The game might as well have ended after 20 minutes.
It may have been just a 1-0 deficit for the Flyers after the first period. But after facing an arsenal of 19 shots from the Oilers, the Flyers had it coming in the later periods.
49 shots for Oilers managed four goals, barely enough for a 4-2 win over the Flyers on Tuesday night at Rexall Place. The loss was the fifth straight for the Flyers.
The Oilers dominated the first period. Taking 19 shots to the Flyers two, it was stellar play from Michal Neuvirth that nearly kept the game tied all the way through the first 20 minutes.
It wasn't until there were 3.2 seconds left in the period, on the second half of a Brandon Manning double-minor, that the Oilers finally scored and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins scored from the side of the net to give the Oilers the lead.
The Flyers responded with a strong second period. Despite getting outshot, 17-13, the Flyers scored the only two goals in the period.
In the first 35 seconds of the period, the Flyers took four shots. The fourth was a rebound chance for Scott Laughton, who beat Anders Nilsson to tie the game.
At 12:59, a long shot by Ryan White hit off an Edmonton defenseman and found the net to give the Flyers the lead. Radko Gudas got the primary assist for his first point as a Flyer. The secondary assist went to Neuvirth.
Toward the end of the second, a collision along the boards involving Connor McDavid, Michael Del Zotto and Manning left the rookie phenom reaching for his shoulder in pain. McDavid left the game and did not return.
In the third, the Oilers returned to their first-period form. Outshooting the Flyers, 7-2, the Oilers finally managed to tie the game at 6:13. A high shot by Andrej Sekera sailed over the net off Mark Streit's stick and bounced off the glass and onto the stick of Matt Hendricks for the easy equalizer.
1:27 later, Taylor Hall threw a backhand shot on goal that hit Del Zotto's skate and went in to give the Oilers the lead.
Nugent-Hopkins added his second goal of the game into an empty net in the final minute.
Neuvirth finished with 45 saves as the Oilers outshot the Flyers for the game, 49-22.
The Flyers fifth straight loss dropped them to 4-6-2 on the season. During the losing streak, the Flyers have allowed 19 goals while scoring just eight.
The Flyers return to action on Thursday night when they continue the Canadian road trip against the Calgary Flames. The opening face-off is set for 9 p.m.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
