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Playing their first game of the 2026 calendar year, Rick Tocchet’s Philadelphia Flyers (21-12-7) earned a solid 5-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers (21-16-6) on Saturday afternoon. A three-goal explosion in the first period and a strong closeout in the final frame paced the win. The Flyers completed a five-game road trip with a 3-2-0 record. They now return home before playing the Anaheim Ducks (21-17-3) on Tuesday night.
Denver Barkey (1st NHL goal), Travis Sanheim (4th), Bobby Brink (11th), Nick Seeler (1st) and Owen Tippett (ENG, 13th) scored for the Flyers. Dan Vladar turned in another stellar game in net, making 22 of 24 shots. It was more about the quality of the saves than the quantity of saves the Flyers goaltender made that set the victory apart.
Connor McDavid had a breakaway goal (25th) and an assist for the Oilers. Evan Bouchard (PPG, 8th) had the other Oilers’ goal. Calvin Pickard (24 saves on 28 shots) took the loss in goal. Here’s the good, the bad, and the ugly from Saturday’s game.
The good
- The entire trio of Sean Couturier (two assists, 11 for 20 on faceoffs, six shots on goal, nine shot attempts in 15:37 of ice time), Barkey (goal, 14:11 TOI), and Tippett (two points, two shots, two hits, 15:58 TOI) had a strong game. Meanwhile, Barkey both started and finished the play that got Philly rolling in the first period. It started with a good play deep in the defensive zone and ended with a goal at the Edmonton net.
- For the second time this season, the Flyers rendered superstar forward Leon Draisaitl a non-factor in a game. On this day, he was minus-three with one shot on goal. Back on November 12, the Flyers held Draisaitl without even a single shot attempt.
- If you look at the goals the Flyers scored, the tallies came about through a combination of getting bodies and pucks to the net. The Brink goal was a deflection off the heel of the player’s skate, for example. Philly also had a good day in terms of turning defense into transition offense.
- Most of the attention on the blueline went to Sanheim (23:20 TOI, goal, five blocked shots). However, fellow Olympian Rasmus Ristolainen (plus-two, timely blocked shot, 19:16 TOI) also deserved notice for his play. Meanwhile, Cam York (24:36 TOI, one assist, +2, two shots, one block) led all Philadelphia players in ice time.
- The Flyers took a skinny 3-2 lead into the final period. Thereafter, they proceeded to hold the Oilers without a single shot on goal for the first half of the period. Finally, at the 9:09 mark, Seeler provided some breathing room. It was especially nice to see Seeler get his first goal after he had one disallowed in Calgary on New Year’s Eve.
- Carl Grundstrom (three hits, five shot attempts in 11:54 TOI) didn’t score in this game. However, he had a strong game.
- Vladar…enough said. Philly had some rough patches in the first and second periods. McDavid was in his beast mode all day (six shots on goal, nine shot attempts). Meanwhile, to contain the superstar to one breakaway goal and assist on day where he easily could have had four or five points was a small victory.
The bad
- There were a few times in the game where things threatened to go sideways. The Oilers climbed back to 3-2 after trailing 3-0. Philly took some low-percentage risks that didn’t result in any damage. However, some bad giveaways and ill-timed icings created dangerous situations. Fortunately, Vladar stepped up and the defensive structure held for the most part.
- The Flyers third period power play was nearly a negative turning point. Philly was just happy not to get scored on. McDavid took over the play. Philly was 0-for-2 on the man advantage. They lost the overall special teams battle (1-0) but it could have been worse.
The ugly
- Sanheim’s giveaway — on a very ill-advised cross-ice pass attempt — resulted directly in McDavid’s breakaway goal. The Flyers’ saw their 3-0 lead reduced in the first period. Meanwhile, the Oilers gained life after the Flyers seized control and silenced the crowd.
- Matvei Michkov, like Sanheim, had a pretty good day overall. However, Michkov took a careless high-sticking penalty that put the Oilers on their first power play in the second period. Edmonton (33.3% on the power play this season) promptly turned it into Bouchard’s goal. The Oilers cut the Philly lead to 3-2.
- Philly’s overall 12 charged giveaways was not an egregious stat. Nevertheless, there were several egregious turnovers along the way: Vladar, Travis Konecny, Sanheim, Trevor Zegras (who also got away with a pair of diagonal passes that nearly got picked off) and Tippett all caused some anxious moments.That said, Philly escaped all but the Sanheim mistake. Moreover, the mistakes didn’t compound.
- Before Tippett iced the win with his empty netter, the Flyers iced the puck twice. The second was a long-distance empty net attempt that narrowly missed. The first, however, was a blown call. The puck crept and crawled along the snowy playing surface and was easily retrievable from the dot down. The Oilers received a gift offensive zone faceoff. Thankfully, it proved to be a non-issue.
Summit Adjusters Peak Performer: Sean Couturier
Vladar and the goal scorers deserved their kudos. Saturday’s game was one Barkey in particular will never forget. Nevertheless, in this observer’s view, Flyers captain Couturier was the key driver of this win among the Philly skaters. The other three Philly lines were more than adequate on this day. However, there was one line that truly stood out on a day otherwise dominated individually by McDavid. That was Couturier’s line. In particular, the Philadelphia captain played a huge part in why McDavid was a mere 5-for-18 on faceoffs.
Flyers postgame reaction
Head Coach Rick Tocchet
Flyers rookie winger Denver Barkey
Flyers goaltender Dan Vladar
Phantoms: Bjarnason backstops victory
A 25-save performance from rookie goaltender Carson Bjarnason helped the Lehigh Valley Phantoms extend their point streak to five games. On Saturday, John Snowden’s team (17-11-4) skated to a 3-1 road win over the Belleville Senators in the Flyers farm team’s first game of the 2026 calendar year.
Moreover, Lehigh Valley received offensive help from the blueline on Saturday. Defensive defenseman Ty Murchison (2nd goal of the season) and Helge Grans (3rd) each contributed a goal to the cause. Later, Jacob Gaucher (7th) built a 3-0 lead for the Phantoms. The lone Belleville goal was a third period power play tally by Arthur Kaliyev (21st) assisted by former Phantoms/Flyers forward Olle Lycksell.
With the win, the Phantoms moved back into a third-place tie in the Atlantic Division with the Charlotte Checkers. The return of rookie Alex Bump from injury bolsters the Lehigh Valley lineup. So does the arrival of Philip Tomasino. acquired in the Egor Zamula trade with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Side note: Pittsburgh suspended Zamula for his refusal to report to their Wilkes-Barre/Scranton farm team.
The Phantoms are right back in action on Sunday. Snowden’s squad pays a visit to the Toronto Marlies. Toronto brings a five-game winning streak into the tilt. Look for Aleksei Kolosov, coming off a shutout in his last game, to get the start in goal.
WJC: Semifinals set
The single-elimination semifinal games of the 2025-26 IIHF World Junior championship are set for Sunday. Five Flyers draftees remain in the tournament. Meanwhile, it’s guaranteed that at least one will come home with no less than a silver medal.
- Sweden vs. Finland. The traditional hockey arch-rivals renew hostilities at 4:30 p.m. EST. Swedish team captain Jack Berglund and Finnish forwards Heikki Ruohonen and Max Westergard have all had a strong tournament for their respective national teams. From a Flyers’ standpoint, it will be particularly interesting when centers Berglund and Ruohonen face off against one another.
- Canada vs. Czechia. The Finns’ overtime win against Team USA in the quarterfinal game prevented any chance of a much-anticipated Canada vs. USA gold medal game. It also eliminated Shane Vansaghi from the tournament. Meanwhile, Team Canada captain Porter Martone and fellow Flyers first-round pick Jett Luchanko play on into the semifinal.
