Five Thoughts After the Flyers’ 6-3 Win vs. the Edmonton Oilers

The Philadelphia Flyers played a dominating final 30 minutes of hockey Saturday afternoon en route to their 6-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers.

Impactful performances from the entire Couturier line and a solid defensive effort, among other things, helped lead the Flyers to victory.

Here are five thoughts on the Flyers win:

The Couturier Line

I could sit here all night and talk about this line. While I would not have expected Sean Couturier to be the right center for Matvei Michkov, Saturday afternoon may have proven me wrong.

Let’s start with the overall game from the line. Owen Tippett, Sean Couturier, and Matvei Michkov were each +5 on the day. They were responsible for a combined eight of the Flyers’ 14 points in the game. 13 of the Flyers’ 32 shots on goal came from the Couturier line. The line also made few mistakes, only turning the puck over twice; both were Michkov. Couturier (2) and Tippett (1) combined for three of the Flyers four takeaways in the game as well. A near-perfect game for the Couturier line.

Couturier remains a tremendous defensive center. Combine that with the offensive explosiveness that both Michkov and Tippett bring, and the line can be extremely dangerous. It was by far the most entertaining line to watch. They certainly earned themselves another run together.

Michkov an Oiler Killer?

The season series vs Edmonton is complete. Looking back at the two games, Matvei Michkov has five points against Edmonton.

Michkov tallied his first two NHL goals against the Oilers in the first meeting between the two teams. Both scores came on the power play. In his second career game against Edmonton, Michkov had an early-first-period goal and two helpers in the second period. That gives Michkov five points with three goals and two assists in his career vs. the Oilers.

It is way too early in his career to call Michkov a killer of any team; five points in two games against a team with two generational talents is undoubtedly a start.

Michkov’s Stats vs. Edmonton

2GP, 3G, 2A, 5P, +4, 9 shots on goal, 32:31 TOI

Flyers Win the Faceoff Battle

The Flyers have not been bad, but it certainly has not been great this season.

Winning the faceoff battle was big for the Flyers’ efforts on Saturday. At five-on-five, the Flyers won 56% of the faceoffs. Breaking it down by period, the Flyers won 54% in the first, 58% in the second, and 57% in the third. It was dominance at the dot for the Flyers. The Flyers won 53% of the total draws, being dragged down by the shorthanded and power play faceoff percentages.

The Flyers won 60% of the faceoffs in their offensive zone, 50% in the defensive zone, and 50% in the neutral zone. Ryan Poehling led the Flyers in the dot, going 4-6 (67%). Noah Cates went 8-14 (57%). Cates’ 8 wins in the dot led the Flyers.

Ersson’s Poise

It was not Sam Ersson’s best performance. Ersson has been a storyline for the Flyers since the holiday break. He earned a chance to represent Sweden at the 4 Nations Face-Off, got his shot, and made the most of his lone start. He did not get a proper break; maybe that had to do with his shaky start. Regardless, Ersson gave up three goals in the first 30 minutes of the game.

After that, Ersson’s poise shined through. The Flyers’ netminder locked in and took control of his net. This time around, the defense around him put forward a great game, but Ersson kept calm and locked down after the Mattias Ekholm score.

At practice on Thursday, Ersson talked about his mentality between the pipes and the importance of knowing that he will let up goals. Well, he gave up three on Saturday. With the Oilers’ offensive threats, Saturday’s game could have gone a completely different direction. Instead, Ersson’s poise played a significant role.

Neutralizing McDavid

In the preview, I mentioned Edmonton’s world-class talent. Leon Draisaitl had a two-point game (1G, 1A), but he is not the focal point here.

The Flyers kept all-world superstar Connor McDavid clean off the scoresheet Saturday afternoon. McDavid, 28, plays at over a 1.5 point-per-game pace for his career. Keeping him off the scoresheet is impressive in its own right.

A good chunk of the credit has to go to Noah Cates and his linemates, Tyson Foerster and Bobby Brink. That line saw a lot of time against the Oilers’ top unit, and Cates and company did a great job making McDavid’s day harder. Holding McDavid pointless is a big must to beat the Oilers with the amount of talent they have.