Boston Bruins choke vs Edmonton Oilers: 2 key takeaways
By Zachary McMahon
The Boston Bruins choked against the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 on Thursday night. The Bruins previously won 10 straight in a row before tonight.
The Edmonton Oilers won their last game against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night 3-2. The Boston Bruins won their previous matchup 3-2 in Edmonton on February 27.
The Bruins could have clinched their 7th straight playoff berth on Thursday night with a win and if the Islanders lost to the Penguins in regulation and Buffalo lost to Dallas in any fashion or Ottawa not winning in regulation against the Seattle Kraken or if Ottawa lost in regulation and a Buffalo loss or Islanders not winning in regulation. Even if the Bruins won Thursday night, the Islanders won in Overtime against the Penguins, and as of when I’m writing this Ottawa is tied at 3 against the Kraken, so the Bruins would have not clinched a berth.
Boston Bruins choked their 1st period 2-0 lead
At the end of the 1st period, the Boston Bruins had a 2-0 lead after goals from Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak. Pastrnak now has three straight games with a goal. Marchand scored his 20th goal of the season, which he has now done for the 10th straight season and he joins Patrice Bergeron and Johnny Bucyk as the only Bruins to have accomplished this feat.
The Oilers would then score three unanswered goals in the 2nd and 3rd periods for the comeback win against the Bruins.
The goals for the Oilers were from Evan Bouchard, Ryan McLeod and Darnell Nurse. Leon Draisaitl had his 56th assist of the season which is tied for 4th in assists in the NHL, and 2nd on the Oilers behind Connor McDavid. The Bruins were able to keep McDavid in check tonight allowing no goals and no assists. This was only the 7th game that McDavid has not had a goal this season and the 5th with no points.
This loss snapped a bunch of streaks for the Boston Bruins
Besides the 10-game winning streak being snapped, there are a bunch of streaks that the Bruins had snapped on Thursday night.
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The Boston Bruins were 35-0-2 after leading entering into the third period and they haven’t blew a 2-0 lead and lost since December 15 against the Los Angeles Kings where they lost in a shootout. This was the first regulation loss after scoring first this season.
This would be Jeremy Swayman’s second regulation loss in the last 12 starts as he just made 19 saves on 22 shots in the loss. The other loss was against the Washington Capitals on February 11.
The last time the Bruins lost after leading in two periods was on November 11, 2021 at TD Garden against the Edmonton Oilers.
Next. Boston Bruins positioned to win now and in the future. dark
The Boston Bruins will be in a home-and-home series against the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday and Sunday Afternoons which is when they start a five-game road trip.