Flyers-Oilers Preview: Ring in the New Year

On New Year's Eve, the Flyers were unable to ring in the new year in celebration. In just their second regulation loss in the month of December, they finished with an 8-2-3 record.

That on the surface looks great, but the Flyers have now dropped four of their last five games, posting a 1-2-2 record in that time. The finale of this four-game road trip doesn't make things any easier. The Flyers face the Edmonton Oilers, who have won five straight games entering 2024 and posted a 9-3-0 record in December.

Game time is 9 p.m.

Team Leaders

Philadelphia Flyers	GP	G	A	P	Edmonton Oilers	GP	G	A	P
Travis Konecny	36	17	14	31	Connor McDavid	32	13	35	48
Travis Sanheim	35	4	21	25	Leon Draisaitl	34	17	23	40
Joel Farabee	36	12	13	25	Evan Bouchard	34	9	27	36
Sean Couturier	34	9	14	23	Zach Hyman	33	21	13	34
Owen Tippett	36	12	10	22	Ryan Nugent-Hopkins	34	9	24	33

Travis Konecny has been through quite a bit since returning from the holiday break. He did not play in the third period of Thursday's game due to a flu bug, then blocked a shot off his foot in Seattle and was still clearly laboring on Sunday. Despite that, he picked up another two assists in his last game.

Connor McDavid continues to lead the way for the Oilers. McDavid is currently on a five-game points streak with seven points in that time. In December, McDavid had five goals and 19 points in 12 games, including five straight multi-point games from Dec. 6 to Dec. 14.

Carter Hart gets the start for the Flyers. Hart's last start was on Friday against Seattle, making 27 saves on 29 shots in an overtime loss. Hart also made a relief appearance on Thursday, stopping all eight shots he faced. Against the Oilers on Oct. 19, Hart made 22 saves on 23 shots in a win.

Stuart Skinner gets the start for the Oilers. Skinner made 26 saves on 28 shots in a win over the Kings in his last start on Saturday. He enters with a personal three-game winning streak, which includes a 25-save shutout against the Sharks on Dec. 28. Skinner has also won 10 of his last 12 starts since Nov. 24.

Projected Lineups

Flyers Scratches: Noah Cates (injury), Marc Staal (healthy), Rhett Gardner (healthy)

Oilers Scratches: Dylan Holloway (injury), Sam Gagner (injury), Raphael Lavoie (healthy)

Lineup Notes

Flyers: Aside from the goalie, any lineup changes will not be known until closer to game time. No changes are anticipated, but John Tortorella has left the door open for last-minute changes due to players being banged up in the last couple of games.
Oilers: No changes are expected to the Oilers lineup.

Game Notes

Power Play: Flyers (10.5% - 32nd), Oilers (25.0% - 7th)
Penalty Kill: Flyers (85.7% - 4th), Oilers (79.2% - 20th)
Recent History vs. Oilers
- Oct. 19, 2023 - Flyers 4, Oilers 1 (at PHI)
Flyers Leaders vs. Oilers
- Cam Atkinson: 20 GP, 11 G, 4 A, 15 P
- Rasmus Ristolainen: 17 GP, 2 G, 12 A, 14 P
- Sean Couturier: 13 GP, 3 G, 7 A, 10 P
- Carter Hart: 7 GP, 4-3-0, 2.71 GAA, .914 SV%