In Edmonton, Connor McDavid hit for a double, including the game’s first goal, but the Oilers lost to the visiting Boston Bruins, 3-2, on Monday night.
McDavid’s second goal was his 50th of the campaign.
Jeremy Swayman made 22 saves in the Bruins win.
“We’re lucky to have four lines that can play and six ‘D’ every night,” Boston coach Jim Montgomery said. “They’re playing 11 forwards, but we can just roll out our lines. They have the match-up they wanted because they got last change, but we’re OK with our fourth line being out there against McDavid.”
The Bruins moved to 46-8-5.
After the first goal from McDavid, Boston tied it, 1-1, just 13 seconds later on a strike by Tomas Nosek,.
The Oilers dropped to 32-21-8.
“I’m proud of our team with that effort, obviously. Boston’s the top team in the NHL for a reason,” Edmonton coach Jay Woodcroft said. “They didn’t need much in order to score, but when we broke down, they made us pay. We were unable to find the equalizer there in the third period, but I thought there were a lot of positives to take out of that game tonight.”
Nick Foligno scored in the 16th minute of the opening frame to give the Bruins a 2-1 advantage headed to the middle stanza.
“I think we’re proud of our process and what’s it’s allowed us to do and be where we are, but I still think there’s room to grow,” Foligno said. “I still think there are little areas we can get better in. I’m not trying to sound tacky, it’s just the reality of our team. I don’t think anyone is satisfied here. I think we’re really excited about our group, but I think we all know there is more to do. That’s the mindset that’s allowed us to have the success we’ve had.”
McDavid hit for his double at 12:20 of he second for a 2-2 tie.
“It is something you should be proud of, even for him, somebody who paces the League in pretty much every offensive stat,” Oilers forward Zach Hyman said. “I think it is his first time hitting 50, and that is a milestone to be proud of. He is the reason we were on the board tonight. He got both. He just drives our team.”
Pavel Zacha scored with 30 seconds left in the second period for a 3-2 lead and final score.
“You win games in the third period. You understand that and you take pride in that,” Swayman said. “That’s something that you want to keep as an identity for our team, and we just have a little bit more to give. We all know it, and it’s pretty special when we see it.”
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Stuart Skinner made 25 saves in the Oilers loss.
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