.
But once the Flyers found their legs, they found the ability to create chances. Penalties proved crucial. The Flyers used two power-play goals in the second to even the score. In the third, it was a power play goal on a bad penalty by Kimmo Timonen that allowed the Oilers to retake the lead.
But Timonen drew a penalty and another Edmonton penalty followed soon after, giving the Flyers a golden opportunity to tie the game. They did, which led to overtime.
There were plenty of dicey situations in the third – the Oilers hit the post three times – but the Flyers survived the flurry of close calls and won in a shootout, getting the better of their former goaltender with a 4-3 win at Rexall Place in Edmonton.
It didn't take long for the Oilers to get on the board. A bad turnover by Braydon Coburn allowed Taylor Hall to move in alone and score just 32 seconds into the game.
Just over four minutes into the game, the Oilers struck again off a rush by Ryan Nugent-Hopkins, who beat Steve Mason for his 10th goal of the season.
The Flyers found an answer in the second. After a slugish first period, the Flyers turned things up, out-shooting the Oilers, 14-3, in the second. On a pair of power plays, the Flyers managed to tie the game.
A shot by Claude Giroux was deflected by Wayne Simmonds to cut the Edmonton lead to one at 3:37. At 12:13, Simmonds was on the end of a nice pass from Jake Voracek.
A power play chance for Edmonton in the third allowed the Oilers to regain the lead. Good passing on the attack started to open up lanes for the Oilers. David Perron was looking to make a pass across ice. In an attempt to cut off the pass, Nick Grossmann slid across the ice and toward the crease. Perron's pass deflected off Grossmann and past Mason.
While on a two-man advantage, the Flyers tied the game on another deflection. A shot from Timonen at the point was tipped by Scott Hartnell to even the score at three with 5:32 remaining.
The Flyers again out-shot the Oilers, 11-4, in the third and 2-1 in overtime before the game went to a shootout.
Jordan Eberle scored on the first attempt of the shootout for Edmonton while Bryzgalov stoned Vincent Lecavalier with a great glove save on the Flyers first attempt.
Mason stopped Perron in the second round while Giroux beat Bryzgalov through the five-hole to tie the score.
Finally, Mason forced Sam Gagner to fire a shot wide giving Michael Raffl the chance to win the game in his first career shootout attempt.
Raffl walked in slowly on Bryzgalov and waited him out before scoring top shelf to win the game.
The Flyers improved to 18-16-4 on the season with the win and opened the six-game road trip by snapping a four-game losing streak in Edmonton.
Giroux and Voracek joined Simmonds and Hartnell in extending their individual point streaks. Voracek's streak is now up to nine games while Giroux reached eight. Simmonds, who tied a Flyers record with his third straight two-goal game, now has points in five straight games and Hartnell has points in three.
The Flyers continue the road trip with a stop in Vancouver on Monday against the Canucks.
Kevin Durso is the lead beat writer for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on twitter @KDursoPhilsNet.
