Connor McDavid was tough to handle
Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers were merely just a speed bump for the Bruins on Monday night with Boston coming out on top, 3-2, at Rogers Place.
It was the seventh consecutive win for the Bruins, which ties their longest winning streak of the season, to push their NHL-best record to 46-8-5 while the Oilers fell to 32-21-8.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
McDavid proved to be a handful, and then some, to contain as he provided yet another superb individual performance, but the Bruins countered with a full team effort and Boston’s approach won out.
Each time McDavid scored, the Bruins had an answer, most notably in the first period when Tomas Nosek registered a goal just 13 seconds after the Hart Trophy favorite put the Oilers in front.
The Bruins then stood tall to McDavid and the Oilers dynamic offense — Edmonton came into the contest leading the NHL with 3.83 goals per game — when they needed to most in the third period to preserve a one-goal lead.
Boston has strength in numbers and that clearly was on display again in yet another win.
STARS OF THE GAME
— Pavel Zacha came through with a scrappy individual effort to tally the decisive goal with 30 seconds left in the second period. Zacha sprawled out and flicked the puck past Oilers goalie Stuart Skinner. The 25-year-old now has 14 goals.
— Dmitry Orlov played in just his second game with the Bruins and notched his first points in a Black and Gold uniform. The defenseman recorded assists on Boston’s first two goals of the night.
— McDavid’s goal total for the season reached the half-century mark in the loss. He netted two goals, opening the scoring in the first period and then beating Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman again in the second frame with a slick move, which he made look easy.
WAGER WATCH
Nick Foligno got moved up to the third line in Taylor Hall’s absence and came through for the Bruins. DraftKings Sportsbook set the odds of Foligno scoring at +550, and the veteran forward found the back of the net late in the first period. A $100 wager would have netted a total of $650.
UP NEXT
The Bruins play the second leg of a back-to-back Tuesday night against the Calgary Flames to wrap up their West Coast road trip. Puck drop from Scotiabank Saddledome is scheduled for 9 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.