Concluding a long road trip that began on December 22nd with a shootout loss to the Detroit Red Wings, the Philadelphia Flyers (19-12-5) visit the Edmonton Oilers (18-15-1).
John Tortorella coached his team to a 4-1 win in October versus the Oilers. Cam Atkinson scored the game-winner. Tortorella credited good team discipline and the penalty kill for keeping his lineup in the fight.
“I thought we did really good staying disciplined. Coming back and scoring that shorthanded goal right away was important. Got us back on our toes a little bit.”
John Tortorella; 10/19/2023
It is paramount for Philadelphia to end the road trip with a win. They gathered points in three of four games on the road trip but quietly went 1-1-2.
Edmonton Oilers
Jay Woodcroft was the head coach when Edmonton visited the Flyers. When he was fired, they were 3-9-1, enduring two four-game losing streaks and never compiling back-to-back wins. Kris Knoblauch is the new head coach, and the Oilers are 15-6-0 during his tenure. They’re a different beast, flipping the script with two separate win streaks north of five victories.
Warren Foegele is on a hot streak, scoring eight points (3G, 5A) in the last five games. On New Year’s Eve, he tallied five points (2G, 3A) in a 7-2 rout of the Anaheim Ducks. He was a non-factor in Philadelphia earlier this season but has found his confidence lately:
“A lot of it has to do with confidence; getting the trust of my teammates and coaches. When I first came here, it was a struggle and I found that over the last year, it’s been going uphill. I’m trying to make the most of it everyday.”
Warren Foegele; 1/2/2024
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Edmonton Oilers, per Tony Brar:
Nugent Hopkins-McDavid-Hyman
McLeod-Draisaitl-Foegele
Kane-Ryan-Janmark
Erne-Hamblin-Brown
Nurse-Ceci
Ekholm-Bouchard
Kulak-Desharnais
Skinner
(Pickard)
Philadelphia Flyers
Tortorella doesn’t remember the win versus Edmonton. His philosophy says there is much to improve upon on his team that he won’t concern them with film on the Oilers.
“I don’t even look at the tape of Edmonton. We have enough things to worry about with our team and not too much information gets to our team about Edmonton. We have information; I have coaches that look at it, but our whole focus is our game.”
John Tortorella; 1/2/2024
Sean Couturier scored two goals in the last five games, one on the road trip. In a loss against the Calgary Flames, Couturier generated a high-danger scoring chance, but his deflection sailed wide of Jacob Markstrom. Couturier dominated at the faceoff dot in his last five games, winning 60.3% of the draws. He contributed with two assists versus Edmonton earlier in the season, a shorthanded goal by Sean Walker and an even-strength goal by Atkinson.
Here’s the tentative lineup for the Philadelphia Flyers, per Jackie Spiegel:
Farabee-Couturier-Konecny
Tippett-Frost-Brink
Foerster-Poehling-Atkinson
Deslauriers-Laughton-Hathaway
York-Sanheim
Seeler-Walker
Zamula-Ristolainen
Hart
(Ersson)
Place Your Bets (via DraftKings)
Philadelphia Flyers (+154)
Edmonton Oilers (-185)
Warren Foegele over 2.5SOG (+120)
Sean Couturier under .5pt (-105)
Game Information
The puck drops tonight at 9pm from Rogers Place. You can watch the Philadelphia Flyers visit the Edmonton Oilers on NBC Sports Philadelphia and listen to the radio broadcast on 93.3 WMMR.
(AP Photo/John Froschauer)
