Five days after taking down one of the NHL’s best teams, the Boston Bruins fell to its worst.
The Edmonton Oilers defeated the Bruins 3-2 in a shootout Wednesday night, halting Boston’s season-long winning streak at five games.
IT WAS OVER WHEN…
Oilers goalie Anders Nilsson turned aside shootout attempts by Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and David Krejci to seal the win for Edmonton, which entered the game ranked dead last in the NHL standings.
Jordan Eberle beat Tuukka Rask for the lone shootout goal.
A SCARY MOMENT
The Oilers closed out the five-minute overtime period on the power play after Matt Beleskey was called for interference on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins in front of the Bruins net. More concerning for Boston, however, was the status of Rask, who felt the brunt of Nugent-Hopkins’ falling body.
The Bruins goaltender was very slow to get up after the hit, but after taking a few moments to compose himself, he remained in the game. Rask ultimately finished with 34 saves to help the Bruins salvage a point from the opener of their three-game road trip.
LATE ARRIVALS
Less than two minutes remained in the second period by the time the Bruins finally put a puck past Nilsson.
The 25-year-old Swede stopped the first 22 shots he faced but couldn’t locate a Torey Krug wrister that deflected off the body of Edmonton defenseman Andrej Sekera.
Krug’s second goal of the season came after the Oilers opened the scoring with a shorthanded tally.
An ill-timed Bruins line change resulted in a 2-on-1, with Mark Letestu beating Rask off a feed from Matt Hendricks. It was the first goal the Bruins’ NHL-leading power-play unit had allowed this season.
CAPTAIN CLUTCH
After a Hendricks goal put Edmonton ahead midway through the third, Zdeno Chara tied it up once again with a one-timer from the doorstep.
David Krejci and Loui Eriksson assisted on the goal, which came with 3:21 remaining in regulation.
BAD LUCK BELESKEY
Beleskey generated three of the Bruins’ better chances in a scoreless first period, but Nilsson made sure none of the winger’s bids found the back of the net.
Beleskey entered with points in five of his previous eight games, but Wednesday’s contest was his 13th in a row without a goal.
TUUKKA-RIFIC
Rask bailed the Bruins out on several occasions, and two of his best saves of the night came in rapid succession early in the second period.
The Bruins goaltender foiled a breakaway bid by Taylor Hall, then got just enough of a piece on Eberle’s follow-up attempt to deflect it wide of the net.
SITS FOR SIX
Defenseman Kevan Miller was a healthy scratch for the Bruins for the first time this season. Miller missed each of the previous five games with a concussion, but he returned to practice last week and has been cleared for game action.
Winger Tyler Randell and D-man Joe Morrow also watched the game from the press box.
UP NEXT
The Bruins’ trip now takes them to Calgary, where they will meet former B’s defenseman Dougie Hamilton for the first time since his offseason trade to the Flames. Puck drop for that game is set for 9 p.m. ET on Friday.
Thumbnail photo via Perry Nelson/USA TODAY Sports Images
