Philadelphia Flyers' Jakub Voracek (93) and Edmonton Oilers' Jeff Petry (2) battle for the rebound as goalie Ilya Bryzgalov (80) makes the save during first period NHL action in Edmonton, Alta., on Saturday December 28, 2013.JASON FRANSON/The Canadian Press
Michael Raffl scored the winner on his first career shootout attempt as the Philadelphia Flyers overcame an early deficit to earn a 4-3 victory over the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.
Wayne Simmonds had a pair of goals and Scott Hartnell also scored for the Flyers (18-16-4), who have won four out of their last five games and snapped a five-game losing streak on the road.
Taylor Hall, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and David Perron responded for the Oilers (13-24-4), who had a two-game winning streak end and have lost seven of their last nine.
Edmonton got off to a very quick start to the game, scoring on its first shot just 32 seconds in. Hall picked the pocket of Flyers defenceman Braydon Coburn deep in the Philadelphia zone and beat starter Steve Mason with a quick wrist shot high to the glove side for his 15th goal of the season.
The Oilers made it 2-0 four minutes into the first period as Nugent-Hopkins made a nice move at the blue-line to give himself some space and beat Mason with a shot from the slot. A couple of Oilers hit milestones with assists on the goal, as Hall recorded his 100th NHL assist and captain Andrew Ference his 200th point.
The Flyers started to pick it up for the remainder of the period, but could get any of their 11 shots past Oilers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov. It was Bryzgalov's first game against Philadelphia since the Flyers bought him and his hefty long-term contract out during the summer.
Bryzgalov came up huge to start the second period as he stopped Sean Couturier on a pair of short-handed opportunities in tight, including one on a diving stick save. The Oilers have allowed a league-high eight short-handed goals this season.
The Flyers got on the board three-and-a-half minutes into the second period on a power play of their own as Simmonds was able to tip in a blast from the top of the circle by Claude Giroux, who extended his point streak to eight games.
Philadelphia tied the game 2-2 with eight minutes to play in the second on another power-play goal as a pretty tic-tac-toe passing display had Bryzgalov spinning around in his net before Simmonds was able to put his second of the game into a wide-open cage.
It was the third consecutive two-goal game for Simmonds, who has seven goals in his last five outings. He was the first Flyer to have three straight multiple-goal games since Reggie Leach in 1981.
Edmonton was out-shot 14-3 in the second period.
The Oilers came close to regaining the lead six minutes into the third on the power play but Sam Gagner hit the crossbar and Jeff Petry a post with the man advantage.
Edmonton did strike for a goal on their next power play with eight minutes remaining in the third, however, as Perron banked a short from the side of the net off Flyers defender Niklas Grossmann and into the net for his team-leading 16th of the season and 100th career NHL goal.
Philadelphia came right back to tie the game 3-3 with five-and-a-half minutes left with their third power play goal as Hartnell tipped a Kimmo Timonen shot past a frustrated Bryzgalov on a five-on-three opportunity.
Mason was able to keep it a tied game with two minutes left as he stoned Perron with a pivotal glove save on a breakaway with two minutes remaining to send the game to extra time.
The shots favoured the Flyers 36-15 after the third period.
Notes: It was the second and final meeting between the two teams this season, with the Flyers winning the first game 4-2 in Philadelphia on Nov. 9. The Flyers came into the game without a win in Edmonton since March 19, 2001a Oilers goalie Ilya Bryzgalov was making his first appearance against the Flyers since his former club bought him out over the summer. The Flyers are still on the hook to pay the 33-year-old netminder $1.6-million per year through to the 2026-2027 season rather than have him in the lineup, leading to the Oilers picking him up partway through the season on a one-year deala Oilers defenceman Corey Potter missed the game with a groin strain. Recent AHL call-up Martin Marincin drew in as his replacementa Flyers winger Steve Downie returned from an upper body injury and fellow forward Adam Hall was also able to dress after missing practice on Friday with the flu. Defenceman Eric Gustafsson remained out with a knee injury.