Talking Points: Boston Bruins Outlast Oilers With Depth Attack

Here are the Talking Points from the Boston Bruins 3-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Monday night at Rogers Place as they improved to 46-8-5.

GOLD STAR: The Boston Bruins depth was the big star in this one. They got goals from three different lines and none of them were from the top line of Patrice Bergeron, Brad Marchand and Jake DeBrusk as they were held in check. Instead, it was Tomas Nosek and the fourth line kicking in a big first goal, Nick Foligno and the third line checking in for the second goal and then Pavel Zacha scoring in the final 30 seconds of the second period for the game-winner. That is the kind of lineup depth and scoring diversity that has made the Boston Bruins a dominant team all season and again proved to be the difference in the game against the Edmonton Oilers.

BLACK EYE: Tough luck for David Krejci getting hit by Klim Kostin along the end boards in the third period. Initially it appeared that Kostin hit Krejci with a flying elbow that knocked off his helmet and the player was whistled for a five minute major for elbowing. Upon further review, however, it was determined that the force of the hit caused Krejci to butt end himself with his own stick that cut him open and popped his helmet off after the collision. The penalty was rescinded, and nobody was worse for the wear aside from a cut on the corner of Krejci’s noggin. Kostin subsequently caught Patrice Bergeron up by his eye with a high stick later in the third period as well in a scary incident.

Initially it looked like Klim Kostin hit David Krejci high, but it was actually Krejci's own stick#NHLBruins pic.twitter.com/xaFEhij8Ts

— Hockey Daily 365 l NHL Highlights (@HockeyDaily365) February 28, 2023

TURNING POINT: It would have been very easy for the Boston Bruins to be knocked off their bearings when Connor McDavid scored a goal for Edmonton a couple of minutes into the game. But instead the B’s fourth line answered right back with Tomas Nosek scoring 13 seconds after the McDavid strike to tie the game up at 1-1. That allowed the Bruins to regain their composure and it also gave new Boston Bruins skaters Dmitry Orlov and Garnet Hathaway their first points in a Black and Gold uniform while allowing the B’s to regain their footing. It also took the Edmonton crowd out of the game when they really could have exploded with energy after McDavid’s opening salvo. A huge goal for Nosek that eventually paved the way for the win.

HONORABLE MENTION: Nick Foligno has been an absolute success story in rebounding this season for the Boston Bruins after a tough campaign in his first year in Boston where he managed just two goals in 60-something games. And that story continued on Monday night as Foligno scored Boston’s second goal after executing a really slick give-and-go with Charlie Coyle where he got the puck back down by the back post and was able to throw a shot past Stuart Skinner. It was Foligno’s 10^th goal of the season and helped provide the difference in the Boston Bruins cranking out yet another win as they keep taking a run at the NHL record in points. Four shots on net and five hits in 13:18 of ice time for Foligno in the win.

BY THE NUMBERS: 50 – the number of goals this season for Connor McDavid after he dropped a pair on the Bruins in defeat, including this beauty in the opening minutes of the first period that was just pure speed.

50 goals, and he makes it look easy 😎 pic.twitter.com/RZAb6tukEF

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) February 28, 2023

QUOTE TO NOTE: “We were skating fast, taking pride in all three zones and the guys were making my job easier for sure. It was really just a lot of fun to take part in that win.” –Jeremy Swayman to NESN about the tight one-goal win over the Oilers.