It’s Over! Bruins Ring in New Year; Snap Losing Streak

The Bruins (21-18-2) celebrated the New Year with a commanding 6-2 win against the Edmonton Oilers (20-15-6) on Wednesday night. Boston was led by a strong goaltending performance, a perfect night out of the penalty kill, and goals from five different players in the win that snapped the gnawing six-game losing streak. 

Earlier in the day, Marco Sturm expressed a vote of confidence in his team. He pointed at the first six-game losing streak and how the Bruins beat Colorado to avenge that skid. Sturm went on to say that this is a game that would help the Bruins going forward.

With a 9:30 PM ET puckdrop, the game crossed into the New Year back in Boston. David Pastrnak (17) would open the scoring for Boston, and then score the first goal of 2026. The Bruins also benefited from goals by Casey Mittelstadt (9), Hampus Lindholm (3), Jonathan Aspirot (2), and Elias Lindholm (6). Edmonton’s two goals came from Zach Hyman (12) and Jack Roslovic (12). 

Jeremy Swayman, who has seen action in eight of the last nine games, made 34 saves in the win. Eight Oilers’ shots came from their power play, but Swayman turned them all aside. 

The Bruins’ eighth-ranked power play (24.6%) got the night started early.

Zach Hyman took a holding minor, and then Connor Ingram took a delay of game minor, setting the Bruins up on a five-on-three. As the Oilers got Hyman back on the ice, David Pastrnak set up behind the goal and banked it off of Connor Ingram. Then, Casey Mittelstadt extended the lead. He collected the feed from Viktor Arvidsson and beat Ingram blocker-side. 

Jeremy Swayman was called on early, and he made 13 saves in the first period. He made a few on Connor McDavid, first on a breakaway, then on an Oilers’ power play. Connor McDavid drove, deked, and swiftly set up Zach Hyman for a goal in the final minute of the first period.

The Bruins carried a 2-1 lead into the first intermission. The penalty kill halted any offense from the league’s best power play (34.9%) twice in the first 20 minutes. 

The second period started, and the goals began to come from the blue line for the Bruins. Hampus Lindholm fired the puck on net, and Viktor Arvidsson got in front of Connor Ingram. Arvidsson’s screen proved helpful, as the puck got by Ingram and into the back of the net. 

Then, Jonathan Aspirot jumped on the puck for his second goal of the year. He captured the puck off a Darnell Nurse miscue and sent David Pastrnak down the ice for a three-on-one. Pastrnak had an initial chance that scraped Ingram’s pad, and Aspirot went over the diving Darnell Nurse to tap the puck into the net.

The Bruins took two more penalties in the second, and continued Monday night’s theme of stick infractions. The penalty kill, yet again, killed both, preventing any damage and taking the Bruins into the room with a 4-1 lead.

Elias Lindholm capitalized to start the third with a shot that bounced off Ingram and fell into the net behind him. Edmonton responded shortly after, with a goal from Jack Roslovic – that would be Roslovic’s 12th of the season. He would slide it under Jeremy Swayman’s pad. 

Just after the clock struck midnight back in Boston, David Pastrnak unleashed his slapshot to extend the Bruins’ lead to four.

The game would end with 74 penalty minutes in the final four minutes; two fighting majors and six misconducts were handed out to both teams. 

With a 6-2 win, the Bruins avoid a seven-game losing streak for the second time this season. The Bruins will travel west to British Columbia for another game against the Vancouver Canucks (16-20-3).