By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

The Flyers faced the same situation in Wednesday's game as they did on Saturday. Facing an undefeated team, they could come away with a win and two points if they could just win a period.

One of the newest Flyers made sure of it. Cam Atkinson capped off his second two-goal game of the season with the eventual game-winning goal at 4:18 of the third period in the Flyers 5-3 win over the Edmonton Oilers.

(Photo by Nathaniel S. Butler/NBAE via Getty Images)

By Michael Lipinski, Sports Talk Philly Contributor

ESPN’s Ramon Shelburne is reporting that Joel Embiid is dealing with a “minor” knee injury that he suffered in the season opener against New Orleans.  Embiid collided with Jonas Valanciunas in that game and was unable to walk for two days according to the report. 

.@ramonashelburne on Joel Embiid playing through injuries (via NBA Today).

"He told me after this game in New Orleans, he couldn't walk for two days." 😳

(via NBA Today) pic.twitter.com/yuq6fdbfDN

— ESPN (@espn) October 27, 2021

Embiid, who’s played in three games since the collision, told reporters that he “probably shouldn’t have played “against Brooklyn but wanted to be there for his teammates in the absence of Ben Simmons.  The All-Star was originally “questionable” for that game. 

Kudos to Embiid for his team first attitude but if the Sixers want to have any chance at making a run, he needs to address the knee issues immediately.  Embiid struggled with a torn meniscus last year during the playoffs and it affected his effectiveness.

Embiid never had surgery on the torn meniscus, a procedure that is orthoscopic with a recovery time of six-to-eight weeks.  It would’ve been ideal to address this injury, which can linger without surgery, during the off-season.   

By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 

After four games on home ice, the Flyers hit the road for the first time in the 2021-22 season. Their first test isn't any easier than their last.

The Flyers open a three-game Western Canada road trip against the Edmonton Oilers, another team undefeated with a 5-0-0 record. Wednesday's game will mark a second straight without Ryan Ellis in the lineup, making the challenge that much tougher.

Game time is at 10 p.m.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - OCTOBER 26: Joel Embiid #21 of the Philadelphia 76ers looks to pass as Mitchell Robinson #23 and RJ Barrett #9 of the New York Knicks defend during the first half at Madison Square Garden on October 26, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

By Matt Gregan, Sports Talk Philly Staff Writer

The Philadelphia 76ers, as they contend with life without All-Star guard Ben Simmons, have gone through some ups and downs through their first four games of the 2021-22 season.

The Sixers opened up the year with an easy win over the New Orleans Pelicans followed by a crushing loss to the Brooklyn Nets due to the team's familiar late-game struggles. The team then took care of business against the Oklahoma City Thunder before proceeding to get outworked in a bad loss to the New York Knicks. Through the first four games, the early-season results have been a mixed bag.

Here are three observations from the Sixers' 2-2 start to the season.

1. Utilizing the big men as passers has become an early-season staple of the Sixers' Ben Simmons-less offense

With no clear point guard on the roster, head coach Doc Rivers has been forced to come up with a multitude of different ways to run the offense. One of those has been to utilize the passing abilities of the team's big men.

Joel Embiid, through the first four games of the season, is averaging a career-high 4.5 assists per game while turning the ball over at the lowest rate of his career (2.3 per game). Passing has clearly been one of the things that the big man worked on this past offseason.

By Siobhan Nolan, Contributing Writer

After an essential win over Nashville SC to propel them into second place, the Union will be looking to continue the pressure heading into the postseason. A road game without an ample amount of rest won’t make this an easy trip, but an ideal playoff position will make it all worth it.

“We want to reach our goal of hosting a playoff game at Subaru Park, where we’ve been tough to play against, and that starts with a difficult road trip to Toronto,” Jim Curtin told media during a pre-match press conference. “This is a team that has a lot of talent and a lot of strong players. We have to treat it that way with the right mindset and mentality to try and get a result and bring some points back to Philadelphia. The table in our league at this point in the year doesn’t matter in terms of anybody can still beat anybody.”

As the ever-important playoffs draw nearer, the health and fitness of players remains a paramount concern, especially in the case of the Union, where a number of players have been utilized nearly every minute of the season. Curtin hit the jackpot with his 4-4-2 rotation, featuring, for the most part, the same players week in and week out across all competitions. While that could conjure up problems of overworked and fatigued players, Curtin has insisted that his players haven’t saddled a burden they couldn’t handle.

“I can’t stress enough, whether our guys are young or old, they work towards this and we knew what the schedule was long ago,” Curtin said. “We knew they’d be able to take the load.”

Curtin also continued to drive home the point that his team is treating every game as a must-win, and that they’re not counting out any time. With the New England Revolution already clinching first place and the Supporters’ Shield, maintaining second place is the top priority.

“We’re going to go after these points 100% against Toronto,” Curtin told reporters. “It’s not a situation where I’m going to say, ‘Let’s rest against Toronto and then go chase Cincinnati.’ We want to take care of business now when it’s in our hands and chase every point.”

The big question, then, is which players start. Andre Blake will not be available for selection against Toronto, as he will be in Jamaica following the loss of his grandmother. However, Sergio Santos will be able to play for “at least a half of regulation play”, which will be a saving grace for Kacper Przybyłko.

“Another striker in the stable to give Kacper a little bit of a break down the stretch would be great,” Curtin explained. “We need both [Santos and Cory Burke] to score goals if we really want to do something this year. We need another striker to step up in those big games, that’s the reality of the sport.”

However, as Jonathan Tannenwald of The Philadelphia Inquirer pointed out, the biggest challenge falling on the Union for this match is winning a game they’re expected to win. Toronto are second-to-last in the East, and not even powerhouses like Jozy Altidore and Michael Bradley have been able to salvage this season for the Reds.

The Union have suffered some disappointing results against teams that are admittedly beneath them in terms of quality and production. Curtin pointed out how the team is “trying to guard against letdowns”, along with “guarding against never getting too high, and when things are going tough, the group to get too low. I think the maturity of our group, even with the young players, I think we’re past that.”

Predicted Lineup: Matt Freese, Kai Wagner, Jakob Glesnes, Jack Elliott, Olivier Mbaizo, Jose Martinez, Leon Flach, Alejandro Bedoya, Daniel Gazdag, Kacper Przybyłko, Sergio Santos

• Freese has proven himself to be a worthy No. 2 goalie, and as long as Curtin sticks with arguably the best back line in MLS, he shouldn’t face too much pressure from the home side’s offense. In the midfield diamond, Gazdag’s hot streak has made an excellent case as to why he should snag the No. 10 position when the formation doesn’t allow that role to be shared, leaving room for Santos to start and take some scoring responsibility off of Przybylko upfront, even if he’s only on for one half.

Score Prediction: If it’s been said once, it’s been said a thousand times—there are no easy games in MLS. However, Toronto are extremely vulnerable, and the Union have been given an invaluable boost of confidence after the Nashville game. A 3-1 win would be the perfect statement to let the other playoff teams know that the Boys In Blue mean business.