For Connor McDavid, getting his feet moving in the first period was a more literal challenge as one of only two players left in the NHL (alongside Sidney Crosby) who still have their blades fixed the old way to the bottom of their skates, delaying the captain’s arrival for the power play to the last 47 seconds because of an equipment issue.
Without McDavid on the ice and Ryan Nugent-Hopkins not in the lineup because of injury, Head Coach Kris Knoblauch turned to Isaac Howard and Trent Frederic, but the Oilers couldn’t break through on the first opportunity for their red-hot man advantage (12-for-29 in the last 11 games).
The Oilers recorded the final six shots in the last 6:39 of the period and finished strong to break the deadlock in the last minute on Bouchard’s third goal of the season, with McDavid registering an assist to push his personal point streak to six games (4G, 7A).
Matt Savoie, who recorded his first-career NHL assist in this fixture last season, fed McDavid down low for the captain to attempt a tight-angle shot, but the rebound found its way back to McDavid on the other side before he set up Bouchard in the slot for a short-side one-timer that beat Vladar to make it 1-0.
“I like the city of Philly, obviously,” Savoie said post-game. “It was my first game with the team last year, so it was pretty special. It was a good game all around tonight.”