GAME RECAP: Oilers 3, Flyers 0

PHILADELPHIA, PA - It was a Broad Street blanking as Mikko Koskinen made 39 saves for his seventh win in eight starts and first shutout of the season, back-stopping the Oilers to a 3-0 victory.
Edmonton scored one goal each period as Leon Draisaitl lit the lamp on the power play in the first, Kailer Yamamoto made it 2-0 in the second and Connor McDavid hit the empty net in the third.

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FIRST BLOOD

The Oilers and Flyers traded a pair of power plays apiece in the opening frame and it was the visitors who capitalized first as Leon Draisaitl lifted a seeing-eye wrist shot from the point over the glove of Carter Hart for his 37th of the season, tying him with Toronto's Auston Matthews for the NHL goal-scoring lead. Darnell Nurse and Connor McDavid picked up the assists while Evander Kane provided the screen in front of Hart.

SAVE OF THE GAME

Mikko Koskinen put his six-foot-seven frame to good use with 8:40 to go in the second period as Joel Farabee attempted to execute a wrap-around after an initial shot by Ivan Provorov, but the Oilers netminder stretched out his left leg, pinned his skate against the far post and prevented what would have been Philadelphia's 1-1 equalizer.

TURNING POINT

Edmonton was generating steady pressure over the first two periods and finally got rewarded with their second goal of the game when Kailer Yamamoto crashed the crease on a mad scramble in front and converted his 11th of the season. Both Draisaitl and Kane had whacks at the puck before Yamamoto swooped in and scored in his return to the lineup after missing Sunday vs. Carolina with lower-body soreness, giving the Oilers an important insurance marker.

TOP PERFORMER

For the second time in four days, Koskinen was outstanding in net, following up his 44-save effort from Saturday's win over the Florida Panthers with his first shutout of the season.

FAST FACTS

Edmonton has a perfect 17-0-0 record this season when scoring the game's first goal.
Draisaitl's goal and assist gave him 16 points in 11 career games against the Flyers.
Koskinen now has six career shutouts, earning his first since Nov. 8, 2019 vs. New Jersey.
McDavid's goal and assist gave him sole possession of the NHL scoring lead with 77 points.

PARTING WORDS

Head Coach Jay Woodcroft on Koskinen's performance:
"When called upon, Mikko came up big. I think he's inspiring a lot of confidence in the group."
Koskinen on the team's overall defensive play vs. Philadelphia:
"We played really well defensive-wise. We gave them shots but they all kind of came from the outside and we did a good job boxing them out. I'm super happy for the boys today."

Draisaitl on Oilers goaltending over the last three games:
"When we play that way, the way that we've been playing, that tight-checking, teams are going to have a hard time scoring on us and we've got all the trust in the world in both goalies."
Woodcroft on Yamamoto returning to the lineup and scoring:
"He's an important piece of our team. Not having him in Carolina hurt us. Yamo gives us energy on the forecheck, he's relentless on the back-check, and I think he's underrated physical ... He has a high hockey IQ and is willing to pay a price to score. You don't go to where he went to to get that goal unless you're brave."
Draisaitl on playing at the arena in which he was drafted in 2014:
"There are a lot of great memories. This was the first really big day of my career."