Boston Bruins

Bruins at Oilers Preview: Lines, Notes, & How To Watch

Published

4 weeks ago

December 19, 2024

The Boston Bruins will reach the final stop on their lengthy road trip when they visit the Edmonton Oilers tonight at Rogers Place. Here’s everything you need to know before puck drop.

Wahlstrom In, Johnson Done:

Oliver Wahlstrom will make his Bruins debut tonight, skating on a line with Trent Frederic and Charlie Coyle.

“I’m very excited,” Wahlstrom said to reporters in Edmonton earlier today. “It’s a dream to play for the Bruins. It was to get to know these guys. I’m super excited, for sure.”

The Bruins claimed Wahlstrom off waivers last week.

In 27 games with the New York Islanders this season, Wahlstrom tallied four points with two goals. Those aren’t eye-popping numbers, but Wahlstrom’s potential as a former first-round draft pick with the capability to score is what made him so alluring on the waiver wire.

The Bruins’ need for a player like Wahlstrom was amplified by the fact that some of those they already had in-house weren’t quite fitting in.

Tyler Johnson signed a guaranteed contract with the Bruins on Nov. 4, but his time with them was shortlived as the team placed him on unconditional waivers this afternoon.

Johnson recorded only two assists in nine games as a member of the Bruins.

Projected Lineup:

Geekie – Zacha – Pastrnak

Marchand – E. Lindholm – Brazeau

Frederic – Coyle – Wahlstrom

McLaughlin – Beecher – Kastelic

Zadorov – McAvoy

Oesterle – Carlo

Lohrei – Peeke

Swayman

Korpisalo

Last Time Out:

The Bruins were far from deserving of two points early on against the Calgary Flames on Tuesday night. But after coming back from two separate two-goal deficits, they earned the 4-3 victory in overtime.

Bruins Burn Flames, Come From Behind To Earn OT Win

The Opponent:

The Edmonton Oilers enter tonight’s game occupying third place in the Pacific Division with a record of 18-11-2 and are 8-2-0 in their last 10 games. They fell 6-5 to the Florida Panthers on Monday night.

Of course, the key to beating the Oilers is the difficult challenge of stopping, or at the very least slowing down, the duo of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl, as both are excelling this season as usual.

Draisaitl leads the league with 23 goals and ranks fifth with 47 points. McDavid is also among the league’s top point producers, with 44 in 28 games.

The Oilers are expected to get reinforcements to their lineup tonight, with Viktor Arvidsson set to return from injury following a 15-game absence.

Stuart Skinner is expected to start in goal for Edmonton, posting an 11-8-2 record with a 2.98 goals-against average and a .892 save percentage in 21 starts.

Edmonton’s power play has converted on 22.8% of its chances (11th), and its penalty kill is operating at 73.3% (26th).

How To Watch:

Puck drop between the Bruins and Oilers from Rogers Place is slated for 9 p.m. EST. The game can be seen on NESN and streamed on NESN 360 or ESPN Plus for out-of-market viewers. 98.5 The Sports Hub will carry the radio broadcast of the game.