The Edmonton Oilers return to NHL action Saturday with Connor McDavid riding a historic high after clinching the 4 Nations Face-Off championship for Canada with an overtime winner against Team USA. All eyes now turn to Philadelphia where McDavid’s Oilers face the struggling Flyers in a crucial matinee matchup at Wells Fargo Center.
Fresh off his golden goal Thursday night, McDavid joins an Oilers squad looking to extend their Pacific Division lead. The captain’s heroics came just 48 hours before puck drop in Philadelphia, where teammates watched his championship-clinching moment together at their team hotel. “We went pretty nuts when that went in,” said Ryan Nugent-Hopkins about McDavid’s tournament winner. “You don’t really doubt that he’s going to do something like that”.
Edmonton enters with several advantages:
- Leon Draisaitl leads the NHL with 40 goals, recording four in his last three pre-break games
- Goalie Stuart Skinner boasts a 1.96 GAA lifetime against Philadelphia
- Flyers have lost five of their last six games while scoring just 1.56 goals per contest
The Oilers debut rookie forward Matt Savoie on the second line alongside Draisaitl and Vasily Podkolzin. The 21-year-old St. Albert native brings offensive flair from AHL Bakersfield where he recorded 37 points in 45 games. Philadelphia counters with struggling netminder Samuel Ersson (.896 SV%), creating prime conditions for Edmonton’s high-powered offense.
This marks the second meeting between these teams this season. Edmonton won their October 15 matchup 4-3 in overtime when Draisaitl scored 56 seconds into extra time. Sportsbooks list Edmonton as -180 moneyline favorites with Draisaitl’s anytime goal prop at +105 odds.
