The Black and Gold will look to secure their third-straight win Thursday, as Boston hosts Connor McDavid and the Oilers at TD Garden. Follow along for updates from Thursday’s tilt.
WHO: Oilers (0-1-0) at Bruins (2-1-0)
WHEN: 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: TD Garden, Boston
TV: NESN
RADIO: 98.5-FM The Sports Hub
LIVE BOX SCORE: NHL.com
TICKETS: BSJ ticket partner SeatsForEveryone.com
LIVE COVERAGE
9:34: FINAL: Bruins beat the Oilers, 4-1.
9:33: Empty netter from Bergeron. That'll do it.
9:22: Halak with his best save of the night, denying Tobias Rieder with a split save to stop a shorthanded tally.
9:18: Bruins heading back on the power play after Pastrnak draws a high stick.
9:15: Zdeno Chara's long reach saved that puck from crossing the line. What a play.
9:14: Ryan Nugent-Hopkins appears to score, but the puck doesn't appear to cross the line. It's waved off and play continues.
9:11: Drake Caggiula is determined to tick off every Bruins player by the end of the night. He gets wrapped up by McAvoy following a hit.
9:01: Third period is underway.
8:43: END SECOND: Bruins lead the Oilers, 3-1. B's outshoot Edmonton, 7-6, in that stanza.
8:42: Nice play by Carlo to break up a charging McDavid skating up to the crease.
8:40: Bruins back on the PK after Heinen is whistled for a trip. 1:36 left in the second.
8:38: This game is not boring!
Sean Kuraly just knocked a glass panel off with that hit on Matt Benning.
Milan Lucic nods in approval. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/MYevTnBr4M
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 12, 2018
All set up by DeBrusk being stronger than Lucic pic.twitter.com/MYKtxvmYCs
— Bruins Stats (@bruins_stats) October 11, 2018
Good lord, David Pastrnak. #NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/8kaFIAGnd0
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 11, 2018
He’s a freak, he’s the fastest kid alive. 1-0 #Oilers pic.twitter.com/twbi3hjD1q
— Marina Molnar (@mkmolnar) October 11, 2018
Chris Wagner just dropped Jujhar Khaira. pic.twitter.com/VNxYVGlIXn
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 11, 2018
Projected lineups for #NHLBruins / Oilers tonight. pic.twitter.com/iOEmGjGkAp
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 11, 2018
- Jaroslav Halak gets the nod in net for tonight’s game against the Oilers. It’s been a week since Halak last saw game action, posting a 32-save shutout against Buffalo in his first start in a Bruins’ sweater. In 14 career games against the Oilers, Halak is 8-3-2 with a 2.12 GAA and a .909 save percentage.
- Ryan Donato is the odd man out tonight, with Joakim Nordstrom slotting in on the second line, playing LW. Jake DeBrusk shifts to the off wing to David Krejci’s right. While Donato tallied a power-play goal during Thursday’s 4-0 win over the Sabres, the 22-year-old winger struggled at times during his next matchup against the Sens, logging just 12:56 of ice time while being out for two goals against the Black and Gold.
- “I think one thing that I think was the biggest benefit was being pissed off and wanting to come back hard,” Donato said of his response to getting scratched last season. “I think that’s something that this time does and being above, there’s things that you learn in the game and it’s hard to see that when you’re on the ice. Being able to go above and get that hunger that when I get my number called, make sure I give it all I got and don’t take any shifts off.”
- With Donato out of the lineup, Anders Bjork will see time on Boston’s top power-play unit on Thursday, serving as the group’s go-to forward at the net front. Bjork certainly has the skill to contribute on the man advantage, as well as the speed and elusiveness to scoop up pucks down low and feed them back to the bumper or towards the blue line to maintain possession.
- Look for the usual suspects like Patrice Bergeron and Zdeno Chara — along with big, speedy skaters like Sean Kuraly — to get extended looks on the ice against Connor McDavid. It’ll be a tall task shutting him down for 60 minutes.
- McDavid will be the top priority for the Black and Gold, but you can’t overlook the second-line center in Leon Draisaitl. The 22-year-old German forward has tallied 209 points in 270 career games, including six points in seven career games against the Bruins. Former B’s winger Milan Lucic also has five points in six games against his former team.
- The Oilers are coming off of an extended break, with Thursday standing as the team’s second regular-season matchup and first overall tilt in North America for the 2018-19 season. Edmonton opened the season against the Devils in the 2018 NHL Global Series at Scandinavium in Gothenburg, Sweden on Saturday.
- For a full rundown of pregame notes, click here.