GAME RECAP: Oilers 2, Flyers 1 (OT)

PHILADELPHIA, PA – Back-to-back for Jack.

Forward Jack Roslovic scored 1:19 into overtime to lift the Edmonton Oilers to victory in sudden death for the second straight game, giving them a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday night in the first of back-to-back games to begin their seven-game road trip.

Matt Savoie had two assists, setting up Roslovic on a two-on-none in overtime for the decisive tally, and Evan Bouchard notched his fourth goal of the season late in the first period to open the scoring, where Connor McDavid picked up an assist to stretch his current point streak to six games (4G, 7A).

"We have a really mature team; a lot of guys who are really confident in their abilities," Savoie said. "The dressing room is really calm. I don't think guys get too down on themselves, which is a good thing. Guys play confidently, so when everyone's doing that, we can build off it."

The Oilers dominated for nearly 40 minutes of the game before Matvei Michkov made it 1-1 on the power play late in the second period, setting the stage for a tightly-contested final 20 minutes and Roslovic securing the extra point in overtime for a second straight game with his fifth goal of the campaign.

"We were playing great," Roslovic said. "They're a stingy defensive team, but I think we did a good job of staying patient and playing well defensively. For the second period, we dominated in their zone, so it's good to stack some wins."

Edmonton will continue its road trip with the second of back-to-back games on Thursday against the Columbus Blue Jackets.

GET THE FEET MOVING EARLY

Starting a seven-game stretch in 11 days on Wednesday night in Philadelphia – the Oilers' longest road trip since a nine-gamer in 2016-17 – meant they needed to get their feet moving early to get it started the right way.

After surviving two early chances from the Flyers, the second half of the opening period saw the Oilers hit their stride, registering seven straight shots against netminder Dan Vladar before scoring a late go-ahead goal courtesy of Evan Bouchard with 55 seconds remaining in the frame.

"The first five minutes, they had some really good scoring chances, and Stu made the saves," Head Coach Kris Knoblauch said. "Then after that first five minutes, we played much better."

Flyers forward Owen Tippett, searching for his first goal in 10 games, rang the post behind Stuart Skinner for an early let-off for Edmonton before defenceman Cam York let an odd-man rush go to waste by missing wide a few shifts later.

Jack Roslovic then set up Vasily Podkolzin on a two-on-one on the next trip up ice for the Oilers as the game began to open up past the five-minute mark, but the Oilers would carry the play for the rest of the period, starting with the night's first power play at 13:43 that was assessed to Nick Seeler for hooking.

For Connor McDavid, getting his feet moving in the first period was of more literal challenge as one of only two players left in the NHL (alongside Sidney Crosby) who still have their blades fixed to the bottom of their skates rather than detachable ones, which delayed the captain's arrival until the last 47 seconds of the power play because of an equipment issue.

Without McDavid on the ice and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins not in the lineup because of injury, Knoblauch turned to Isaac Howard and Trent Frederic, but the Oilers couldn't break through on the first opportunity for their red-hot man advantage (12-for-29 in the last 11 games).

The Oilers recorded the final six shots in the last 6:39 of the period and finished strong to break the deadlock in the last minute on Bouchard's third goal of the season, with McDavid registering an assist to push his personal point streak to six games (4G, 7A).

Matt Savoie, who recorded his first-career NHL assist in this fixture last season, fed McDavid down low for the captain to attempt a tight-angle shot, but the rebound found its way back to McDavid on the other side before he set up Bouchard in the slot for a short-side one-timer that beat Vladar to make it 1-0.

"It's been good to build some confidence and chemistry with [McDavid]," said Savoie, who started on the top line in the last two games.

"It's obviously a privilege to get to play with a guy at that level. Just the skill level he has and the ability to shake defenders off and beat guys one-on-one. Just try to get him the puck in good spots and be available."

FLYERS FEEL THE PUSH

Despite being dominated by the Oilers for much of the second period, a little 'brotherly love' from Flyers fans for their team and its first opportunity with the power play after the 10-minute mark of the frame had them fighting back to tie things up through 40 minutes.

It was a great period for the Oilers with plenty of possession in the Flyers' zone, hemming them in for a few long shifts spent defending for over a minute to bring down the boos from the Philadelphia faithful, who'll always let their team know when they're getting dominated with a bit of harsh love.

Those boos continued until the Flyers broke up a 16-0 shot streak for the Oilers at 11:17 of the middle frame, having their best push before the Oilers had another terrific shift that lasted over a minute and a half as Edmonton continued to apply pressure while leading in shots 24-6 midway through.

"They did a good job on 16 straight shots against and stayed true to who they are," Roslovic said. "We had to stay opportunistic, stay confident and know when our time came to score, we'd get one."

Despite the boos, the Flyers still only trailed by one and were given a power-play opportunity when Jake Walman was called for a high stick on Owen Tippett with 5:22 left in the frame. Matvei Michkov tied things up 1-1 by scoring in his third straight game with a wrist shot through traffic from the left circle.

Michkov had one goal in his first 13 games before his current three-game scoring streak, and the Oilers hadn't allowed a PPG for 10 straight penalty kills.

"I thought we did a really good job sticking with it," Savoie said. "I thought the second period, we controlled the play a lot. We had a lot of possession, lots of looks in their zone, but it just wasn't going in for us. I thought we did a good job sticking with it in the third and then obviously into overtime."

ORANGE ALERT

The margins were razor-thin during a third period between the Oilers and Flyers, who'd played to a combined 14 one-goal games this campaign, and so too were the offside reviews after the Oilers escaped late heartbreak by a mere fraction of a step too early taken by Owen Tippett at the blueline late in regulation.

The Oilers needed a massive penalty kill with 5:35 left in regulation after Trent Frederic ran over goaltender Dan Vladar for an interference penalty that put the Flyers back on the power play with an opportunity to find the one goal each of these teams needed to be the difference in a closely-contested final frame.

Stuart Skinner made two huge saves in tight against Bobby Brink that came from Trevor Zegras' quick pass from along the goal line, as the Oilers cleared their lines and escaped the penalty kill before McDavid had a huge chance at the other end when they returned to even strength.

The Flyers looked to have won it when Travis Konecny deflected Cam York's shot through a triple screen with 25.5 seconds left on the clock, but an official challenge for offside 10 seconds before showed that Owen Tippett had just crossed the line too early on Konecny's fast zone entry.

"Initially, you're pretty disappointed," Savoie said. "But then, about five seconds later, because you got the video back there [on the bench] and you know you're getting a good break. It's a game of inches out there, so we got a little bit lucky."

JACK GOES BACK-TO-BACK IN OVERTIME

Jack Roslovic called it 'finished' for a second straight game.

After the margins were thin on Philadephia's denied winner on a review for offside, Roslovic had to make sure he dragged his foot to stay onside just enough with Matt Savoie over a minute into overtime after defenceman Cam York fell at the blueline to set up their potential rush to win the game.

"They jumbled it, and if you can just get a touch on it, it can sometimes be all the difference," Roslovic said. "So a little touch, and Savy got a little touch, and then we both stayed onside and he made a heck of a play."

Roslovic made no mistake by putting away Savoie's feed on a two-on-none, fighting to stay onside and then lifting the rookie winger's pass over the outstretched Vladar to make it two straight games for him with the OT winner at 1:19 of sudden death, marking his fifth goal in 16 games for the Oilers.

"A little bit of a broken play in the neutral zone," Savoie said. "Good turnover created by Roslovic there, and then off to the races. I saw him with me and opened up, so I wanted to feed him there."

With overtime goals in back-to-back games to go along with an assist, Roslovic now has 10 points (5G, 5A) over his last nine games and became just the second player in franchise history to score an OT winner in back-to-back games, joining Andrew Cogliano who did it in three consecutive games from Mar. 7-11, 2008.

"Just trying to stick to my game," Roslovic said. "I've said it many times, but just trying to play fast, play hard, play with a lot of energy, and let my skill take over."