APPLICATION » up much, especially in the third period.

PHILADELPHIA -- Thanks to a powerful power play fueled by Wayne Simmonds, outstanding goaltending by Steve Mason and the steady progress of 19-year-old rookie defenseman Ivan Provorov, the Philadelphia Flyers carry a six-game winning streak into Thursday nights home game against the Edmonton Oilers.Simmonds is coming off back-to-back two-goal performances and leads the NHL with eight power-play goals. He is tied for third in the NHL with 15 goals.Hes been primarily pretty much a 30-goal scorer, Flyers coach Dave Hakstol said. Hes doing the exact same thing, doing exactly what he has always done. The thing with Simmer is that he doesnt change his game, he doesnt waver. I think you are seeing a very confident player right now, a very competitive player and a very focused player. Hes been very important for our group here especially in the first third of the season and that is going to continue.The Flyers power play has produced more goals this season -- 24 in 28 games -- than any team in the NHL. Claude Giroux is a big reason. He leads the NHL with 15 power-play points.Mason has been the Flyers best player in recent games. He stopped 42 of 44 shots in Tuesday nights 3-2 overtime win against the Florida Panthers, his fifth straight win. Florida recorded 85 shot attempts to the Flyers 51.Mase has been outstanding over the last three weeks, Flyers right winger Jake Voracek said. Sometimes you are going to have hockey games like that but Mase was great and we scored when we needed to.Masons 88 wins as a Flyer moved him past Pelle Lindbergh and into sixth in franchise history. Mason needs six wins to move into third place in franchise history.The Flyers have also received steady play from Provorov, a 19-year-old rookie who picked up an assist and recorded a huge block on a 2-on-1 in overtime on Tuesday night.I think he has done a great job all year long and he is only going to get better, Simmonds said of the 19-year-old rookie. If you watch him play he is getting better and better, not every game, but every shift.Provorov will draw the assignment of stopping the Oilers top line of Connor McDavid, Milan Lucic and Leon Draisaitl, who have combined for 30 goals and 78 points this season. McDavid leads the NHL with 36 points and all 11 of his goals have come at even strength.The Flyers likely will try to match the checking line of Pierre-Edouard Bellemare, Chris VandeVelde and Dale Weise against the McDavid line.The Oilers are coming off Tuesday nights 4-3 overtime loss in Buffalo. Jordan Eberle, Lucic (8 goals) and Draisaitl (11 goals) scored for the Oilers (14-10-4) while Cam Talbot made 22 saves.The Oilers blew a one-goal lead late in regulation and lost on a power-play goal in overtime.We did a really good job taking that game over after the first, McDavid told the Edmonton Journal. Started slow, battled back, had the lead and werent really giving up much, especially in the third period. Give them credit. They found a way to get one, get it to overtime and their power play bared down.It comes down to them pulling their goalie and executing and we have to live with that, Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. Thats going to happen in the game, thats going to happen every now and then and its the next 22 seconds when you take a penalty that you dont need to take and that sets you up for a loss.As for projected rosters, Flyers defenseman Radko Gudas is expected to return after missing three games with an illness. Oilers defenseman Dillon Simpson could make his NHL debut. The Flyers activated forward Boyd Gordon and placed Matt Read (upper body injury) on injured reserve. Custom Boston Red Sox Jerseys . Canada is now down to its 22-player limit, although but players wont be registered until Christmas Day. Changes could still be made as a result of a suspension or injury. Custom Baltimore Orioles Jerseys . Wall made the comment in a speech to a Regina business crowd that included Lesnar. The U.S. wrestler and retired mixed martial artist says he was visiting his brothers farm in Saskatchewan and decided he wanted to hear what the premier had to say. http://www.customjerseysbaseball.com/ . PETERSBURG, Fla. Custom St. Louis Cardinals Jerseys . John Lucas, signed as a mentor for rookie Trey Burke, showed he can score if required, scoring 12 points of his 16 points in the second quarter as Utah built an 18-point lead. Custom Baseball Jerseys China . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July. ASHBURN, Va. -- After the Washington Redskins allowed the Minnesota Vikings to score 20 consecutive points at the end of the first half Sunday, coach Jay Gruden had to shut the door in his office at halftime to cool down.Once he regained his poise, so did his team. For the seventh time this season the Redskins had a game decided by one score, and after beating the Vikings theyre 4-2-1 in those situations.This time it was the defense shutting out Minnesota for the final 30 minutes while the offense got the job done, but Washington is comfortable playing football on the razors edge between winning and losing -- mostly because there has been more winning than losing.We have a pretty good resolve in this locker room, linebacker Ryan Kerrigan said. We know every game is going to be close. You rarely have a game where you just beat a team 40-0. We know most games were playing are going to be close, and you have to have that mindset going into every game that you have to play for a full 60 minutes.Enduring a bad six minutes like the Redskins did against the Vikings might not work so well against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers (4-5) on Sunday night. Either way, its a good bet that the Redskins (5-3-1) wont get blown out or blow the Packers out of the building in a reprisal of the NFC wild-card game last season.The Redskins recipe in close games has included a defense that gets better as games go on, effective offense even in light of red zone struggles and a kicker who ranks among the NFLs most relied upon.Quarterback Kirk Cousins said coaches, and specifically Gruden, are behind Washingtons success in the close games that are part of a close league. Cousins pointed to Grudens time in the Arena Football League as one reason the head coach knows about clock management as well as adjustments.He does a very good job of managing the game in ccoaching situations, Cousins said.dddddddddddd Any time you have young players in certain positions, its going to take time. You dont just snap your fingers and get exactly what you want. I think we are all growing together. I dont think we are an old, veteran, experienced team by any means, and theres still a ways to go.The Redskins converted a touchdown on only one of four trips to the red zone against Minnesota and allowed two Vikings touchdowns on the other side of the ball. Gruden said the team will continue to patch up the red zone issues but didnt voice much worry about them because the points keep coming.I think there are sometimes where going down there and kicking field goals isnt a bad thing in close games, Gruden said Monday. I would rather do that than force an interception down there.Cousins was almost picked off at the goal line in the first quarter, but two Vikings linebackers collided and the ball fell between them. Cousins found receiver Jamison Crowder for a touchdown on the next play.As for Hopkins, Gruden likes how his kicker rebounded back after missing a 34-yarder in overtime against the Cincinnati Bengals on Oct. 30 in London.Hes been excellent all year, Gruden said. He gave us no reason to believe that he wouldnt do otherwise then to bounce back. It was great to see it, though.Game notes Gruden hasnt ruled out WR DeSean Jackson playing against Green Bay after missing the Vikings game with a left shoulder injury. ... RT Morgan Moses aggravated a sprained left ankle in the victory but returned and is expected to play.---This is a corrected story. A previous version had the Packers record listed incorrectly.---For more NFL coverage: http://www.pro32.ap.org and http://www.twitter.com/AP-NFL ' ' '