EDMONTON — Rogers Place has been a much more lucrative location for the Edmonton Oilers recently.
Connor McDavid had two goals and an assist and Leon Draisaitl had three assists as the Oilers defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-1 on Friday.
Edmonton goalie Mikko Koskinen made 31 saves to improve to 7-0-0 on home ice this season, while the Oilers have won their last six games at Rogers Place to improve to 10-4-1 at home.
“You always want to make your own rink a tough building to play in,” Draisaitl said. “We have struggled with that a little bit the seasons before that. We have been really good at home of late and hopefully we can keep that going.”
Alex Chiasson and Adam Larsson also scored for the Oilers (18-12-3), who have won five of their last six and have gone 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.
The Oilers are now 9-2-2 under head coach Ken Hitchcock.
Sean Couturier was credited with Philadelphia’s goal before it was given to Jakub Voracek post-game. The Flyers (12-14-4) have lost three in a row and six of their last eight.
“We weren’t playing bad hockey, just a couple of mistakes here and there and it’s in the back of the net and you’re chasing again,” said Flyers captain Claude Giroux. “The third period we played great again, but we’re just chasing every game.”
Edmonton got on the board first, with seven-and-a-half minutes remaining in the opening period when Draisaitl fed it in front to Chiasson, who beat Flyers goalie Anthony Stolarz for his career-high 14th goal of the season in his 27th game. Chiasson’s previous career high came in the 2013-2014 season over a 79-game span with the Dallas Stars.
The 28-year-old Montreal native won a Stanley Cup with the Washington Capitals last season, but came to the Oilers on a training camp audition.
“When you win a Cup, it is a little surprising he didn’t have a deal or nothing,” McDavid said. “He came in on a PTO and worked hard and earned a job and has been having a great year. I couldn’t be happier for him, he is a fun guy to play with. He has a knack for scoring and is finding a way to get open.”
The Oilers added to their lead at exactly the same point in the middle period when McDavid banked a shot from behind the net off of Stolarz’s rear for his 18th goal of the season.
Just over a minute later, it was 3-0 when Larsson scored his first of the season on a shot from the top of the circle following a give-and-go with Ryan Spooner.
The Flyers broke Koskinen’s shutout bid midway through the third on a Voracek shot that was originally believed to have hit Couturier and caromed into the net. Koskinen came into the game having recorded shutouts in three of his six home starts this season.
McDavid put the game away with an empty-netter.
Both teams will head to Vancouver for their next game, as the Flyers close out a five-game road trip against the Canucks on Saturday and Edmonton plays them on Sunday.
Notes: It was the first of two meetings between the two teams this season. The Flyers won both games last year… Stolarz got the start in net as a pair of other goalies were unavailable for consideration as Michal Neuvirth returned to Philadelphia for the expected birth of his child and Brian Elliott (lower body) also headed east for a scheduled medical appointment… Oilers defenceman Caleb Jones made his NHL debut. He is the younger brother of Columbus defenceman Seth Jones.
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