Pre-Scout: Oilers welcome Flyers amidst Matvei Michkov turmoil

“We’ll try to work that out as time goes on and see what’s best,” Babcock said after practice on Tuesday. “I really liked when Formy, Joe [Joseph], and Michaels played together, and I don’t think those two groups have been as good as they could be. So hopefully this will be a good thing. But I’m going to watch the game and find out.” 

Connor Murphy didn’t practice, but it appears to be a maintenance day, as Babcock said he’ll play. Murphy was in the thick of the physical battle, playing 20:22 of hard minutes. He led all Edmonton skaters in penalty killing time with 4:31, as the Oilers went 5-for-5 on the kill, and 13-for-15 in their last three games.

Although the penalty killing percentage isn’t particularly sexy at 77 per cent, it’s been slowly climbing. What’s interesting is that it’s middle of the pack across the NHL, sitting 16th before Tuesday’s games began.

In general, power plays are beating penalty kills. There were only 10 teams above 80 per cent on the PK as of Tuesday morning. Could that be because PKs start the season poorly (in general), or a wider year-by-year trend that the skill level in today’s game is going to win out more often?

“I think the penalty kill is going in the right direction,” said Babcock. “I love the pressure we put on last night. I like the saves we got. The reality is, we’re not close to where we’re going to be, but we’re going to stay the course, and we’re going to make sure we’re good at it.” 

Levi-tating up the standings

I’d wager there’s some fatigue feeding into the Oilers’ play of late. Tonight’s game will be their seventh game in 12 nights, and although they’ve played every other night for almost a week, these have been demanding games. Edmonton’s style is also intensive with their physicality, and they’ve spent a lot of time in the defensive zone in their last four games.

That’s where good goaltending becomes the magic eraser. The love affair between Oilers fans and Devon Levi is hot and passionate — how could it not?

“I think he’s the main reason why we won the game,” said Leon Draisaitl afterwards.

Agreed.

Levi was fantastic against the Rangers, as New York had a 15-2 High Danger Chance advantage in all situations, according to Natural Stat Trick. Levi’s save in the second period on Tye Kartye brought a tear to Arturs Irbe’s eyes. Lord forbid how he’ll walk when he’s in his 50s. 

In the here and now, Levi’s got a .920 save percentage if you remove his first start, that bananarama circus 9-7 game in Vancouver.

Babcock didn’t declare a starter yesterday, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he turns to Jarry. Levi’s played two straight after returning from injury, and it keeps Jarry engaged, having not played since last Tuesday. They’ll get two days off before beginning a six-game road trip that includes a back-to-back on the weekend.

Saturday against the Toronto Maple Leafs begins a nine-game stretch in 15 days with three back-to-backs. As an old Newfie co-worker once told me, “Hang on to nanny.”

Struggling Flyers face uncertain future

The Philadelphia Flyers enter this game in turmoil off the ice. On Monday afternoon, ESPN’s Kevin Weekes reported that leading scorer Matvei Michkov would prefer a fresh start elsewhere. 

Journalist Emily Kaplan supplemented Weekes’ video from the shoulder on the highway by saying Michkov hasn’t requested a trade and this came as “news” to Philadelphia’s front office. 

It’s messy. It’s been messy for the two-and-a-quarter seasons he’s spent as a Flyer. It was messy on the bench between Michkov and teammate Nick Seeler on Monday, who had a visible argument during Philly’s (rare) 3-1 win over Vancouver. 

The team started horribly and maintains a 5-10-5 record, which is near, but not quite at the bottom of the Eastern Conference, and the reason is they’ve somewhat steadied the ship since losing nine in a row to begin 2026-27. They’re 4-4-2 in their last 10, at least. Not great, but not winless, either. 

The truth is they’re starved for offence, which makes this Michkov worse. He’s scored 10 goals this year—no one else on the Flyers has scored five. 

Since Rick Tocchet took the reins behind the bench a season ago, the veteran coach and crafty forward have been at loggerheads about how to play the “right way.” But those whispers and rumours and innuendo about Michkov’s long-term future in a Flyers jersey have credence when an NHL broadcaster tweets a report like this. 

If Michkov is indeed available, he’ll generate lots of interest: talented, 21 years old, and producing 63-point and 51-point NHL seasons. There will be lots of Isaac Howard, a first-round pick, plus something, mock trades from this corner of the league. And Flyers fans will be in an uproar for believing they’ve bungled another top-seven draft choice, watching Cutter Gauthier score at will the past week. 

Ugly stuff. 

In the meantime, the Flyers are trying to continue what was successful in Vancouver. 

“Just a lot of compete, hard work, playing the right way, getting in on the forecheck,” defenceman Travis Sanheim said post-game. “They had trouble with our forecheck the first two periods, and it’s unfortunate the couple of calls we got in the third allowed them to get back in it. But for the most part, the compete was there for a back-to-back. It was great for our guys.”

This is a tough spot for Philly, as it’ll be their third game in four nights on this Western road trip. Playing away from Xfinity Mobile Arena hasn’t been particularly kind, going 2-5-2 this season. 

As always, you take an NHL opponent lightly at your own peril.

Notes:

• It ended. The Connor McDavid assist streak record is over at 18 games, despite grazing the puck before Leon Draisaitl’s empty-net goal. A few years ago, that may have still counted as an assist, but the gambling influence on every statistic played a role in this, no doubt. He’ll finish this run tied with Adam Oates for the second-longest assist streak ever.
• However, there’s still lots of McDavid history talk. He became the fourth player in NHL history with 48 or more points before his 20th game in a season, joining Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, and the cold-blooded goal-scorer that was Joe Malone (1917-18). 
• Draisaitl is riding a four-game goal-scoring streak, with 18 on the season, first in the NHL. Twelve points in the last six games for Draisaitl.
• Evan Bouchard was held pointless for just the third time this season on Monday, snapping a six-game point streak.
• Flyers defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen missed his seventh straight game since aggravating an upper-body injury against the Anaheim Ducks on Oct. 24, but he is on the road trip and practicing with the team.
• Michael Bunting returned to the lineup after five straight healthy scratches and scored and lit the lamp for the first time this season. He’s become a well-travelled pro, playing on his seventh team.
• The Oilers streak of 11 games with a power play goal ended vs. New York and the stifling Rangers PK. Time to start streaking again.
• Proud captain Sean Couterier, who’s scored one goal and seven points this season, had this to say after losing in overtime to the Flames: “Right now, we’re just finding ways to lose games…We’ve got to dial it in for 60 minutes and do the little details right. We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We’ve got to figure this out and work twice as hard and bounce back tomorrow (at the Vancouver Canucks).” To their credit, they did.
• The Flyers boast average special teams. Their PP was 25th in the league before Tuesday’s games were played at 18.3 per cent, but their PK is stout, sitting 10th in the NHL at 80.6 per cent.
• What a quick turnaround. These teams will wrap up the season-series on Sunday.
• The Oilers are 5-4-1 in their last 10 head-to-head matchups against the Flyers.