Flyers blow a late lead and fall to the Edmonton Oilers, 4-2

EDMONTON, Alberta — Heading into the third period with a 2-1 lead over the Edmonton Oilers, the Flyers needed to stay out of the box and continue play smart defensively to pick up a second consecutive win. Instead, they slipped.

The Flyers conceded three goals in the final frame, one from center Leon Draisaitl on the power play, the game-winner from superstar Connor McDavid, and then an empty-netter from McDavid, in their eventual 4-2 defeat to the Oilers on Tuesday night at Rogers Place. Through the first 40 minutes of the game, the Flyers kept the Oilers at bay, limiting them to just 10 shots total. But the third period saw the Oilers surge, as they peppered Sherwood Park, Alberta native Carter Hart with 17 shots.

“I’m proud of the team,” coach John Tortorella said. “We don’t find a way to finish the game. The penalties — that was a key thing on our first time we played them was staying out of the box. Hurt us tonight.”

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Six minutes into the third period, rookie winger Olle Lycksell was called for a four-minute high sticking penalty to put the Oilers on their fourth power play of the night. The Oilers struck quickly, as Draisaitl notched his 700th career point on a backdoor goal off of a cross-ice feed from center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins to tie the game.

The Flyers earned a late power play and coach John Tortorella opted to pull Hart to go 6-on-4, but McDavid quickly scored an empty netter to ice the game. They finished the four-game road trip 1-3-0.

When the Flyers defeated the Oilers in a shootout, 2-1, on Feb. 9, they were not called for any penalties in regulation or overtime. To boost their odds at success against the Oilers and their league-best power play on Tuesday, the Flyers would need to continue to play clean and avoid taking up residency in the sin bin. However, in the waning seconds of the first period, winger Joel Farabee clipped Oilers defenseman Evan Bouchard with a high stick and the Oilers headed to the power play for the first time this season against the Flyers.

As Draisaitl won the face-off against center Patrick Brown, he immediately passed the puck back to Oilers defenseman Tyson Barrie at the point. Barrie snapped a wrist shot past Hart to tie the game, 1-1, just three seconds into the man advantage. Through 60 minutes, the Oilers went 2-for-4 on the power play.

“You’re not going to stay out of box every game and you’re going to have to handle the adversity that comes your way throughout a game,” winger Owen Tippett said. “You’re going to have to handle it one way or another. I think five-on-five, we were right in it.”

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The Flyers did their best to stifle the Oilers on the forecheck, not only to limit their scoring chances, but also to create some offensive zone time of their own. With 8 1/2 minutes remaining in the second period, Oilers defenseman Philip Broberg attempted to break the puck out of his own zone. However, Lycksell checked him, knocking the puck loose. Center Kevin Hayes collected the puck along the wall and found Tippett driving to the net, tapping a shot past Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner to pull the Flyers back ahead, 2-1.

In turn, Lycksell picked up his first NHL point in his sixth game. The Flyers outshot the Oilers in the first period (9-5) and the second (7-5) thanks to their tight checking.

“Just wanted to be above,” winger Noah Cates said. “Thought we had success the last time we played them, being above or just having the puck down low in their offensive zone so they couldn’t generate any offense. And I thought for the most part, we did that tonight.”

With leading goal-scorer Travis Konecny out of the lineup due to an upper-body injury, the Flyers needed an offensive boost from the rest of their skaters to overcome the Oilers. Cates, known for his two-way talent, had been chipping in offensively on the Flyers’ road trip going into Tuesday night (three assists), and he continued to produce in the first period.

Halfway through the opening frame after a Flyers power play had expired, winger Nicolas Deslauriers sent the puck deep into the Oilers’ zone. Winger Wade Allison won a battle along the boards for the puck and passed it behind the net for Cates. He beat Skinner with a wraparound goal to put the Flyers up, 1-0. Both Cates and Allison combined on the forecheck later to keep the play alive in their own zone, leading to a shot on goal by defenseman Nick Seeler.

The Flyers return to the Wells Fargo Center on Friday to face off against the Montreal Canadiens at 7 p.m. (NBC Sports Philadelphia).