The Philadelphia Flyers were full marks on Saturday afternoon as Denver Barkey scored his first National Hockey League goal in a 5-2 victory over the host (and highly-talented) Edmonton Oilers. The win left the Flyers splitting their West Coast trek with two wins and two losses.
The Basics
First period: 7:16- Denver Barkey (Owen Tippett, Sean Couturier), 10:31- Travis Sanheim (Unassisted), 14:38- Bobby Brink (Cam York, Matvei Michkov), 16:08- Connor McDavid (Mattias Ekholm)
Second period: 9:54- Evan Bouchard (Connor McDavid, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins) (PPG)
Third period: 9:09- Nick Seeler (Rodrigo Abols), 18:50- Owen Tippett (Sean Couturier, Nick Seeler) (ENG)
SOG: 29 (PHI) – 24 (EDM)
Some Takeaways
Konecny quite engaged
Whether the Oilers remembered how Travis Konecny treated McDavid last game, he was taking up some headspace among some Edmonton players. After a whistle in the second, Mattias Ekholm didn’t like something he did. But Konecny was a pain on this afternoon, making a lot of smart, simple plays that kept the Oilers on their heels. The line with himself, Dvorak, and Zegras kept Edmonton hemmed in a few times in the middle frame. Konecny also got a piece of McDavid in the second with a decent hip check. The underlying metrics didn’t give the winger much praise, but he seemed to be in McDavid’s kitchen more often than the superstar would’ve liked. A shot at the empty net late in the game hit the iron but it didn’t matter in the end.
Barkey gets his first
Denver Barkey scored his first National Hockey League goal on a gorgeous rush up ice that started with him stickhandling through the defensive zone slot. He then fed the puck to Couturier and burned rubber up ice. Couturier passed it on to Tippett who hit Barkey on the fly for a gorgeous tip over Calvin Pickard.
Denver Barkey is a Philadelphia Flyer. #PHIvsEDM | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/7MIGtZvsTu
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 3, 2026
The goal marked the 13th time in 40 games Philadelphia scored first. With it being a road game against a high-flying Oilers team, it was a lead the Flyers loved having. But they weren’t done just then. Minutes later — against the same Draisatl line Philadelphia burned for the first goal — Barkey and company struck again. Confusing Edmonton with some cycling, Travis Sanheim took a pass from Barkey to beat Pickard for a nifty 2-0 lead.
That’s Olympic Athlete Travis Sanheim, to you. #PHIvsEDM | #LetsGoFlyers pic.twitter.com/Q1FBFZwIuM
— Philadelphia Flyers (@NHLFlyers) January 3, 2026
Barkey made another great play late in the second, this time in the defensive zone. With Philadelphia hemmed in and Edmonton circling, Barkey cleared the puck without the puck crossing the line for icing. The play made a long change possible and Philadelphia finally getting some fresh legs.
Vladar big early on
Three minutes in, Draisatl (who got tripped up by Couturier) delivered a delicious pass to Vasily Podkolzin. The Oilers winger aimed for the glove side but Vladar denied him. Minutes later Trevor Zegras got a stick on a Zach Hyman chance that went just high over the crossbar. But his best save early was against Hyman who was in alone on the keeper who got a piece of the puck. Early on he kept Philadelphia in the game. And he came up big in the second. With the Oilers on the power play, McDavid hit a sixth gear coming down the ice and nearly beat Vladar. But the puck went wide.
Seconds later, Evan Bouchard beat Vladar clean with a low, hard slapshot. Vladar didn’t have much of a chance with Noah Cates acting like a decent screen in front of him. Overall he stopped 22 of 24 shots for a .917 save percentage. And more importantly, a regulation win.
Keep chugging along
The Flyers avoided the dreaded 2-0 lead and deflating a bit with another great anticipatory play. A poor outlet pass by Edmonton’s Evan Bouchard was easily intercepted and Philadelphia went back up ice. The transition play was quick and effective as Cam York’s shot deflected off Bobby Brink in front for a 3-0 lead.
BOBBY BRINK SCORES IN FRONT!!!
— Flyers Nation (@FlyersNation) January 3, 2026
CAM YORK AND MATVEI MICHKOV WITH ASSISTS!!!
3-0 #FLYERS!!! pic.twitter.com/IRUkPaQOgC
The Flyers however made a huge miscue as Sanheim made a cross ice pass that was intercepted. Barkey tried to catch up to McDavid on a breakaway but failed and Edmonton cut it to a two-goal deficit.
Strings loosened a bit in the second
With the two-goal lead, it’s no secret Flyers head coach Rick Tocchet was preaching to keep things simple, not playing east-west but north-south. However, the teams began trading chances early in the second period. A nice passing play by the trio of Travis Konecny, Trevor Zegras, and Christian Dvorak nearly ended with a goal. Dvorak’s wraparound attempt was stopped by Pickard’s toe as it looked to be heading across the line. After that little flurry, Philadelphia gave up two goals but outshot the Oilers 11-5.
Disciplined for the most part
Philadelphia have done a pretty good job of late of not beating themselves, something a team with not a lot of game-breakers need to do. Through roughly the first half of the game, the Flyers had just one fighting major on their slate. No tripping minors, no tired hooking or holding penalties, no brain cramps with the puck going over the glass. It might not seem like a huge deal, but when the Oilers are scoring once every three opportunities, it’s crucial to minimize or eliminate any minor infractions.
The first minor was against Matvei Michkov on a high stick. It seemed needless being in the neutral zone, and was a huge chance for Edmonton to make it a one-goal Flyers lead. And they did. Clearly Tocchet didn’t look pleased with the result. No benching though. Michkov was on the ice for the Flyers first power play of the game and nearly banged a shot in deep. But, once again, a cross-ice pass from Zegras nearly led to a game-tying short-handed goal by McDavid.
Hathaway returns
After a few games off to reset and refocus, Garnet Hathaway was offside on his first shift back. But early, Hathaway, Rodrigo Abols, and Carl Grundstrom spent most of the time in Edmonton’s end. They nearly completed a line change in the Oilers zone but an errant pass to an onrushing Flyer got outside the blueline. Hathaway also got into a fight with Darnell Nurse late in the opening period. Both parties spun more than they connected before Hathaway’s leverage put Nurse down on the ice.
The fourth line had an icing call minutes after Edmonton’s second goal which put McDavid’s line out. Another minor, this one to Rodrigo Abols, was effectively killed by Philadelphia, not giving the Oilers so much as a shot on goal. Overall, Hathaway had a strong game, possibly one of his strongest in months. After two periods he had just 6:25 ice time five-on-five, but led all Flyers with an 80 per cent Corsi For percentage (up 12-3). Hathaway got into a scrum more often than not, including one at game’s end. A good impression in what has been a trying season for the veteran.
Seeler the deal
With Philadelphia up 3-2, Abols won an offensive zone faceoff that went to defenseman Nick Seeler. Seeler took a shot that got through a lot of traffic and found the back of the net. It was Seeler’s first goal of the season and his first goal in 84 games! The insurance goal was huge as Philadelphia then went on a power play moments later. But Philadelphia did a great job keeping the Oilers away from Vladar — it wasn’t until the 13-minute mark that Edmonton got its first shot on goal of the period.
