Flyers shut down Connor McDavid and the potent Oilers in a 4-1 win

The Flyers’ penalty kill was virtually flawless against one of the best power plays in the league as they rolled over the Edmonton Oilers, 4-1, on Thursday night.

The Flyers (3-1-0) shut down Connor McDavid and the Oilers’ power play twice, while Sean Walker added a short-handed goal. McDavid didn’t even record a shot on net on Thursday, marking the first time he’s been held without a shot since March 28 against the Vegas Golden Knights — his only such game last season.

“I thought tonight we checked well,” head coach John Tortorella said. “I thought we were clean through the neutral zone; didn’t turn many over. You just can’t turn it over with that team.”

Joel Farabee tallied his second goal of the season, while Cam Atkinson added a pair. Zach Hyman scored the Oilers’ lone goal in the second period.

The Flyers’ young core showed no fear of the playoff-tested Oilers (1-3-0) roster, ramping up the pressure early in the first period. Farabee and Tyson Foerster had multiple chances in the slot, and Cam York deked out Oilers defenseman Mattias Ekholm, but had his shot gloved by Jack Campbell. It was Farabee who broke through first, thanks to a slick pass through traffic from Bobby Brink that set him up with an open net.

Brink picked up his first point of the season and the fifth of his career with the primary assist. He came inches away from his first NHL goal in the second period on a wraparound attempt that was turned aside at the goal line.

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Owen Tippett showed off his playmaking ability and his chemistry with his linemate, Atkinson. In the second period, Tippett spun away from a defender on the low boards and found Atkinson in front of the net with a backhand pass.

In the third period, Tippett hit Atkinson with a pass ahead of the Oilers’ defensemen, sending him on a breakaway where he deked out Campbell for his second goal of the night.

“[Tippett is] so highly skilled, and especially him playing on his off wing, he’s getting more and more comfortable out there,” Atkinson said. “Hopefully we continue to get better and build our chemistry and build our confidence.”

Scott Laughton said before the game that the team had discussed the importance of keeping the Oilers’ power play unit off the ice. The team was successful in that objective until midway through the second period, when York was sent off with a holding penalty.

But the Flyers’ penalty kill was able to neutralize the threat, thanks to strong rebound control from Carter Hart. Atkinson came up big as well, blocking two of McDavid’s shot attempts.

“I think it’s just having good sticks, having bodies in the right lanes,” Sean Couturier said.

With the Flyers down a man again later in the period after a tripping call to Atkinson, Walker sniped his goal off a setup from Couturier that put the Flyers up, 3-1.

“He made a great pass to me, and I felt like I got a lot of room. So just skated up there,” Walker said. “I felt like they backtracked pretty hard; I’m not even sure who it was with me, but felt like I had a good shot and took it, and, luckily, it went in.”

While the Flyers’ penalty kill was sharp, their power play was lethargic, and mustered four shots on net over four opportunities with the extra man.

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The Flyers lined Couturier up against McDavid for the majority of his faceoffs, and the matchup worked out in the home team’s favor. McDavid had an overall weak performance on Thursday. Though he did collect a secondary assist on Hyman’s second-period goal for the Oilers, it also was McDavid’s turnover that turned into Walker’s shorthanded tally.

“[Couturier] played every shift against [McDavid] except one, and he scored. It was after a power play, because Sean was on power play with some different people, but he played every shift,” Tortorella said. “And if I didn’t give him a shift, he was probably looking over his shoulder at me, wanting to get back out there.”

The Flyers kept former Hart Trophy winner Leon Draisaitl off the score sheet entirely.

Noah Cates had a big night in the dot, going 11-4 for a 73% faceoff percentage. Cates has struggled with draws in the past after converting from winger last season.

“It’s something he’s talked about he wants to be better at,” Tortorella said. “[He] had a really good night. They were clean wins, a lot of those, and he was our best guy.”

Marc Staal left the game midway through the second period with an upper-body injury after getting tangled up with an Oilers player and colliding with the boards. Tortorella did not have an update on Staal postgame.

The Flyers head out west, taking on the Dallas Stars on Saturday (8 p.m., ESPN+).