(Saturday, October 6th)

Final Score: Edmonton 5, Philadelphia 3

Edmonton, AB (Sports Network) - Joni Pitkanen scored the decisive tally and Geoff Sanderson had a pair of goals, helping the Edmonton Oilers beat the Philadelphia Flyers, 5-3, at Rexall Place.

Pitkanen and Sanderson, both former Flyers, were dealt to Edmonton in July in a trade that sent defenseman Jason Smith and forward Joffrey Lupul to Philadelphia. Smith, who played with the Oilers from 1998 through all of last season and captained the team from 2001-07, now wears the "C" for Philadelphia.

Steve Staios had a goal and Dustin Penner also tallied for the Oilers, who have opened the season with a pair of home wins. Mathieu Garon finished with 22 saves to preserve the victory.

Daniel Briere and Simon Gagne each had a goal and one assist, and Jeff Carter also scored for Philadelphia. Martin Biron made 29 saves in defeat.

Pitkanen put Edmonton in front for good just 1:10 into the third when he bounced a rebound shot off Flyers forward Mike Knuble's body and through Biron's pads to make it 4-3.

Knuble had a shot blocked with a little more than three minutes to play for Philadelphia, while Sanderson added an empty-net goal with just 22 ticks remaining in the contest to sew up the win for the Oilers.

Edmonton dominated play in the first period, holding a 16-4 advantage in shots on goal as the game remained scoreless.

The Oilers then opened the scoring in the second. Staios was credited with a goal off a shot from the point at 3:47, as the puck skittered off the shin pad of Flyers defenseman Derian Hatcher and dipped past Biron.

Philadelphia tied things up at the 8:39 mark, as Carter knocked a rebound shot out of the air. The play was reviewed to see if his stick went above the crossbar, but it was quickly ruled a goal to make it a 1-1 game.

Penner's one-timer low on the stick side put the Oilers back on top less than three minutes later, but the Flyers answered again as Briere notched his third goal of the season by splitting two defenders and lifting the puck under the crossbar at 13:05.

The offensive outburst continued in the closing stages of the stanza, as the Flyers converted on the power play. Briere was once again the catalyst, finding Gagne in the slot before he fired the puck past Garon on the far side to make it 3-2.

Then, with five seconds left, Sanderson scored his first goal as an Oiler when he tipped a feed from Marty Reasoner past Biron to knot the game at 3-3.

Game Notes

The Oilers announced that General Manager Kevin Lowe has agreed to a four year contract extension ...Edmonton continues to play without forwards Ethan Moreau (foot) and Fernando Pisani (ulcerative colitis), who are both on injured reserve...This was the lone game of the season between the two clubs, who hadn't met since December 8, 2005. It was also Philly's first visit to Rexall Place since October 10, 2002...Philadelphia lost in Edmonton for the first time since dropping a 3-2 decision on December 27, 1995...Philly has not swept consecutive games against both Alberta clubs since December 27-29, 1996...The Flyers were 1-for-4 on the power play, while the Oilers went 0-for-2.

10/06 23:24:15 ET