Oilers look lifeless in humbling loss to Flyers

Dreadful Eastern Conference squad too much for one of the West’s dregs

Head coach Todd McLellan warned his team the morning of the game about taking the Philadelphia Flyers lightly.

They didn’t listen.

At least, we hope they didn’t listen, because if they did and they really were trying their hardest, the Edmonton Oilers are done.

The team that got snuffed out by the Flyers 4-2 on Wednesday night at Rogers Place isn’t going anywhere but down.

Not only did they lose at home in a must-win game to a team with one victory in its previous 11 starts, they looked especially bad doing it.

Lifeless, disorganized, all the usual maladies that have plagued them all year.

It was bad. In a game between two organizations trying to right their sinking ships, the Oilers spent the evening taking on more water.

Glug.

They started the game in full lockdown mode, concentrating all of their efforts on not giving up any scoring chances on goalie Laurent Brossoit, while making almost zero effort to generate anything at the other end.

Philadelphia’s strategy of wearing out the ice in the perimeter of Edmonton’s end fit right into those plans, resulting in one of the worst periods of the season: 25 faceoffs and zero scoring chances in 20 horrid minutes.

It opened up a bit in the second, but not in a good way for Edmonton.

They did go ahead 1-0 on a short-handed goal by Leon Draisaitl at 3:41, but then sagged badly and gave up goals to Jordan Weal and Dale Weise six minutes apart to fall behind 2-1 at the first intermission.

The Flyers tied it at 8:53, on their fourth power play of the first 30 minutes, and scored again at 14:45 on a long one through the five-hole that Brossoit should have had.

It was a bad goal for sure, but it certainly wasn’t why the Oilers were losing.

They were inexplicably lifeless and couldn’t execute much of anything in a game they desperately needed to win at home.

The big rally in the third period to save the day?

Nope.

Kris Russell’s cross-ice pass just inside the offensive blue-line went the other way and it was 3-1 Flyers at 4:06.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins closed the gap to 3-2 with 6:40 to go in the third and the Oilers went on a power play (very weak call) with 3:43 to go in the third, but couldn’t find their first goal with the man advantage in eight games.