Flyers Get Bittersweet Victory Against Oilers

After Saturday night’s disappointing loss to the Florida Panthers, the Philadelphia Flyers would like nothing more than to put that junk behind them, and put forth a good effort against the Oilers of Edmonton. Steve Mason returned to net, hoping to finally accomplish his first victory of the season after a strong effort Saturday. The Flyers also welcomed veteran defenseman Carlo Colaiacovo to the line-up, hoping he will improve the team’s struggling blue-line. With the start of a four game home stand, Philadelphia desperately needed to pull off a win against Edmonton to begin steering their mediocre record of 4-5-2 into one worthy of recognition. 

            In this 1^st period, the Oilers outshot the Flyers by a count of 11 to 8.  Luckily for Philadelphia shots are not what make a team win hockey games. Goals make a team win hockey games, and Jakub Voracek did what he could to help the boys in orange and black by adding his fourth and fifth goals of the season. Voracek literally carried the Flyers in the 1^st period and provided them with a 2-0 lead going into the locker room.

            Entering the 2^nd period, the Philadelphia Flyers did not take their foot off the gas on bit. With less than five minutes played in the period, Pierre- Edouard Bellemare scored his second goal of the season to give his team a 3-0 lead. The Oilers would make a slight attempt at a comeback when Ryan Nugent-Hopkins (4) cut the deficit to two goals when he found the back of the net with a little over ten minutes to play in the period; but the deficit would be brought back to 3 when Luke Schenn scored his first goal of the season, giving the Flyers a 4-1 lead after two periods of play.

            No more scoring would take place and the Flyers would be victorious, improving their record to 5-5-2 on the season. However, the victory would be bitter sweet do to an injury that will sideline blossoming forward Michael Raffl for six weeks. Luckily the Flyers have a good deal of depth at the forward position; but this is a devastating loss for the team. The Flyers look to build on their win against the Oilers when the Florida Panthers come in to town on Thursday night.