The Bruins and Edmonton Oilers played one of the most exciting games two weeks ago in Edmonton that saw the teams score a combined 11 goals in what many felt was the game of the year.
It was a much different story at the Garden on Tuesday, but every bit as exciting – and much more indicative of what a playoff game would be like. And it didn’t end well for the B’s.
After losing another late lead, the Bruins lost 2-1 in overtime when Connor McDavid found Leon Draisaitl and his shot went off the stick of Brandon Carlo for the winner at 2:18.
It was a tough one to lose for the B’s, who earned their 15th loser point on the season.
Pavel Zacha broke the ice in a tense 0-0 at 4:26 of the third period on a bullet of a finish. The Oilers dumped it out of their zone and into the Boston end. Parker Wotherspoon retrieved and, in a quick motion, sent a pass off the neutral zone boards that got through the Edmonton defenders, giving Danton Heinen a 2-on-1 with Zacha.
Heinen sent the feed and Zacha made no mistake, scoring his third goal in two games on a one-timer.
The B’s then had to kill a questionable Trent Frederic penalty on McDavid with 5:08 left and they did so.
With goalie Stuart Skinner pulled for an extra skater, Heinen hit the side of the net and, with 1:20 left, the Oilers tied it up. McDavid shoveled a backhander to the net and it was deflected home by Zach Hyman to tie it up to spoil Linus Ullmark’s shutout bid and send it to overtime.
The scoreless first period was fast-paced, as is typical for Edmonton games, and both goalies were on their games early. With the Oilers waiting in Boston while the B’s earned a win in Toronto on Monday, McDavid had plenty of juice, taking five shots in the first period and landing four.
Ullmark had to be sharp, especially on a McDavid wraparound attempt.
But as much oxygen as both McDavid and Draisaitl can suck up, the B’s did a good job not allowing too many unmolested chances. And unlike the 6-5 track meet between the two teams in Edmonton a couple of weeks ago, this one was a tight-checking affair by both teams.
The B’s got the first power play when Dylan Holloway hooked Jakub Lauko with 2:19 left in the period and they had some chances. The best one came from Brad Marchand from the right circle, but Skinner made a sprawling save to keep the game knotted at 0-0 going into the second. Shots were even, 9-9, in the opening 20 minutes.
The B’s got another power play early in the second period, but this one was less effective than the first one and they had no scoring chances.
The Oilers’ potent power play got its first opportunity shortly after the game went back to full strength, with Jesper Boqvist getting whistled for a high-stick on Hyman. The Oilers pressured with McDavid again calling on Ullmark to make a quality save and the B’s survived the kill.
At the other end, the B’s top line had a good shift and Skinner had to make a strong save on a knuckling one-timer from David Pastrnak off a Zacha feed.
By the end of second, the B’s were starting to tilt the ice in their favor and held a 12-8 shot edge in the period. Pastrnak created a near breakaway for himself with an offensive zone steal, but he lost the puck on his move attempt to the forehand.