Final: Edmonton 5, Boston 3

Edmonton Oilers (9-2-0), coming off their second loss of the season, took on the Boston Bruins (6-4-0) in Massachusetts this evening. The Bruins picked up a 3-2 win over Ottawa on Tuesday.

Oilers lineup in Boston:

Hyman - McDavid - Puljujarvi
RNH - Draisaitl - Yamamoto
Foegele - Ryan - Turris
Perlini - McLeod - Sceviour

Nurse - Bouchard
Keith - Ceci
Koekkoek - Barrie

Koskinen

With Zack Kassian day-to-day with a lower body injury, Kyle Turris draws in on the third line. The bottom six has ben struggling the past few games and will look get back on track against Boston. Mikko Koskinen gets the start with Skinner set to start tomorrow in Buffalo, as Mike Smith returned to Edmonton today following yet another setback in his recovery from a day-to-day injury.

On a non-hockey note, Colby Cave was honoured at this Oilers-Bruins game. The late forward died April 11, 2020 at the age of 25, and he played two seasons each for Edmonton and Boston. His widow, Emily Cave, was in attendance for the celebration of his life. A teary-eyed beginning to the game, to be sure.

First Period

Right off the bat, the Oilers are hemmed in their own zone after a Koskinen miscue with the puck behind the net. After that, Leon Draisaitl is called for tripping as Marchand tried to sneak back into the Oilers zone. A good kill by the Oilers, and their road PK success continues at the 100% mark. Best chance is from McDavid and Puljuljarvi, the latter of which slipped on the one-time attempt.

The Oilers third lines struggles continue, and the terrible turnover at the offensive blue line turns into a goal the other end. Pastrnak handcuffs Koskinen and tucks it five hole for the 1-0 Boston lead. The lead is short-lived though, as Draisaitl patiently waits and finds Evan Bouchard walking in from the point, who goes bar down on Linus Ullmark and 44 seconds later we’re all tied up. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins assists on the goal, and is now on pace for 102 assists this season.

Halfway through the first, the Oilers headed to their first powerplay of the game. No damage done on a sloppy PP.

Before the end of the period, Slater Koekkoek gets called for holding in a mysterious call. Even Louie thinks his kid, Jake DeBrusk, sold the weak call. The penalty is killed, and McDavid/Draisaitl show some fireworks to end the period, but the score stays tied at 1. Couple (seemingly) easy calls for the officials at the end, but home ice advantage prevails for the Bruins.

In between periods, Emily cave spoke about the evening.

Second Period

After a sluggish start to the second period, Boston’s top line scores again. This time Marchand backhands a loose puck by Koskinen. 2-1 Boston. And guess what? Zach Hyman scores 20 seconds later to tie it up, again. 2-2. McDavid’s point streak extends to 12 games this season with the assist.

Koekkoek’s second penalty of the game is for tripping as Marchand pulls a spin move on the Oiler d-man. No dice as the Oilers penalty kill on the road continues its strong start.

With a few minutes left in the period, Brandon Carlo’s shot from the point goes off Koskinen and in. A total flub by Mikko. 3-2 Oilers. Unfortunately, the Oilers aren’t able to tie it up and go into the break down one.

Third Period

The Oilers begin the period with a powerplay after Marchand is called for holding 200 feet from his net. A few shots and near-misses, but the Oilers remain down one after the Bruins kill it off.

A few minutes later, Carlo gifts a puzzling a turnover to Leon Draisaitl eight feet from his own goalie and neon Leon ties it up. 3-3 game.

The Oilers continue their dominance in the third period, and Draisaitl scores again off a nice drive to the net from Cody Ceci. 4-3 Edmonton, their first lead of the game.

In a crazy sequence, a flailing Mikko Koskinen kicks a puck away from an open net while laying on his back and preserving the one goal lead midway through the third.

Cody Ceci’s strong period continues, and he scores his first as an Oiler after a scramble in front. 5-3 Oilers. Sceivour’s first point as an Oiler, and McLeod’s second career point.

On the same shift however, Ceci is dinged by a dump in attempt on the side of the net and slowly made his way to the locker room. Even Brad Marchand was calling for an Oilers trainer to help the defender on the ice.

And the Edmonton Oilers take this one over the Boston Bruins after coming back three different times. 5-3 final, and back at it again tomorrow against Buffalo.