A mom recaps the Oilers vs Flyers game | October 27, 2021

First of all, it was both and Leon Draisaitl (Edmonton Oilers) and Rasmus Ristolainen’s (Philadelphia Flyers) birthdays on Wednesday, October 27, and if the team and crowd sang happy birthday or ate cupcakes I didn’t see it.  Second, the Oilers-Flyers game didn’t start until 9:00pm CST which is too late for a school night.

I actually missed the first half of the first period because the boys had hockey practice and by the time we got them hosed down and into bed the game had already started and three goals were already up on the board – two by Philadelphia, one by Edmonton.  Those goals were quickly followed by one more for each team, which was nice because it meant everyone got a chance to score.

Zach Hyman of the Edmonton Oilers put a point up right away in the second period thanks to some good passing by his teammates, and here’s a fun fact: Zach has also written a children’s book!  Philadelphia’s goalie, Carter Hart was making saves left and right; although he deflected one of the pucks with his mask and if you ask me, that’s not a good use of a person’s face.

At the end of the second, Philadelphia’s Oskar Lindblom, who is recovering from bone cancer, was hit in the leg, and then Ristolainen – on his birthday, as a reminder – took a puck to the nose.  Also, the Oilers had some very long shifts and the period was very fast-paced and so everyone definitely deserved some orange slices and chocolate milk and a little rest during the intermission.

Cam Atkinson scored for Philadelphia in the third period.  Cam recently came over to the Flyers from Columbus, so that was a nice way to prove his mustard to his new teammates.  There were two penalties in the third, one of them due to a lot of turkey behavior by Travis Konecny (Flyers) to Connor McDavid (Oilers).

There was an empty-net goal against Edmonton at the end of the period, which was at first waved off because the refs called it off-sides, but then counted after the refs called it on-sides – a good reminder that everyone is just doing their best.  The game ended 5-3 in favor of Philadelphia, but the most important thing is that both teams had fun.

By Amanda Silverman Kosior | Read more hockey stories here | and here | and here