Connor McDavid doesn’t have much time to bask in his 4 Nations Face-Off glory.
After scoring the winning goal for Canada in Thursday night’s championship game against the United States, McDavid is back on the ice Saturday afternoon when the Edmonton Oilers visit the Philadelphia Flyers.
The NHL took a two-week break to allow for the inaugural tournament between Canada, the U.S., Sweden and Finland. McDavid put the exclamation point on a memorable event with his overtime tally in the title game — one of the signature moments of his sparkling hockey career.
“Obviously, it means a lot to our group,” McDavid said. “I think a lot of people were wondering what this tournament would mean to guys, and obviously you can see what it means to everyone on our side. It was really exciting.”
Now, McDavid will turn his attention to getting the Oilers back to the Stanley Cup Final. They reached Game 7 last year before coming up short against the Florida Panthers.
Edmonton won two straight overtime games before falling to the Colorado Avalanche, 5-4, in its final contest before the break on Feb. 7. Leon Draisaitl and Corey Perry each scored twice to set up a 4-4 game going into the third period before Calvin Pickard (in relief of Stuart Skinner) allowed the decisive goal with under five minutes remaining.
“We’re preparing the same way. We’re looking to play a tight game. That’s our identity,” Draisaitl said. “So it’s not going to change. But obviously, we didn’t do that today. Too much offense given and it’s just not a great loss for us.”
The Oilers have 27 games left as they begin a five-game road trip up and down the East Coast. Edmonton has a looming stretch with tough road games against Washington, Tampa Bay, Florida and Carolina — four of the top six teams in the East — but first is a matchup versus Philadelphia.
The Flyers had lost seven of eight (1-6-1) before winning their final game before the break. Samuel Ersson made 31 saves and Travis Konecny notched a goal and an assist in a 3-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on Feb. 8.
“It was huge. It changes your mindset completely,” Konecny said after that win. “We didn’t play a perfect game. We could have done a lot of things differently. But ‘Ers’ helped us out a ton. That gives us some confidence going into the break here.”
Konecny was part of Team Canada, although he was a healthy scratch in Thursday’s title game. Ersson was among the goaltenders for Sweden.
“It’s big for me, obviously, to not just be a part of the tournament but to also get a game and get to play,” Ersson said. “It was very fun and a big experience for me.”
This is the second and final meeting between Edmonton and Philadelphia this season. The Oilers held off the Flyers 4-3 on Oct. 15 as Draisaitl scored the winner in overtime, punctuating his team’s comeback from an early 2-0 deficit.
McDavid has registered a point in 11 consecutive games against Philadelphia. He has 11 goals and 22 assists in 16 career games against the Flyers.
