Oilers escape McDavid scare, win 3-2 to end Bruins’ streak – Boston News, Weather, Sports

BOSTON (AP) — The Boston Bruins knocked out NHL leading scorer Connor McDavid. They also kept Leon Draisaitl off the scorer list. It still wasn’t enough to beat the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

The Oilers escaped a scare when McDavid hobbled off the ice late in their 3-2 win over the Bruins – minutes after Darnell Nurse scored the winning goal with 4:49 left.

McDavid returned but went without a point for the seventh time all season. It was the first time since New Year’s Eve, when McDavid was goalless and Draisaitl wasn’t playing, that neither had scored a point.

“I can’t believe they didn’t get a point. I mean, they should get a point every night, right?” said goaltender Stuart Skinner, who made 26 saves to end Boston’s 10-game winning streak and denied the Bruins a chance to become the first team in the league to win one this season Earned a spot in the playoffs.

“Our top dogs here, I think they did an incredible job defensively,” Skinner said. “They’ve done such a good job with us lately and are obviously still a massive threat offensively.”

McDavid fought his way onto the bench after a knee-to-knee collision with teammate Derek Ryan. But the two-time league MVP returned to help the Oilers hold their ground when Boston pulled goalie Jeremy Swayman for an extra skater in the dying minutes.

Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said he didn’t see the collision but was glad McDavid was able to return.

“My mind was on playing,” he said. “But he felt good enough to finish the game, so I felt good about it.”

Boston led 2-0 after one, but Evan Bouchard scored in the second and Ryan McLeod equalized six minutes after the third. Nurse scored the game winner on a Wrist shot past a shielded Swayman to give the Oilers their fourth win in five attempts.

“I just said to myself, ‘I have to lock it down for the next 40[minutes]. And if I do that, at least it gives the boys a chance to win,’” Skinner said. “To be honest I was very excited after the game. … This one, this one feels really good.”

Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak scored, and Swayman made 19 stops for the Bruins (49-9-5), who could have set an NHL-record all-time fastest 50-game win.

McDavid leads the NHL with 54 goals – nine more than Pastrnak, who is second – as well as 70 assists and 124 points. Draisaitl is fifth in the league with 41 goals and second in the league with 96 points.

It was the first time all season that the Oilers won a game without either of them scoring a point.

“It felt like a playoff game,” Woodcroft said. “Sometimes in playoff games there is a ‘saw-off’ between the best players on both teams and other people have to find ways to contribute. If you look up and down our squad we have numerous people who can find the back of the net and that’s what you need coming down the track here.

NEXT

Oilers: Visit Toronto on Saturday.

Bruins: host Detroit on Saturday.

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