Edmonton is 13-3-3 and has won 2 straight, both at home. Leon Draisaitl had 2 goals and an assist and Connor McDavid had 3 assists in a 4-2 win over Vancouver. Then the Oilers beat the Rangers 3-1, scoring once in each period and never trailing, for their second win over New York in 9 days. Mike Babcock called the Rangers game gritty rather than pretty, and that fits. Edmonton bent a fair amount and kept it to 1 or 2 goals against for a second straight game.
Edmonton's results look better than its roster does right now. Colton Dach missed the Rangers game sick but is projected back on the 3rd line. Isaac Howard is still on IR, and Matt Savoie and Mattias Janmark have been out since camp, so the bottom 6 is still mostly patchwork. With Frederik Andersen not expected back until "maybe" December, according to Babcock, the net is projected to go to Devon Levi again. He's 8-1-0 and has started both games since coming off IR, but his .898 save percentage is a lot more ordinary than that record. The Oilers keep winning because McDavid and Draisaitl, projected together on the top line, can carry a game in a 10-minute stretch. That puts a lot on Philadelphia's depth lines and penalty kill.
Edmonton does have 1 rough patch: losses to New Jersey and Anaheim earlier this month, the Ducks game a 5-4 loss at home. Both were high-scoring, and Philadelphia has scored 3 or more in 3 of its last 5. The likeliest Flyers win looks a lot like the Vancouver game: score first, get a power-play goal and hold the lead through the 3rd. If it gets looser than that, McDavid and Draisaitl will find the openings.
The board is up, and Edmonton is a clear home favorite. The things that matter tonight haven't changed: the Flyers' habit of blowing 3rd-period leads, the last game of a western trip, a Philadelphia net with no named starter, and an Edmonton lineup that keeps winning without many of its depth forwards.
