The game: 10pm ET, ESPN, 93.3 WMMR

This is an all too familiar story. A team is losing and experiencing a tremendous amount of misery, and then they face the Philadelphia Flyers and the direction changes for them. Last year, the San Jose Sharks approached record-breaking losses to start the season. Just no wins in the first, no matter how many games it was, but they faced the Flyers for the first time that year and were able to walk away with two points.

And now the Flyers visit Edmonton to take on an Oilers team that still hasn’t tasted victory. After reaching the Stanley Cup Final and being predicted by almost every national reporter to become the 2024-2025 champions, the Oilers have started their season 0-3-0. Zero points through the first 3.6 percent of their season. This is just ripe for the picking.

The Oilers are an offensive powerhouse that is so dependent on their power play and the Flyers have had serious penalty issues through the first two games. So far, the Flyers have taken a total of 10 minor penalties in just two games. If they give the Oilers five power play opportunities, they’re probably going to lose by five or more goals. McDavid and Draisaitl will eat the hearts of any short-handed Flyers unit, so the Flyers desperate must stay off the beaten path if they have any chance of walking away from Alberta with more points.

Perhaps the only positive to think about is that the Flyers have more depth than the Oilers currently have, and generally have more speed. Of course, no one is touching McDavid’s skating, but when you look at the entire lineup you have to have more confidence in the Flyers’ overall ability.

Additionally, it will be interesting to see some lineup changes and players back on the ice for our Flyers.

Players to watch

Jett Lucchanko

The prospect (except for Matvei Michkov) that we cannot get out of our minds. Luchanko was very impressive during training camp and in the season-opening game in Vancouver he didn’t look out of place and could even have scored a goal had he not been robbed. Because he was so young and inexperienced, the coaching staff gave him the day off for the second half of the opener, but he should be in the lineup tonight in Edmonton.

And where he plays is even more interesting. Previously, he sat between Joel Farabee and Bobby Brink on the ‘third line’ who was a young threat. Now Sean Couturier is there to give those young wingers some maturity in the middle, and Luchanko will have to go up against Tyson Foerster and Travis Konecny ​​– two of the best wingers the Flyers can offer.

That trio should be incredibly interesting to watch. Luchanko has more speed and agility than those two guys, but Foerster can work the boards and retrieve those pucks extremely well, while Konecny ​​could be a quasi triggerman in that unit. Essentially, Luchanko can be a kind of speedy engine in the middle and do heavy lifting for the wingers who currently have more attacking skills than him.

It certainly doesn’t seem like he’s going anywhere anytime soon with where he is in the lineup.

Jamie Drysdale

The team and the player need this season to be a success for Jamie Drysdale. And so far it’s disappointing. Zero points in the first two games and when you dive even deeper the situation is even worse: only three shot attempts, one shot on goal, and at 5-on-5 he is absolutely killed on the ice at a rate of 36.36 CF% and a 27.07 xGF%. Those are brutal numbers to see from a blueliner who should be a play driver.

Let’s hope he can play some more and have some good games. Luckily, the Oilers’ bottom six forwards and blue line aren’t all that fast and you can imagine Drysdale rushing over the boards and past a lot of home jerseys to set up a goal. Hopefully that happens tonight.

The Michkov, Tippett and Frost line

We’ve already mentioned that Luchanko is on a new line and Couturier is moving down to provide some stability for two offensively gifted wingers, but what about the top line? We’re back to the trio we saw in preseason who had some success in those friendlies.

Morgan Frost in the centre, Owen Tippett on the left and Matvei Michkov back to his natural right wing. That trio has looked great heading into the season. Frost was able to make a few plays and mentally keep up with Michkov just enough to take advantage of the Russian phenomenon’s playmaking, and Tippett was able to race through the zone with possession to generate attacking pressure. Those two, combined with Michkov, should provide some of the offense that was desperately missing in Calgary and it will certainly be nice to see the 19-year-old winger become much more comfortable in his natural position. If they score even one goal, we’ll have to see them together for a while.

Projected setups

Philadelphia Flyers

Owen Tippett – Morgan Frost – Matvei Michkov
Tyson Foerster-Jett Luchanko-Travis Konecny
Joel Farabee – Sean Couturier – Bobby Brink
Noah Cates – Scott Laughton – Garnet Hathaway

Cam York – Travis Sanheim
Erik Johnson – Jamie Drysdale
Egor Zamula – Rasmus Ristolainen

Sam Erson
(Ivan Fedotov)

Edmonton Oil Companies

Jeff Skinner-Connor McDavid-Zach Hyman
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins – Leon Draisaitl – Victor Arvidsson
Vasili Podkolzin – Adam Henrique – Connor Brown
Mattias Janmark – Derek Ryan – Corey Perry

Mattias Ekholm-Evan Bouchard
Darnell Nurse – Travis Dermott
Brett Kulak-Troy Stecher

Stuart Skinner
(Calvin Pickard)