YOUR GAME-DAY ESSENTIALS
BY THE NUMBERS
2015-16 Head-to-Head: Oilers vs. Flyers
Oilers/Flyers Stats Comparison
Game Notes: Oilers at Flyers
2016-17 Oilers Player Statistics
2016-17 Flyers Player Statistics
2016-17 NHL Standings
GAME DAY VIDEO
OILERS TODAY | Tom Gazzola reports on the key storylines prior to tonight's game
PRE-GAME RAW | Simpson
PRE-GAME RAW | Letestu
PRE-GAME RAW | Russell
PRE-GAME RAW | Oilers head coach Todd McLellan
WEDNESDAY'S VIDEOS
THE PANEL | Presented by Sport Chek
PRACTICE | Wednesday in Philadelphia
PRACTICE RAW | Lucic
PRACTICE RAW | Oilers head coach Todd McLellan
MINORS MINUTE | Bear stays hot
WEDNESDAY'S BLOGS & ARTICLES
BLOG: Lucic on the schedule grind
BLOG: McLellan clarifies late game timeout call
BLOG: Oilers short on the blueline
Oilers recall Musil
MORE INFORMATION
You can watch tonight's game within the Oilers region on Sportsnet Oilers.
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Injury Report
Set your lineup for tonight with Oilers Fantasy Hockey
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Inside The Oilers Blog

INSIDE THE OILERS

David Musil recalled plus news and notes from Wednesday's Oilers practice and media availability.
>> READ MORE IN THE INSIDE THE OILERS BLOG

PRE-GAME REPORT

PHILADELPHIA, PA - After a heartbreaking overtime loss on Tuesday in Buffalo, the Oilers road trip continues with a stop in Philadelphia. It's the first of back-to-back games and as a result Jonas Gustavsson will get the start in goal tonight.
Mark Fayne was injured in Buffalo and as a result, Dillon Simpson will be making his NHL debut.
"It'll be an exciting night and a great opportunity for him," said Oilers head coach Todd McLellan. "As I mentioned yesterday, our organization is really getting tested right now as far as depth on the blueline goes. It's much better now than it was awhile ago and that's why it's built that way."
McLellan added that the team has a lot of confidence in the way Simpson will perform in his first career game.
"Last year at training camp (he was) a little bit banged up and didn't really put himself on the map. This year throughout training camp he found a way to get on the map. We have a lot more confidence in him now than we did then."
Simpson will likely pair up with Matt Benning and the duo will be expected to move the puck quickly out of their end.
"We've seen him enough now, and he's been up with us for about three weeks, to know that he's a heady player. He sees the ice well, he moves pucks. His downfall is going to be a lack of experience. Anybody that plays their first game in the League qualifies that way."
Simpson added that he's feeling nervousness and excitement for the game tonight.
"A lot of emotions. I've gotta try to stay level-headed through all this. At the end of the day I just want to play my game and have a positive impact on the game tonight," said Simpson. "I was always a die-hard Oilers fan and it was a dream come true to be drafted here. This is just another step in that process but it's very exciting."
Coach McLellan talked about his thought process on the defence pairings tonight.
"We have five that have obviously played a lot," he noted. "I liked our pairings when we were consistent. When we maybe moved one guy in and out because of injuries. Now we're in flux. But I liked Russell on the right side. I thought he and Sekera were a nice pair. I thought most nights Klef and Lars were able to man the fort fairly well, both offensively and defensively. You may see those pairs together a little bit more tonight and then work the others through.
"Benning has been such a pleasant surprise for our team. The amount of minutes he gets to the type of production he gives us within those minutes, it's been really good to have him."
CHANGES UP FRONT
With some bodies not skating this morning, including Pat Maroon, the forward lines and skaters for this game are not apparent. It appears Benoit Pouliot may draw back into the lineup and Anton Slepyshev appears to be out but nothing is really certain, perhaps not even in the coach's mind.
"We need to get through the morning skate - I haven't even put lines up in the room today - just to find out where a few of our players are with injuries and illness."

Drake Caggiula did wear a blue jersey which indicates top two lines and the strong possibility that he will line up on the right side with Milan Lucic and Connor McDavid.
"When you're playing with Connor you have to realize just how fast he is and how he just makes plays all over the ice," said Caggiula. "You've got to be ready for the puck at all times because you never know when it's going to come to you. He does a lot of things other people won't try to do or they can't do them. You've just got to be prepared for that and be ready at all times."
FLYERS SURGING
Coach McLellan talked about how well the Flyers have played lately, having won six straight.
"They're a team that's confident right now," he said. "They feel very good in the offensive zone and make things happen. Their goaltender's been able to make saves for them that keep them confident going the other way. They're just a team that's on the rise."
Philadelphia also has second-best power play in the NHL at 23.8%.
"They have a power play that's deadly and it really hasn't changed, it's just clicking. They have a couple of trigger points. Obviously Simmonds has the most goals in the League and I think Giroux has the most points (on the power play) but there's other pieces on that power play that are exceptional.
"In my opinion, it's as much the penalties as the penalty kill. We've got to stay out of the box."
-- Marc Ciampa, edmontonoilers.com

PREVIEW

OILERS (14-10-4) at FLYERS (15-10-3)
TV: 5:00 p.m. MT; Televised on Sportsnet Oilers
Head-to-Head:
This is the first of two meetings meeting between the Oilers and Flyers this season and the lone game in Philadelphia. These teams will face each other again in Edmonton on February 16th.
The last time these teams met was on March 3rd in Philadelphia, where the Oilers shut out the Flyers 4-0. Cam Talbot stopped all 35 shots for the shutout.
Oilers team scope:
Connor McDavid has led the NHL in scoring since Nov. 22 and at one point during all three months this season. In total, McDavid has led the league in scoring for 26 of the first 55 days of the season (Oct.- 9, Nov.-10, Dec. - 7. He currently has a seven point lead on Tampa Bay's Nikita Kucherov.
The last time that a player under 20 years old led the NHL in scoring at this point in the season was in 2006-07, when Sidney Crosby, also as a 19 year old, led the league in scoring. Crosby would go on to win the scoring race.
The Oilers continue to own the NHL's best road record, with 8 wins, 4 losses and 3 overtime losses, for 19 points and a .633 winning percentage.
On the road, the Oilers also have the most goals (48), shots on goal (475), power play goals (13), the second best power play (28.9%) and the second best team shooting percentage (10.1%).
Flyers team scope:
Philadelphia is one of the hottest teams in the NHL right now, having won six straight games to vault into the second wild card position in the Eastern Conference.
This is despite the Flyers being in a rough point in their schedule. The Oilers are in the middle of playing five games in seven days and 18 games in 32 days, but Philadelphia is also in a tough stretch.
The Flyers are in the midst of seven games over the first 11 days of December, and a larger stretch where they play 12 games in 20 days between Nov. 22 and Dec. 11. That nearly three-week period is the stretch the Flyers are going between two-day breaks in their schedule, with the most recent one coming Nov. 20-21 and the next one coming Dec. 12-13.
Wayne Simmonds has 15 goals and 26 points on the season to lead the Flyers in scoring. Claude Giroux is second on the team with 25 points (7 goals, 18 assists).
Goaltender Steve Mason has won each of his last five starts. He's stopped 162 of 171 shots during that stretch, for a .947 save percentage.