The Edmonton Oilers were starting an Eastern Conference road swing after a successful back-to-back on the weekend against the Seattle Kraken and Pittsburgh Penguins. Meanwhile, the Boston Bruins were entering the second half of a back-to-back after defeating the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday night on the road.
This was the second match up between the two teams, with the first coming on February 21, in what was a 6–5 overtime classic in Edmonton. Stuart Skinner struggled in the game, as did Jeremy Swayman. Skinner was starting on Tuesday again for the Oilers, but Boston countered with Linus Ullmark, who entered the game losing his previous five starts, where he had a .874 SV% over that stretch.
Boston opens the scoring
Cody Ceci gets caught in no man’s land, pinching up on a bad angle when the Bruins have full control. This leads to a two-on-one on with Danton Heinen and Pavel Zacha against Brett Kulak. Heinen makes a really strong pass early that surprises the Oilers. Skinner had taken extra ice on Heinen, and hadn’t actually started rotating or pushing when Zacha was releasing the shot, which ends up being a bad read on a tough play, but is not reflective of his lateral movement ability.
Draisaitl ties it up
Connor McDavid drives around the outside on his backhand and just sholves it to the front of the net. Leon Draisaitl tips it on net, where Ullmark makes the first save off his paddle. However, that rebound bounces up his stick, off the inside of his blocker, ending up straight in the air. It floats in slow motion over Ullmark and lands on the goal line, trickling in.
Edmonton wins it in overtime
The Oilers start with McDavid, Evan Bouchard, and Draisaitl all high. The Bruins push up, giving McDavid an opportunity to drive around the outside with speed. Two Bruins go to McDavid, leaving Draisaitl open for a one-timer. Ullmark likely overotated on McDavid, making it a further push. What further complicates the matter is Ullmark opens up to make an outside the box save on a high shot, but the puck is redirected low off of Brandon Carlo’s stick, allowing the game winner to sneak in five-hole.
Skinner was essential to Edmonton’s victory
Both teams were grinding on each other, but I thought that the Bruins largely had the more dangerous chances through regulation, generating a lot more quality looks with puck movement. Skinner was once again able to come up big for the Oilers, leading to his fourth consecutive win where he was an essential part of the victory. Ullmark wasn’t bad by any stretch, but the team with the better goalie won this one.
Photo by Derek Cain/Icon Sportswire
