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  4. title => "Oilers 4, Flyers 1: Little life in 3rd straight loss as road trip becomes uglier"
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  6. article_body => "<p><a href=\"https:\/\/scores.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com\/nhl\/boxscore.asp?gamecode=2018121406\" target=\"_blank\"><strong>BOX SCORE<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>EDMONTON, Alberta \u2014 A promising start to a five-game road trip is beginning to completely unravel for the Flyers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Connor McDavid scored twice, including an impressive bank shot off the back of Anthony Stolarz, as the Oilers handed the Flyers a 4-1 loss Friday in Edmonton.<\/p>\n<p>Why couldn\u2019t the Flyers expose a depleted Oilers defense and how badly did Dave Hakstol shake up the lines after Wednesday\u2019s loss to Calgary?<\/p>\n<p>Here are my observations from Rogers Place:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 The Flyers needed to get in strong on the forecheck and put some pressure on a young, inexperienced and mistake-prone Oilers blue line. Edmonton was missing two of its&nbsp;top defensemen, relegating young Darnell Nurse to that No. 1 role, plus the NHL debut of Caleb Jones, Seth Jones' younger brother.<\/p>\n<p>The Flyers failed to expose the Oilers' weakness in the first period and throughout this game.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Hakstol\u2019s new-look lines were a real wake-up call for Nolan Patrick, who has gone from a second-line center to a fourth-line checking center.<\/p>\n<p>I thought Patrick responded well, made some plays, drew a four-minute penalty and had a little burst to his game playing alongside Oskar Lindblom once again.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Did you catch Stolarz\u2019s nifty footwork in the first period? After an Oiler dumped the puck in hard off the boards, Stolarz did a quick foot shuffle in an effort to avoid the puck hitting the back of his skates and going into the net.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>With Stolarz\u2019s size, I don\u2019t think a 60-minute game takes a toll on him like a smaller goaltender such as Michal Neuvirth, which gives me reason to think he can handle a back-to-back and playing three games in four nights. Remember Brian Elliott, also bigger in physical stature, won all three of these games last season.<\/p>\n<p>The Adam Larsson goal (the Oilers' third) is certainly one Stolarz should have had.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 Here\u2019s the problem with playing the Claude Giroux line (James van Riemsdyk-Giroux-Travis Konecny) on the road, where you can\u2019t control the matchups. All three forwards aren\u2019t exactly stellar defensively, so when Ivan Provorov and Andrew MacDonald get caught on the same side of the ice, JVR has to come down and cover the man in the slot. That didn\u2019t happen and here\u2019s the end result:<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\ud83d\udde3 ALEX IS STILL ON FIRE! <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LetsGoOilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LetsGoOilers<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/25URtTNOKN\">pic.twitter.com\/25URtTNOKN<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/EdmontonOilers\/status\/1073773802494951425?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 15, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n \n<p>\u2022 The outcome could have been different had the Flyers converted on a four-minute power play. However, with the No. 1 unit out there for most of that time, there was too much passing, not enough movement and very little shooting. It\u2019s a power play that has become very stale and is now challenging the PK in terms of its ineffectiveness.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022 With a wide-open Travis Sanheim looking for a pass behind the net, Shayne Gostisbehere needed to make a stronger play in the corner and not allow McDavid to easily take the puck away, which eventually led to a bank shot off Stolarz for a 2-0 Oilers lead. Yes, I realize it\u2019s McDavid, but he made that whole play look way too easy.<\/p>\n<p>Gostisbehere was relegated to a third defensive pairing for this game, and right now I trust Sanheim more from a defensive standpoint than I do Gostisbehere.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">CONNOR MCDAVID WITH THE TIGHT ANGLE TALLY!<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/LetsGoOilers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">#LetsGoOilers<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/u4sWtyLTYj\">pic.twitter.com\/u4sWtyLTYj<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Hockey Daily 365 (@HockeyDaily365) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/HockeyDaily365\/status\/1073787716029071360?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">December 15, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote>\n<script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n \n<p>\u2022 The Flyers had several strong shifts in the third period, but they were only able to capitalize when Jakub Voracek\u2019s shot from the high slot snuck past Mikko Koskinen. Outside of that, the Flyers were lifeless and for the most part, they didn\u2019t have that look of desperation tonight <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/flyers\/flyers-are-hot-mess-and-everyone-should-be-feeling-heat\" target=\"_blank\"><em><strong>(see story)<\/strong><\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/washington\/myteams-nbc-sports?utm_tags=nbcsphi1356\">Click here<\/a>&nbsp;to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<h3 dir=\"ltr\"><strong>More on the Flyers<\/strong><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/flyers\/flyers-goalie-changes-reminder-chuck-fletchers-breaking-point-could-be-near\">Flyers' goalie changes a reminder that Fletcher's breaking point could be near<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/flyers\/ken-hitchcock-interview-oilers-coach-talks-admiration-andy-reid-2003-04-flyers-more\">Ken Hitchcock talks admiration for Andy Reid, 2003-04 Flyers, more<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/flyers\/flyers-film-review-dissecting-last-minute-breakdown-becoming-all-too-frequent\">Dissecting the film of costly breakdown becoming all too frequent for Flyers <\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/flyers\/flyers-f-ing-awful-collapse-mind-blowing-loss-flames\">It gets worse as Flyers suffer 'f---ing awful' collapse<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li dir=\"ltr\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcsports.com\/philadelphia\/flyers\/chuck-fletcher-brent-flahr-has-good-eye-talent-familiar-flyers-scouts\">Fletcher says Flahr 'has a good eye for talent,' is familiar with Flyers' scouts<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n"
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Flyers

Flyers

BOX SCORE

EDMONTON, Alberta — A promising start to a five-game road trip is beginning to completely unravel for the Flyers. 

Connor McDavid scored twice, including an impressive bank shot off the back of Anthony Stolarz, as the Oilers handed the Flyers a 4-1 loss Friday in Edmonton.

Why couldn’t the Flyers expose a depleted Oilers defense and how badly did Dave Hakstol shake up the lines after Wednesday’s loss to Calgary?

Here are my observations from Rogers Place:

• The Flyers needed to get in strong on the forecheck and put some pressure on a young, inexperienced and mistake-prone Oilers blue line. Edmonton was missing two of its top defensemen, relegating young Darnell Nurse to that No. 1 role, plus the NHL debut of Caleb Jones, Seth Jones' younger brother.

The Flyers failed to expose the Oilers' weakness in the first period and throughout this game.

• Hakstol’s new-look lines were a real wake-up call for Nolan Patrick, who has gone from a second-line center to a fourth-line checking center.

I thought Patrick responded well, made some plays, drew a four-minute penalty and had a little burst to his game playing alongside Oskar Lindblom once again.

• Did you catch Stolarz’s nifty footwork in the first period? After an Oiler dumped the puck in hard off the boards, Stolarz did a quick foot shuffle in an effort to avoid the puck hitting the back of his skates and going into the net. 

 

With Stolarz’s size, I don’t think a 60-minute game takes a toll on him like a smaller goaltender such as Michal Neuvirth, which gives me reason to think he can handle a back-to-back and playing three games in four nights. Remember Brian Elliott, also bigger in physical stature, won all three of these games last season.

The Adam Larsson goal (the Oilers' third) is certainly one Stolarz should have had.

• Here’s the problem with playing the Claude Giroux line (James van Riemsdyk-Giroux-Travis Konecny) on the road, where you can’t control the matchups. All three forwards aren’t exactly stellar defensively, so when Ivan Provorov and Andrew MacDonald get caught on the same side of the ice, JVR has to come down and cover the man in the slot. That didn’t happen and here’s the end result:

• The outcome could have been different had the Flyers converted on a four-minute power play. However, with the No. 1 unit out there for most of that time, there was too much passing, not enough movement and very little shooting. It’s a power play that has become very stale and is now challenging the PK in terms of its ineffectiveness.

• With a wide-open Travis Sanheim looking for a pass behind the net, Shayne Gostisbehere needed to make a stronger play in the corner and not allow McDavid to easily take the puck away, which eventually led to a bank shot off Stolarz for a 2-0 Oilers lead. Yes, I realize it’s McDavid, but he made that whole play look way too easy.

Gostisbehere was relegated to a third defensive pairing for this game, and right now I trust Sanheim more from a defensive standpoint than I do Gostisbehere. 

• The Flyers had several strong shifts in the third period, but they were only able to capitalize when Jakub Voracek’s shot from the high slot snuck past Mikko Koskinen. Outside of that, the Flyers were lifeless and for the most part, they didn’t have that look of desperation tonight (see story).

Click here to download the new MyTeams App by NBC Sports! Receive comprehensive coverage of your teams and stream the Flyers, Sixers and Phillies games easily on your device.

More on the Flyers