Oilers win 3-2 in OT against Bruins (Image Source: Imagn)
The Edmonton Oilers won 3-2 in overtime against the Boston Bruins on Thursday at Rogers Place. Mattias Ekholm scored the game-winner at 1:04 of overtime. He received a pass from Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and scored with a one-timer.
Leon Draisaitl had three assists on the night, extending his streak to seven games and reaching 900 career points in the process. Zach Hyman also had a goal and an assist. Stuart Skinner made 24 saves for the Oilers, who have won six of their last seven games.
Felt a comeback Bruin ☕️@SentinelStorage | #LetsGoOilers pic.twitter.com/2yHAoS8WE3
— Edmonton Oilers (@EdmontonOilers) December 20, 2024
The Bruins got off to a strong start. Elias Lindholm scored early, just 1:07 into the first period. His shot deflected off Draisaitl’s stick and went over Skinner’s shoulder. Mark Kastelic added another goal to make it 2-0. He beat Skinner with a backhand after deking around Troy Stecher.
The Oilers responded in the second period. Hyman scored to make it 2-1, and Connor McDavid tied the game at 2-2 later in the period. He deked around Nakita Zadarov and scored between Swayman’s legs.
After the loss, Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman gave his honest thoughts on facing McDavid and Draisaitl:
“They are world-class players and they’re gonna make a play,” Swayman said. “So I gotta do my job too, [which] is to just read their plays the best I can, to cover the part of the net that they can see. And again, just hats off to them.
“But I thought, again, our guys did a great job of isolating them and shutting them down. They could have done a lot more damage, I feel like. And again, just really, really pleased with the guys in front of me,” Swayman added.
(from 4:15 mark onwards)
Swayman recognized the difficulty of facing two top players but was proud of the team’s defensive work.
David Pastrnak led Boston Bruins to 4-3 overtime win against Flames
In their previous game against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday, David Pastrnak scored with 38 seconds left in overtime. His shot beat Dustin Wolf’s blocker, giving the Boston Bruins a 4-3 win.
The Flames took the lead early in the second period. Matt Coronato scored 54 seconds in, followed by Nazem Kadri’s goal 27 seconds later. The Bruins responded at 6:31 when Elias Lindholm scored on a breakaway against his former team. Ryan Lomberg made it 3-1 at 17:19 with his first goal of the season.
The Bruins came back in the third period. Morgan Geekie scored on a rebound at 4:14, and Marc McLaughlin tied it at 6:51. The game went to overtime, where Pastrnak sealed the win. Swayman made 20 saves for Boston while Wolf stopped 31 shots for Calgary.
The Bruins will look to bounce back when they host the Buffalo Sabres next at TD Garden on Saturday. The Oilers, meanwhile, host the San Jose Sharks at Rogers Place the same day.
