BOSTON — The Edmonton Oilers were lucky to escape Monday night’s game against the Bruins with their first win in Boston since 1996, and their head coach knows it.
“We’re a smart group of players, we know that we stole one here tonight,” Oilers bench boss Todd McLellan said after his team’s 3-2 overtime victory at TD Garden, which extended their win streak to six games.
“Our goaltender played a tremendous game for us. When we’re a little short staffed we need that from him, but I think we can be better in a lot of areas.”
The Oilers played well in the first period, jumping out to a 2-0 lead and finishing the frame with a 12-11 edge in shots on goal.
The rest of the game was a disaster for Edmonton.
The Bruins led 28-5 in shot attempts in the second period and earned a 30-11 margin in the third period for a 58-16 total over the final 40 minutes, as illustrated in the chart below. The Bruins pushed and pushed and eventually forced overtime when Brad Marchand scored at 15:22 of the third period.
This is not winning hockey, and the Oilers can thank goaltender Cam Talbot for securing the extra point, which moves Edmonton into a playoff spot in the Pacific Division. Talbot made a career-high 47 saves.
“We got a win, but we’re not naive enough to think we were the better team (Monday night),” McLellan said. “We’ll put it in the bank, try to get out of here as quick as we can and be better tomorrow.”
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Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
