(Kate Frese/Sports Talk Philly)
By Kevin Durso, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Fresh off another loss that hurt their playoff chances, the Flyers return to the ice in a virtual must-win game against the Edmonton Oilers.
The last time these two teams met, goals came at a frantic pace, but times have changed for the Flyers, who have to deal with the NHL's leading scorer at the moment in Thursday night's meeting in Edmonton.
The opening face-off is set for 9 p.m.
| Flyers Leaders | GP | G | A | P | Oilers Leaders | GP | G | A | P |
| Jake Voracek | 57 | 14 | 33 | 47 | Connor McDavid | 57 | 18 | 45 | 63 |
| Claude Giroux | 57 | 12 | 29 | 41 | Leon Draisaitl | 57 | 21 | 29 | 50 |
| Wayne Simmonds | 57 | 23 | 17 | 40 | Jordan Eberle | 57 | 11 | 21 | 32 |
| Brayden Schenn | 54 | 16 | 19 | 35 | Milan Lucic | 57 | 11 | 20 | 31 |
| Ivan Provorov | 57 | 5 | 18 | 23 | Patrick Maroon | 57 | 20 | 8 | 28 |
| Player to Watch | |
| 40 Jordan Weal | 97 Connor McDavid |
| Last 5 Games: 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, E | Last 5 Games: 1 G, 3 A, 4 P, +1 |
| Goalie Matchup | |
| 30 Michal Neuvirth | 33 Cam Talbot |
| 9-6-1, 2.63 GAA, .897 SV% | 28-16-7, 2.36 GAA, .920 SV% |
It looks like the Flyers are riding the Michal Neuvirth train. Neuvirth will make his third straight start, even after starting on Wednesday night in Calgary. Neuvirth did have a solid game in Calgary despite the loss, making 20 saves on 22 shots.
The Oilers are expected to start Cam Talbot in goal on Thursday. Talbot has put together a strong season with 28 wins, easily setting a new career high.
Flyers Projected Lineup
Scratches: Travis Konecny, Michael Del Zotto, Dale Weise, Nick Schultz
| Left Wing | Center | Right Wing |
| 10 Brayden Schenn | 28 Claude Giroux | 17 Wayne Simmonds |
| 19 Jordan Weal | 14 Sean Couturier | 93 Jake Voracek |
| 12 Michael Raffl | 25 Nick Cousins | 24 Matt Read |
| 76 Chris VandeVelde | 78 Pierre-Edouard Bellemare | 13 Roman Lyubimov |
| Defense | ||
| 32 Mark Streit | 53 Shayne Gostisbehere | |
| 9 Ivan Provorov | 47 Andrew MacDonald | |
| 3 Radko Gudas | 23 Brandon Manning | |
| Goalie | ||
| 30 Michal Neuvirth |
Game Notes
- Power Play: Flyers (T-11th, T-10th on road), Oilers (T-11th, 19th at home)
- Penalty Kill: Flyers (18th, 23rd on road), Oilers (14th, 8th at home)
- Recent History vs. Oilers
- Dec. 8, 2016 - The Flyers claimed a 6-5 win over the Oilers in Philadelphia. The Oilers scored the first goal in the first period with Leon Draisaitl cashing in. Connor McDavid scored on the power play to make it a 2-0 game before the Flyers erupted for three goals in 1:12 by Mark Streit, Pierre-Edouard Bellemare and Claude Giroux. A shorthanded goal by Andrei Sekera tied the game going to the third. The Oilers got goals from Benoit Pouliot and Oskar Klefbom to open up a two-goal lead five minutes into the third, but the Flyers rallied again for two goals by Jake Voracek and Giroux to even the score. Finally, with 1:29 left in the third, Michael Raffl scored the game-winning goal to help extend the Flyers winning streak to seven at the time.
- Flyers leaders vs. Oilers
- Claude Giroux – 10 games, 5 goals, 6 assists, 11 points
- Jake Voracek - 19 games, 4 goals, 15 assists, 19 points
- Wayne Simmonds - 19 games, 4 goals, 6 assists, 10 points
- Michal Neuvirth - 4 games, 1-3-0, 3.04 GAA, .924 Sv%
- Milestone Watch
- Brayden Schenn will play in his 400th game tonight.
Where to Watch
TV: CSN
Radio: 97.5 The Fanatic
