Philadelphia Flyers' Travis Sanheim, right, battles with Edmonton Oilers' Mattias Janmark, centre, as Carter Hart blocks a shot during the first period. The Flyers won 4-1 on Oct. 19, 2023, in Philadelphia.Matt Slocum/The Associated Press
Cam Atkinson scored twice and Sean Walker added his first goal with Philadelphia as the Flyers beat the Edmonton Oilers 4-1 on Thursday night.
Atkinson, who missed all of last season with a neck injury, has played a role in the Flyers’ 3-1 start. He scored his first goal of the game early in the second period when netted a tap-in in front of Edmonton goalie Jack Campbell. Owen Tippett made a nice spin move along the boards and fired a pass that Atkinson converted.
Atkinson scored his third goal of the season, also on a pass from Tippett, on a shot from the slot early in the third period.
It was his first two-goal game since March 2022.
“It feels really good,” Atkinson said. “It’s always nice to score goals. That’s what I’m here to do.”
Walker scored his first goal since February, ending a 25-game drought, by firing a wrist shot past Campbell on a short-handed rush with 1:31 remaining in the second.
Atkinson, who was in the penalty box at the time of Walker’s goal, was yelling for Walker to pass the puck.
“I didn’t hear it,” Walker said. “But I’m not going to lie. I’m not going to try to make that pass. I’m going to shoot that one every time.”
Joel Farabee opened the scoring in the first period for Philadelphia, scoring off a give-and-go with Sean Couturier, who had two assists. Carter Hart made 22 saves.
Zach Hyman scored for Edmonton, his second of the season, on a play started by Conor McDavid, who was held without a shot.
“We made sure he spent a lot of time in the other end of the ice and not the most dangerous zone,” Flyers coach John Tortorella said. “That was the key to the game tonight. We were solid against him. When you start running around looking for him, that’s when he finds other people. We just stayed patient against him on the most dangerous parts of the ice.”
Considered a Stanley Cup contender, the Oilers have gotten off to a slow start this season, dropping three of their first four games.
“We didn’t live up to our standard of work ethic tonight,” Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. “It was not good enough. I thought our game lacked urgency. I didn’t see second and third effort in all areas of the game up and down our lineup. That’s disappointing.”
Philadelphia was able to stifle the high-powered Edmonton offence despite playing down a defenceman after veteran Marc Staal didn’t return following an awkward collision with Edmonton F Warren Foegle at 4:24 of the second period. The Flyers said Staal sustained an upper body injury.
Hart attack
Coming off a shutout in his last start, Hart went 114:51 over parts of three games between goals allowed. He has gotten off to a fast start for the Flyers (3-1-0), with a 2.00 GAA.
Notes
Despite being a full participant in practice, Flyers D Rasmus Ristolainen (undisclosed) has been sidelined for all four of Philadelphia’s contests ... Despite being named the first star in the Flyers previous game, D Egor Zamula was a healthy scratch. As was F Morgan Frost, who was out of the lineup for the second straight game ... Edmonton D Vincent Desharnais suited up after missing the previous two games as a healthy scratch. He replaced D Philip Broberg as the Oilers looked to add some size against a Philadelphia team that plays a physical brand of hockey.
Up next
Oilers: Host Winnipeg on Saturday night.
Flyers: Travel to Dallas on Saturday night.