Cam Atkinson Scores Twice, Leads Flyers to 4-1 Victory Over Oilers

What better way to follow up a dominant shutout victory than by shutting down two of the best players in the NHL?

Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl's Edmonton Oilers visited Broad Street Thursday night, only to be completely stifled by the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center. The Flyers outshot the Oilers 33-23 en route to a 4-1 victory on home ice. Veteran forward Cam Atkinson led the way with a pair of goals in the tilt.

"It feels good. I love playing home in front of our fans. It kind of gives me a little bit more motivation," Atkinson told the media after the game. "It's always nice to score goals. That's what I'm here to do."

Atkinson scored his first non-empty-net goal of the season with a redirection off an Owen Tippett feed from point-blank range early in the second period. He scored yet again in the third period, pulling off a sick move on a breakaway to beat Edmonton netminder Jack Campbell for his second goal of the night. Again, it was Tippett setting him up for the tally.

Everything Atkinson did seemed to turn to gold Thursday night — even when he made mistakes. Late in the second period, he took a crucial tripping penalty that gave the Oilers a golden opportunity to tie the game going into the intermission. But instead of an Edmonton marker, the Flyers restored their two-goal lead thanks to a clutch shorthanded goal from defenseman Sean Walker. It the first shorty of Walker's career.

Sean Couturier got the play going by forcing a McDavid turnover in the defensive zone. Walker was quick to join in on the ensuing rush, gathering a quick feed from Couturier and darting into the Oilers zone to beat Jack Campbell with a laser from the top of the faceoff circle.

For the second game in a row, Couturier showed a glimpse of the Selke-winning talent he once was — and still may be.

"I think a lot of the things go unnoticed that he does, but the D zone's been spectacular, the way he can break up plays, calm things down for us, and obviously he has that offensive ability too," said Walker.

"I think everybody's been super impressed with him, the way he's come back and battled over the last two years. He's a huge addition obviously, and the guys love having him around."

Bobby Brink and Joel Farabee got the scoring started with a give-and-go marker late in the opening stanza. Cam York poked a loose puck away from Edmonton's Warren Foegele in the neutral zone, which sprung Brink and Farabee for the 2-on-1 scoring chance. Brink made a nice feed through Vincent Desharnais to set Farabee up for the marker.

Brink's assist served as sweet payback on Desharnais, who shut the 2019 second-round pick down twice along the boards moments before the icebreaker.

Brink is still in search of his first NHL goal, but at this point, it's only a matter of time until he finally nets one. He nearly scored on a wraparound in the second period, but just couldn't get the puck past the iron.

Patience, young one. The goals are coming.

After logging the sixth shutout of his NHL career Tuesday night, Carter Hart was outstanding yet again, turning aside all but one of the Oilers' 23 shots. In his first four games of the season, Hart has stopped 105 of 113 shots against for a .929 save percentage.

Not too shabby.

"He wasn't as busy obviously, but made some key saves at key times," said head coach John Tortorella. "Carter from Day 1 here has just looked solid, and he played another good game tonight."

Defenseman Marc Staal left the game in the second period with an upper-body injury after a hard collision into the end boards. He remained on the bench for some time after the collision, but eventually made his way down the tunnel into the dressing room. Tortorella did not have an update on his status immediately after the game.

The Flyers return to action Saturday night for a road tilt against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center. They'll wrap up their miniature western road trip Tuesday in Sin City with a showdown against the Vegas Golden Knights.