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Smith faces former team when Flyers meet Oilers

Oct 6, 2007 - 1:38 PM Philadelphia (1-0-0) at Edmonton (1-0-0) 8:00 pm EDT

EDMONTON, Alberta (Ticker) - Defenseman Jason Smith will face his former team on Saturday when the Philadelphia Flyers take on the Edmonton Oilers on Saturday.

Smith, who was traded from the from the Oilers after eight seasons during the offseason, was captain of the 2006 team that made a magical run to the Stanley Cup Finals. Smith will try to improve upon his 2006-07 performance when he logged just 11 points and finished the season minus-13.

The Flyers also signed Daniel Briere, who was a member of the Buffalo Sabres last season. Briere has already had an impact on his new team, scoring two goals in Philadelphia's 3-2 season-opening win against the Calgary Flames on Thursday.

It took Briere just over three minutes in a Flyers uniform to notch his first goal, scoring on just his second shift of the game. The 29-year-old center also netted the game winning goal, scoring on a break-away to snap a 2-2 tie with under two minutes to play.

Briere is coming off the best season of his 11-year career as he set career-highs in goals (32), assists (63) and points (95), finishing the campaign plus-17.

The Oilers edged the San Jose Sharks, 3-2 in a shootout, getting their season off on the right foot. Tom Gilbert and Kyle Brodziak each scored goals in the third period as Edmonton rallied to tie the game at 2-2, before Jarret Stoll scored in the shootout to seal the victory.