Who said fighting has no place in hockey?

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There was more to it than that, but two fights inspired the Oilers to their first win of the season in an overtime thriller against the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday night.

The Oilers got off to an inauspicious start, incurring a player-too-many penalty four minutes into the first period. The Flyers made themselves pay when Matvei Michkov scored his first career NHL goal by pushing the puck past Stuart Skinner. Kris Knoblauch struggled due to goalkeeper interference, but the goal stood.

Less than five minutes later, Michkov got the Oilers on the power play again with a Draisaitl-style one-timer from near the goal line, giving the Flyers a 2-0 lead.

The Oilers responded early in the second period when Adam Henrique intercepted a central pass from Mattias Janmark that was deflected into the slot by goaltender Samuel Ersson. In the second, the third variation was used again when Connor Brown finished the game with a beautiful tic-tac-toe to make it 2-0.

However, this lead did not last long. One of the Oilers' many, many penalties came back to bite them when a pass from Bobby Brink deflected off Mattias Ekholm's stick and past Stuart Skinner just as a Flyers power play was coming to an end, giving the Flyers a 3-1. 2 lead on the way to the final.

Edmonton received a huge boost from an unexpected source in the third period. After Flyers captain Sean Couturier tackled Stuart Skinner behind the net, defenseman Troy Stecher caught up to him and dropped his gloves. Despite being six inches behind, the Oilers defenseman battled the 6-foot-2 Couturier to a draw, drawing huge cheers from the crowd and his teammates.

The fistfight wasn't over yet as Corey Perry tackled Joel Farabee in the ensuing faceoff to even louder cheers. From then on, the Oilers were on a mission.

They were finally rewarded in the final four minutes of the quarter when Leon Draisaitl, Connor McDavid and Evan Bouchard connected on another vintage Oilers tic-tac-toe to tie the game at 3 and send the game to overtime.

The overtime didn't last long. Draisaitl, who was on the bench for a time in the third period after taking a careless penalty late in the second period, redeemed himself with his second point of the game less than a minute into overtime. The game winner was another McDavid-Draisaitl affair as Draisaitl missed the second chance when McDavid thwarted a breakaway to keep the Flyers at bay and tie the game 4-3.

Oilers Player of the Game: Leon Draisaitl

It's not often that a player who sits on the bench in the third period of the game is named man of the game. Draisaitl's cross-check on Garnet Hathaway was born out of frustration after the Flyers took the lead late in the second period, and his move was skipped a few times in the third period.

However, he returned the favor in true Leon Draisaitl style, hitting McDavid with a great spin-o-rama move that set up the equalizer. Then, of course, in overtime he did what he does best, following McDavid to the net and giving the Oilers their first win of the season in dramatic fashion.

Oilers game play

What else but the first Oilers game winner of the year? Leon Draisaitl from this close with no Flyers near him (thanks to a flyby from rookie Matvei Michkov) is as automatic as it gets.

It was far from perfect, but every two points count, and at the end of the game the Oilers looked their usual self. An overtime comeback win, fueled by a dominant third line, two battles from depth players and completed by the team's stars, is just what the doctor ordered to end the team's first homestand.

The Oilers are back in action on Thursday, starting their first road trip of the season against the Nashville Predators.

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