Simmonds helps Flyers defeat Oilers

PHILADELPHIA --Wayne Simmonds scored with 2:15 remaining to help the Philadelphia Flyers defeat the Edmonton Oilers 2-1 at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday.
Valtteri Filppula carried the puck through the offensive zone and slid it to Simmonds, who scored his Flyers-leading sixth of the season from the lower right circle. Simmonds is tied with Brandon Saad of the Chicago Blackhawks for the NHL lead with four game-winning goals.

WATCH: [All Oilers vs. Flyers highlights]
Simmonds sat out the final 8:12 of the third period of a 5-1 win against the Florida Panthers on Tuesday because of a lower-body injury and then was hit in the face by the stick of Nashville Predators defenseman Mattias Ekholm when he was sitting on the bench during the second period of a 1-0 loss Thursday.
"He's a big vocal guy in our room," Flyers forward Scott Laughton said. "He leads by example too. We follow him. I thought he did a great job tonight battling through it."
Simmonds played with a full visor and jaw guard on his helmet. He said he spent about four hours at the dentist Friday, including two root canals, and will need more work.
"They'll get pulled eventually," he said of his teeth. "They're there for now. We'll see how many die over the next couple days. Was a tough one."
Claude Giroux scored and Brian Elliott made 23 saves for Philadelphia (5-3-0).
Patrick Maroon scored late in the second period for the Oilers (2-5-0), and Cam Talbot made 22 saves. Edmonton has lost five of its past six games (1-5-0).

The Oilers scored one goal in regulation in each of their past two games. They defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1 in overtime on Thursday. Forward Leon Draisaitl, who was eighth in the NHL in scoring last season (77 points), practiced Friday but missed his fourth straight game because of an eye injury and concussion symptoms.
"We're cleaning up the defensive part, which is a start for us," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "Now we've got to get some of the offensive part going. Perhaps a couple players will be back in the lineup to make us a little quicker and maybe a little more skilled than we are right now. If not, this group has to get it done."
Maroon tied the game 1-1 when he stole the puck from rookie Nolan Patrick in the right corner in the Flyers zone, deked around defenseman Robert Hagg and sent a low shot past Elliott's pads at 15:37.
Giroux's power-play goal gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead at 3:36 of the first period. Shayne Gostisbehere's shot from the left point deflected off Simmonds in front of the net to Giroux near the left post.

Goal of the game

Flyers forward Jori Lehtera started the play that led to the winner, carrying the puck into the Oilers zone and dropping it for Filppula. He cut through the zone, drew the defense and created space for Simmonds, who beat Elliott to the glove side.

Save of the game

At 4:16 of the second period, Oilers center Connor McDavid carried the puck down the left side on a 2-on-1, faked a shot to create space for himself then took a shot that Elliott kicked away.

Highlight of the game

Jakub Voracek started the play that led to Giroux's goal when he found a seam in the offensive zone for a diagonal pass from the right corner to Gostisbehere at the left point.

They said it

"I think the last three games … our game has been a lot better, so we have to keep going. We can't get down on ourselves. This was a tough one, but we have to move on." -- Oilers defenseman Adam Larsson
"We had a little trouble scoring last game. We wanted to come out and put some pressure on them and I think we did that early. We were patient. I don't think guys really panicked in here when it was 1-1. I thought we knew we were going to come back and win that." -- Flyers goalie Brian Elliott

Need to know

McDavid was held without a point for the second time in seven games this season. He missed about five minutes midway through the first period when he was hit in the face by a stick. … The Oilers have allowed the first goal in five straight games. … The Flyers are 5-0-0 when scoring first. … Referee Ian Walsh worked his 1,000th NHL game.

What's next

Oilers:At the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, TVA Sports, ATTSN-PT, NHL.TV)
Flyers: Host the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; NBCSP, PRIME, NHL.TV)