In Edmonton, the Boston Bruins did everything they could, during regulation, to lose to the Oilers on Wednesday night.
On the marquee match up of the night, the Bruins blew a 4-1 lead they held in the middle frame, only to find them selves tied, 5-5, at the end of regulation.
The Oilers’ Zach Hy,am scored at 13:23 of the third period to tie the game, 5-54, and force the extra session.
“You are happy with the way you battled back from down 4-1 to a really good team, to be able to come back twice and earn a point says a lot about our team and how it faces adversity,” Hyman said. “But at the same time, you don’t want to put yourselves in that position.
“Since we have been back (from the All-Star break) we have put ourselves in that position too often and we have to learn to play consistently throughout the whole game again.”
Charlie McAvoy finally got the Bruins on the right side of the equation when he potted the winner at 3:10 of extra time to give the Bruins a 6-5 win.
“I think that’s an identity of ours,” Bruins goalie Jeremy Swayman said. “It was not exactly how we drew it up, but it was really special to get those two points and the way we did it through adversity and their push, I think that’s really something special for our group moving forward. The mentality our group has is just do whatever you need to do to win, no matter whether it’s a 1-0 game or a 6-5 game, we’re going to do whatever it takes to win.
“We know how valuable every point in this league is, especially at this stage in the year, and it’s really special to see our group come together and fight through no matter what comes our way.”
Swayman made 37 saves in the win.
The Bruins moved to 34-12-11.
“I just loved the way we kept forging ahead,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “We didn’t worry about what happened, positively or negatively, I thought we continued to play. Obviously, they had a great push by a great team in the third period and it kind of snowballed, but we went right back to work afterward.
“When they made it 4-4, the next four minutes I thought we controlled the game and started to push back. We got the ‘Pasta’ goal and they came back, it was great for the fans.”
In the opening stanza, the Bruins took a 1-0 lead on a strike by Morgan Geekie off the power play.
Warren Foegele, who had a double in the loss, tied the game, 1-1, at 11:40.
“We missed him, but throughout the year you’re going to be missing some of your better players,” Oilers coach Kris Knoblauch said. “It’s an opportunity for somebody to stand up and an opportunity for Foegele tonight. He absolutely stood up.”
The Oilers dropped to 33-18-2.
In the middle frame, the Bruins posted three goals to take their soft 4-1 lead.
Brad Marchand got the offense going in the second when he potted a marker with 25 seconds gone in the period for a 2-1 lead.
Boston’s Trent Frederic made it 3-1 at 4:40 off a deflection.,
Jake DeBrusk then extended the advantage to 4-1 at 13:57 off a backhand strike.
The Oilers rally started in the second when Foegele hit for his double to trim the deficit to 4-2 headed to the third period. He scored at 15:27
“It’s great that we got that point, and we fought our way back,” Foegele said. “But it just felt like a game where we made a really good push. I really thought we were going to get the win. We’ve got to have a better second period. It felt like today, even though the goals were going in, that we actually had a better second period.
“But it’s something that’s bleeding into our game, and something we know we’ve got to improve on.”
In the third, the Oilers tied it the game, 4-4, with a pair of goals.
Mattias Janmark hit first for a 4-3 score at 6:14.
Then, Corey Perry knotted the game, 4-4, at 7:24 off a rebound.
David Pastrnak put the Bruins back in front, 5-4, at 12:41 after an errant clearing attempt by the Oilers.
Stuart Skinner made 30 saves in the loss.

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