Edmonton Postgame

There's really no other way to dissect this one. Tonight's loss to Edmonton was gut-wrenching. The Flyers had all the opportunities in the world to take two points easily in this game and they let it get away. Darroll Powe was called for a pretty weak penalty with less than two minutes to play. However, Powe should have known he cannot just be waving his stick around it should have been on the ice. The Oilers took advantage of the ensuing powerplay and scored with 16.1 seconds remaining.

Once again the Flyers have found ways to create tremendous scoring chances, but inexplicably cannot bury them. The forecheck was strong in the 2nd period and the first half of the 3rd period. The Oilers were showing their youth by turning the puck over and not executing the breakout. Yet, they and former Flyer Ryan Potulny, who scored the goal, came out with a victory.

The positive was that goaltender Michael Leighton played outstanding in his first start in eight games. He was caught a little deep in the crease on the goal, but he cannot be faulted for this let down. And give the Oilers credit, they are now 2-0 in February after not winning once last month. They grinded it out and took advantage when it mattered most.

Look for Emery to be back in the net against the Wild. It seems every time this team looks to be moving forward, it takes a monumental step backwards. The Wild are a very good defensive team and if Backstrom is unable to play yet again, it could certainly help the Flyers chances.