Boston @ Edmonton preview
Rogers Place
Last Meeting ( Mar 9, 2023 ) Edmonton 3, Boston 2
With how their seven-game homestand worked out, it is easy to understand why the Boston Bruins might want to hit the road.
However, as the Bruins kick off a four-game road trip on Wednesday against the Edmonton Oilers, they will at least have some momentum following a 4-3 shootout victory over the Dallas Stars on Monday.
"It's an extremely important win," said Boston goaltender Jeremy Swayman, who made 43 saves through overtime against Dallas before surrendering only one goal in a nine-round shootout. "Every win in this league is important, but knowing that we're not gonna be here for a week or two now, it's something that we owe our fans. They support us through the ups and downs and we owe them a good two points every given night."
The Bruins, who are in a neck-and-neck battle with the Florida Panthers for the top spot in the Atlantic Division, posted a 2-3-2 record in their home stint that followed the All-Star break.
Boston coach Jim Montgomery said his team was lucky to win after deserving a better fate in its three previous outings. The Bruins needed David Pastrnak's late goal with Swayman pulled to force overtime.
Boston's Justin Brazeau scored in his NHL debut, hours after the AHL standout signed a two-year contract with the club.
"It's a cool feeling," Brazeau said. "It's a long time coming. I worked hard to get here. To see that comes full circle, it feels pretty good."
There was no news on the status of defenseman Hampus Lindholm, who left the game against the Stars early in the third period, but the club summoned defenseman Mason Lohrei from its AHL affiliate before heading on the road.
The Oilers return home after riding a four-goal third period to a 6-3 victory over the Arizona Coyotes on Monday.
"When things aren't going our way or we don't have our best game going, (it's) just staying composed, not panicking and knowing if we hang around long enough and get our game in order, we can pull it out," said Edmonton forward Evander Kane, who scored twice in the third period.
The Oilers have won 20 of their past 23 games and are making a push for second place in the Pacific Division. But it has not been all roses as of late. Edmonton has lost three of its past seven games and required a few frantic third-period comebacks to keep racking up the victories.
"I think we had a pretty good start to the game, and then we kind of took our foot off the gas," Oilers forward Ryan McLeod said after Monday's win. "But we came out in the third and played a simple brand (of hockey)."
That said, having the ability to win games despite not having your "A" game is often the difference between making or missing the playoffs.
"We talked about not getting back-to-back wins for three weeks," Edmonton coach Kris Knoblauch said. "Good teams are able to put together long (winning) streaks, and good teams also don't put long losing streaks together. So, getting back-to-back (wins) feels good."
Connor McDavid hasn't scored a goal in his past six games but has collected 12 assists over the past four games, while fellow Edmonton star Leon Draisaitl has recorded three goals and five assists during a four-game point streak.
--Field Level Media