Denver Barkey notches his first NHL goal as the Flyers hold off the Edmonton Oilers

EDMONTON, Alberta ― The Flyers kick-started 2026 with a bang.

In their first game of the new year, the Orange and Black handed the blue and orange Edmonton Oilers a 5-2 loss. It shouldn’t come as a surprise, considering the Flyers are now 13-1-5 after a loss; they lost to the Calgary Flames on New Year’s Eve.

The win helped the Flyersclose out a five-game road trip, which began in Chicago before the holiday break, with a 3-2-0 record. It was the fourth victory in their past six games.

And while Connor McDavid did get a goal and an assist, Leon Draisaitl had a plus-minus of minus-3, as the Flyers had more shot attempts, shots on goal, and scoring chances than the high-flying Oilers.

“Those are the moments that I think a lot of guys in here are living for,” said goalie Dan Vladař, who was outstanding in net, stopping 22 of 24 shots. “If you want to be the best, you’ve got to beat the best, right? That’s what we’ve been told since we were young. Obviously, we’re still not the best, but we are doing everything we can to get to the best spot as we can.

“We still know it’s a lot of hockey left, but I think that if you’re going to follow our leaders and the coaching staff, that we are going to be in a good spot.”

Denver Barkey has been waiting patiently for that first NHL goal, and it was worth the wait.

Barkey started the breakout from deep in the Flyers’ end when he pickpocketed Vasily Podkolzin along the end boards and then skated the puck up between the Russian winger and the net. He hit Sean Couturier on the right wing as the captain, and Owen Tippett went two-on-two with the Oilers’ defensemen.

Couturier sent a leading pass to Tippett as the two crossed just before the Oilers’ blue line, and he carried the puck in. Meanwhile, Barkey was speeding down the center of the ice and heading toward the net. He got behind the defense and tapped the perfect pass from Tippett past former Flyers goalie Calvin Pickard.

“He’s been playing great for us [and] he’s been generating chances, it was only a matter of time before he put one in, and [I’m] happy for him,” Travis Sanheim said. “He deserves it, and it was a big goal for us.”

“Kind of settled us down a bit,” he added as the Oilers had a little more control to start the game. “And then ended up getting a couple more [goals] there. And I thought it kick-started us.”

Barkey’s first NHL goal comes in his seventh game, complementing the two assists he had in his debut. His first NHL goal also comes in the building in which Matvei Michkov scored his first two goals last season.

“I think just over time as many reps you get with each other, you start to get more comfortable,” Barkey said when asked about his confidence. “But I think they’ve done a great job of making me feel welcome [and] comfortable playing on their line since day one. So I think that’s helped a lot. I’m just super grateful to be playing with two really, really talented hockey players.”

Couturier finished with two assists, and Tippett had a goal (a late empty-netter) and an assist as the line was plus-2 on the night.

“Yeah, that’s the key, right?” coach Rick Tocchet said of Barkey’s play in his own end. “[Heck] of a defensive play and then playing a 200-foot game. I thought Couturier’s line was outstanding tonight. They were really good. Coots had a great game. Tipp and Barkey, they were the main reason why we won tonight.”

Barkey’s goal gave the Flyers a 1-0 lead for only the 13th time this season. It is the fewest in the NHL — which probably explains why the Flyers have the most wins when trailing, 1-0 (13-9-5).

But it was a lucky No. 13 for the Flyers, who won for the eighth time as they kept piling it on.

Travis Sanheim made it 2-0 when the Couturier line went to work again. After a Barkey pass to Tippett missed its mark, Oilers defenseman Darnell Nurse got the puck and sent it up the boards. Podkolzin couldn’t control it, and it bounced out to Couturier above the circles.

The Flyers captain put a shot on immediately that Pickard stopped before Couturier got it again near the slot. The rebound went out to Sanheim, and the defenseman, who was named on New Year’s Eve to Canada’s squad for the 2026 Milan Cortina Olympics, walked into the right circle and sent the wrister into the back of the net.

The goal is Sanheim’s fourth of the year and 18th point.

» READ MORE: Flyers defenseman Travis Sanheim makes Canada’s Olympic roster for Milan

Bobby Brink then made it 3-0 with his 11th of the year, one shy of his career high set last season in 79 games.

Brink started the play when he intercepted a stretch pass by Evan Bouchard on the Flyers’ side of the neutral zone. He carried the puck into the Oilers’ end before dishing it over to Michkov along the right boards.

The sophomore winger took his time and hit Cam York as he skated down the middle. York waited as the Oilers put a double screen on their goalie before he shot the puck, which ended up going off the leg of Brink.

“Obviously, it’s a tough thing to go into the game thinking that you can play up and down hockey against this team. So I thought that everybody played responsible hockey in here, and we just outgrinded them,” Vladař said.

“We knew that if you were going to play good defense, you were going to have those opportunities and that we are skilled enough to take advantage of it, and we did. So great for the guys in front of me, they did much of the work today.”

Much like the Flyers, there is no quit in this Oilers team, which has gone to the Stanley Cup final the past two seasons.

McDavid cut into the Flyers’ lead to extend his point streak to 15 games with a breakaway goal on Vladař in the first period. Sanheim carried the puck from Philly’s end into the Oilers zone and tried to send a cross-ice pass to Couturier; however, it was picked off by Edmonton defenseman Mattias Ekholm.

The Swede sent it up to McDavid, who skated in and notched his 25th of the season and 1,153rd point of his career in 754 games.

“Yeah, I thought, minus my turnover in the first, I think we did a pretty good job against them,” Sanheim said. “Just the whole team buying in and understanding you’re playing against two of the best players in the world, and you’ve got to be smart out there.

“And for the most part, I thought we were, and that’s kind of why we ended up on the winning side.”

» READ MORE: Trevor Zegras is even better than the Flyers thought, and other things we know as the calendar flips

In the second period, Michkov was called for high-sticking Mattias Janmark as he carried the puck through the neutral zone. Not the best move when the Oilers entered the day with the NHL’s best power play at 33.3%. And just over a minute into the man advantage, Bouchard scored with a slapshot from the point to make it 3-2.

“No, just breathe,” said Vladař, when asked if the talkative netminder said anything to his teammates after the second goal. “And, obviously, it’s hockey. It’s not always going to be perfect, and especially against a team like that, they’re going to get their chances, and eventually they’re going to capitalize, right?

“So, just trying to be positive as always, and obviously, I always had the trust in our group and the guys in front of me. So, I was really confident that we can pull those two points for me.”

After allowing just five shots on goal in the second period — Bouchard’s goal came on the third shot — the Flyers held the Oilers to just six in the final frame. They all came in the final 6 minutes, 24 seconds after Nick Seeler scored his first goal of the season off a faceoff win by Rodrigo Ābols to make it 4-2.

“We get those three in the first there, and they make it 3-2. So we just wanted to do what we’re doing in the first there, and play consistent and be above their top guys,” Seeler said. “Obviously, they have a couple of the best players on the planet so contain them the best you can, and try to match their speed. And I thought we did a good job.”

Philly is now 14-0-1 when leading after two periods, with all but one win needing a shootout. Nine of those wins were also by three goals. And they are 8-0-2 when leading after one period, with two of those wins going to a shootout.

“I think the conversation in the room [heading into the third] was just don’t get on your heels,” Barkey said. “Stay on our toes; I think that’s when we’re at our best. And we’re shutting them down, and we’re creating offense when we’re on our toes. So continue to stay on our toes and not get back on our heels and start watching the game come to us.”

Defenseman Noah Juulsen and forwards Nic Deslauriers and Nikita Grebenkin were the healthy scratches. … Forward Garnet Hathaway returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for six games. He dropped the gloves with Darnell Nurse in the first period and had a game-high six hits with a plus-1. … Defenseman Emil Andrae also returned after being a healthy scratch against the Flames. He played 15:52 and was plus-1. ... The semifinals are set at the 2026 IIHF World Junior Championship. Jack Berglund and Sweden will face Heikki Ruohonen, Max Westergård, and Finland on Sunday (4:30 p.m., NHLN). In the other semi, Czechia goes up against Jett Luchanko, Porter Martone, and Canada (8:30 p.m., NHLN).

The Flyers return home to face Ryan Poehling, Cutter Gauthier, and the Anaheim Ducks on Tuesday (7 p.m., NBCSP).