The Flyers may be an inconsistent team, but they certainly have their moments where consistency reigns supreme.
The Flyers goaltending woes have not been about ability, but health. That reared its ugly head once again on Saturday night. So did their struggles on the road.
Against the lowly Edmonton Oilers, the Flyers dropped their ninth straight loss on the road, and fourth on the road trip, falling 5-4 in overtime at Rexall Place on Saturday night.
The game opened with instant confusion as Ray Emery started the game in goal. Steve Mason had been expected to start and took warm-ups with the team as the starting goalie. But Mason left the warm-up with illness and did not return to the bench until the start of the second period.
In addition, it was a wild first period filled with scoring.
The Oilers opened the scoring just 51 seconds into the game. A turnover by Nick Grossmann allowed Jordan Eberle to set up Ryan Nugent-Hopkins for a goal.
The Flyers responded with the next three goals. Jake Voracek found Claude Giroux in the slot for the tying goal at 4:25. Giroux was credited for a power-play goal at the 12-minute mark that gave the Flyers the lead. Less than three minutes later, Ryan White finished a two-on-one with Zac Rinaldo beating Ben Scrivens to make it a 3-1 game.
The Oilers responded with two goals late in the period. At 16:15, Teddy Purcell fired a shot from the slot past Emery. With 30.8 seconds remaining in the first, Emery failed to find a rebound and Matt Hendricks was there to put it in, tying the game.
Edmonton also struck for an early goal in the second, as Benoit Pouliot found a streaking Eberle and he made a nice move to beat Emery, giving the Oilers the lead again at just 1:11 of the period. It was the only goal of the second.
Early in the third, the Flyers tied the game. Voracek picked up his third assist of the game setting up Michael Raffl's game-tying goal just 46 seconds into the period.
While both teams generated chances in an energetic third period, neither team could score, forcing overtime.
Both teams had early chances to end the game, but it was the Oilers cashing in. Nugent-Hopkins was there to pick up his own rebound at 2:46 of overtime, sealing the win for Edmonton.
Emery made 28 saves on 34 shots. Giroux and Voracek had strong nights, each picking up multiple points. Voracek's three assists moved him back into a tie for the league lead in points.
The Flyers return home on Wednesday night as they host the Chicago Blackhawks. The opening face-off is set for 8 p.m.
Kevin Durso is managing editor for Flyerdelphia. Follow him on Twitter @Kevin_Durso.
