Connor McDavid stars as the Edmonton Oilers beat the Philadelphia Flyers 5-2 for 6th straight win
By The Associated Press on January 2, 2024.
EDMONTON, Alberta (AP) – Connor McDavid had a goal and four assists, and the Edmonton Oilers extended their win streak to six games with a 5-2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins had two goals and an assist for Edmonton, which improved to 14-3-0 in its last 17 games. Zach Hyman had a goal and two assists, and Leon Draisaitl also scored. Travis Konecny and Marc Staal scored for the Flyers, who have lost three in a row and five of their last six. McDavid put the Oilers in front with his 14th goal with 4:05 left in the first period. The center turned around a defender and then sent a snap shot through the legs of Flyers goalie Carter Hart. The Oilers took a 2-0 lead 8:12 into the second. McDavid made a no-look backhand pass to Hyman in front, and he was able to lift a backhand of his own past Hart for his 22nd of the season. It was McDavid’s 900th career regular-season point, coming in his 602nd game. The captain is the fifth-fastest player in NHL history to record his 900th point, behind only Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mike Bossy and Peter Stastny. Philadelphia got one back at 11:10 when a loose puck bounced to Konecny, who was coming in with speed and was able to lift a shot past Edmonton goalie Stuart Skinner for his 18th. The Flyers then tied it with 3 minutes left in the second. Staal jumped up into the play and took a Konecny feed before beating Skinner for his first goal of the campaign. Edmonton regained the lead on Nugent-Hopkins’ power-play goal with 55 seconds remaining in the middle frame, finishing a nice three-way passing play in tight. The Oilers made it 4-2 with an extra attacker on for a delayed penalty just 1:27 into the third. McDavid circled down low before sending it back to the high slot for Draisaitl, who hammered home his 18th goal of the season upstairs past Hart. It was Draisaitl’s fourth consecutive game with a goal. McDavid picked up his fifth point with nine minutes to play, sending a saucer pass to Nugent-Hopkins, who got 11th goal of the season. It was the 10th five-point game of McDavid’s career. He has hit six points once. UP NEXT Flyers: Host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Thursday night. Oilers: Host the Ottawa Senators on Saturday night. ___ AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL 18-17
