(SportsNetwork.com) - With their chances of making the playoffs just about gone, the Philadelphia Flyers hope to salvage the finale of a four-game road trip when they visit the Edmonton Oilers at Rexall Place.
The Flyers entered this trip with slim playoff chances and a 0-2-1 mark in the first three games has not helped things. Now, with only nine games remaining on its schedule, Philadelphia sits 10 points out of a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.
Philly has lost each of its last two tests by a 4-1 count and has lost eight straight away from home. After falling in Vancouver on Tuesday, the Flyers lost two night later in Calgary. Johnny Gaudreau powered the Flames win with a goal and two assists.
Claude Giroux provided the lone tally for the Flyers, who fell to 0-5-3 during their road slide and suffered their first loss in Calgary in 14 years. The club is just 9-20-9 as the visiting team this season.
Steve Mason started and absorbed the loss after yielding two goals on 16 shots. Ray Emery finished up by allowing the other two scores on 10 shots.
"Yep, I was (surprised)," Mason said of being pulled from the game. "But at the same time, trying to make a momentum move. We're at the point where you try anything to get a win."
The Flyers held a players only meeting following the loss, but none of the participants were eager to divulge what was said in the locker room.
Philly will see if the meeting has an effect on its performance tonight, when it faces an Oilers team it has beaten in three straight and four of the last five encounters.
Edmonton enters this evening's tilt having dropped eight of its last nine games. The Oilers are second from last in the Western Conference standings with 51 points, one more than Arizona.
The Oilers halted an seven-game slide with Monday's 4-1 win over Toronto, but were back on the losing end with Wednesday's 4-3 shootout loss to Columbus. Edmonton has gained at least a point in three straight trips to the ice, going 1-0-2 during the stretch.
Edmonton overcame a 2-1 deficit against the Blue Jackets after 40 minutes to briefly take a 3-2 lead in the third period. The Oilers went ahead on Nail Yakupov's 12th goal of the season with 10:45 left in regulation, but Mark Letestu evened the score at 3-3 for Columbus less than a minute later.
The Blue Jackets then won the contest after Alexander Wennberg posted the deciding score in the third round of the shootout.
Derek Roy and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins also lit the lamp for Edmonton, while Yakupov, who also posted an assist in the loss, extended his point streak to five games. He has three goals and three assists during the run.
"We had a couple of posts and were kind of unlucky tonight," said Yakupov. "We played a good game and had lots of chances, but Columbus had their chances too and scored on them."
Ben Scrivens halted just 17-of-20 shots in the loss for the Oilers, who fell to 11-20-3 as the host this season.
Tonight's test marks the third portion of Edmonton's six-game homestand.
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