Philadelphia @ Edmonton preview

Last Meeting ( Feb 2, 2019 ) Edmonton 4, Philadelphia 5

With the dreams of a perfect season dashed, the Edmonton Oilers return home to host the weary Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday. Edmonton began the season with five come-from-behind victories before concluding its four-game road trip with a 3-1 setback against Chicago on Monday and catches the Flyers on a back-to-back after they fell 3-1 in Calgary on Tuesday.

“We’ve set a standard how we need to play,'' first-year Oilers coach Dave Tippett told reporters. "If we play to those standards every night, we’ll have a chance to win every night. When we win games, we look at what went right and what went wrong. We’ll look at (Monday) and we’ll look at what went right, and some things we have to do better.” Edmonton is succeeding in all facets of the game, including special teams as it has killed 19-of-20 penalties while going 8-for-20 on the power play. Oilers veteran James Neal continued his torrid start by scoring his league-high eighth goal of the season Monday after totaling seven in 63 games with Calgary in 2018-19. The schedule-maker wasn't kind to Philadelphia, which opened the season with a win over Chicago in the NHL Global Series in Prague and returned home to defeat New Jersey before starting its three-game trip through Western Canada 0-1-1.

TV: 9:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network; NBCS Philadelphia, Sportsnet 360 (Edmonton)

ABOUT THE FLYERS (2-1-1): Power forward Chris Stewart, who played in the United Kingdom last season, signed a one-year, one-way contract worth $750,000 on Tuesday and recorded three hits in 9 minutes, 12 seconds of ice time in his club debut - and 653rd NHL game. Travis Konecny leads the team with three goals and seven points after recording an assist versus Calgary. Carter Hart (2-0-1, 1.62 goals-against average, .938 save percentage this season) will be in the crease after Brian Elliott made 35 saves on Tuesday in his season debut.

ABOUT THE OILERS (5-1-0): Connor McDavid won two straight Art Ross trophies before finishing second last season, and it looks like he wants to regain his crown with four goals and 12 points. His main competition could come from teammate Leon Draisaitl, who also has notched 12 points (four goals) after recording career highs of 50 goals and 105 points in 2018-19. Mike Smith is expected to start in net but is 7-8-2 with a 3.67 GAA and .884 save percentage in 19 games (17 starts) versus Philadelphia.

OVERTIME

1. Edmonton RW Zack Kassian (three goals) is averaging 17:04 of ice time, which would easily be a career high.

2. The Flyers went 0-for-4 on the power play Tuesday after going 4-for-10 in their first three games.

3. The clubs split two meetings last season, with the home team wining each game as McDavid recorded three goals and five points - giving him five and 12 in eight career contests against Philadelphia.

PREDICTION: Oilers 3, Flyers 2