Oilers Double Up Bruins 4-2

The Bruins took an early lead. The Oilers would come back to take the lead, but not before letting Boston tie it up. The Oilers and Bruins began the third tied at two, but it would be the Oilers (!) who would take the lead for good on a nice snipe from Ryan Strome. Leon Draisaitl scored an ENG, and the Oilers finish their five game road trip with a somewhat palatable two wins.

• LINEUP NOTES: The Oilers finally made the move to play 97-93-29 down the middle. It worked. What was a little puzzling was how the wings are just all over the place. Mike Cammalleri was on the top line with Milan Lucic, Anton Slepyshev was back on the second line with Pat Maroon, and the third line featured Ryan Strome and Drake Caggiula. I don’t know how any of these line combos were drawn up (perhaps they were pulled out of a hat?) but they worked. Maroon and Strome each had a goal tonight, while Lucic ran shenanigans in front of Tuukka Rask on an Adam Larsson goal from the point.
• Jesse Puljujarvi was a healthy scratch tonight, which is kinda bleh.
• A SHOT OF PREMIUM TO BOOT: With Connor McDavid’s two assists, he’s hit 19th and 20th on the season. Add his 10 goals to that number, and you’ll have 30 points in 24 games. I’ve got nothing snarky to add to this. It’s good, the Oilers need it.
• FRICKIN’ LASERS: I give Ryan Strome some flack because he’s roughly 40% of the return the Oilers needed in the Jordan Eberle deal, but this is a beautiful game winning goal. Isn’t that nice? Like Miami Vice. Goal is Strome’s fourth of the year, his eleventh point.

• SAVINGS ACCOUNT: Cam Talbot turned aside 24 of 26 shots to earn his ninth win of the year. If the team is going to make a play for anywhere near the second season, he’ll have to play lights out forever and a day.
• SPECIAL TEAMS: The penalty kill is something else this year. Just two opportunities for the Bruins, but they cashed midway through the first period as David Pastrnak popped his twelfth of the season.
• MISC: Auvitu-Russell? Good God. I’ve got time for Auvitu when he’s shooting the puck, but things get zany in the Oiler end when these two get together. When do we get Andrej Sekera back?

• Things got chippy during this one, notably when Zdeno Chara shook down Connor McDavid in the first period. Eventually, McDavid would have a word with the sixteen foot Slovakian Giant which sounds nice on paper, but I’d literally prefer to have any other Oiler have to engage in a physical altercation than a guy who’s on pace for 103 points this year.
• Oilers come home to face Arizona on Tuesday. The big win streak starts now, yeah?