BOSTON – The Boston Bruins signed off on NHL scoring leader Connor McDavid. He also kept Leon Draisitl off the scoresheet. It still wasn’t enough to beat the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.
The Oilers survived a scare when McDavid leapt off the ice late in their 3–2 victory over the Bruins – minutes after Darnell Nurse scored the tiebreaking goal with 4:49 remaining.
McDavid returned, but was held scoreless for just the seventh time all season. It was the first time since New Year’s Eve that McDavid was scoreless and did not play Dresstail, nor did he record a point.
“I can’t believe he didn’t get a point. I mean, he should get a point every night, right?” said goalie Stuart Skinner, who made 26 saves to snap Boston’s 10-game winning streak and deny the Bruins a chance to become the first team in the league to clinch a playoff berth this season.
“Our top dog here, I think they did an incredible job defensively,” Skinner said. “They’ve been doing such a good job on our end lately and obviously they’re still a massive threat offensively.”
McDavid struggled on the bench after a knee collision with teammate Derek Ryan. But the two-time league MVP returned to help the Oilers catch up when Boston pulled goaltender Jeremy Swaman for an extra skater in the final minute.
Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said he did not witness the collision, but was glad McDavid was able to return.
“My mind was on the play,” he said. “But he felt good enough to finish the game, so I felt good about that.”
Boston led 2–0 after one, but Evan Bouchard scored in the second and Ryan McLeod tied it six minutes into the third. Nurse scored the game-winner with a screen shot over Swayman’s wrist to give the Oilers their fourth win in five tries.
“I just said to myself, ‘I’ve got to put it off for the next 40 [minutes], And if I do that, at least the guys have a chance to win,” Skinner said. “If I’m going to be honest, I was pretty excited after the game. … This one, this one feels really good.”
Brad Marchand and David Pasternak scored, and Sweeman stopped 19 shots for the Bruins (49–9–5), who could set an NHL record as the fastest to 50 wins.
McDavid leads the NHL with 54 goals – nine more than Pastrnak, who ranks second – as well as 70 assists and 124 points. Draisital is fifth in the league with 41 goals and second in points with 96.
It was the first time the Oilers had won a game all season without recording a single point.
Woodcroft said, “It felt like a playoff game.” “Playoff games sometimes have a ‘saw-off’ between the best players on both teams and other guys have to find ways to contribute. If you look up and down our roster, we have a lot There are people who can figure it out.” Net and that’s what you need when you come down the stretch here.”
