Oilers empty the tank again on offence
First time Edmonton has scored seven goals in back-to-back games since 1988
You think people in Boston are sick to their stomachs the morning after St. Patrick’s Day?
It’s a safe bet a lot of them were hugging porcelain the night before after watching the Edmonton Oilers turn back the clock Thursday and then beat the Bruins senseless with it in their second consecutive bloodletting at Rogers Place.
Two days after destroying the Dallas Stars 7-1, the Oilers put up another touchdown at home, walking right through the red-hot Bruins in a decisive 7-4 victory.
It’s the first time the Oilers scored seven or more goals in backto-back home games since December 1988: 10-6 over the Rangers and 8-3 over the Quebec Nordiques.
“Guys can feel good about themselves and really positive moving forward down the stretch,” said captain Connor McDavid, who had three assists in the win. “It’s important guys are feeling good and confident. These last two games have done that for some guys.”
The Oilers had six different goalscorers and lit up the No. 1 penalty killing team in the NHL for three goals to leapfrog Calgary and move into third place in the Pacific Division standings.
“We have four lines that are going,” said Patrick Maroon, who had two goals before the game was six minutes old. “If it’s not the first two lines, the third and fourth lines are chipping away with huge goals. It’s good to see going down the stretch, that you have four lines that are dictating the play and can chip in some offence.
“The guys played hard, the first 20 minutes of that period was really strong for us.”
Boston was the second most popular team in Edmonton Wednesday night, when they snapped the Flames’ 10-game winning streak, but the love didn’t last very long as the Oilers and Bruins turned up the heat in an intense, hard-hitting, goal-filled, fight-filled beauty.
Edmonton’s offence picked up right where it left off against Dallas, scoring three goals on their first six shots (Maroon, Maroon and Benoit Pouliot) to take a 3-0 lead by the 8:23 mark.
“The start was huge,” said head coach Todd McLellan. “They are a team that usually comes out and imposes their will on you. For us to get those three real quick set us up for the rest of the night.
“It gave us a little momentum and got them on their heels. We’re happy with that — back-to-back games with seven spots doesn’t happen very often.”
That’s five goals in two games against Boston this season for Maroon.
“I think his son Anthony was in town tonight,” said McLellan. “Every time he’s here, Patty gets going on a streak. Maybe we’ll have to enrol him in an elementary school and keep him in the city.”
The Oilers looked free and clear when it was 3-0, but the Bruins showed why they were 12-3 since Bruce Cassidy took over as interim head coach, scoring a pair of their own (David Pastrnak and Brad Marchand at 12:29 and 17:44) to close the gap.
Scoring seven is nice, but giving up four is something that didn’t sit well in the Oilers dressing room.
“We can’t expect to keep doing that,” said McDavid. “The games are tight. It’s good that we are finding ways to create offence, but we also gave up a lot of chances tonight. Giving up four goals is not good enough.”
After Anton Slepyshev made it 4-2 at the first intermission, the offence came fast and furious in the second period, with Ryan NugentHopkins, Milan Lucic and Leon Draisaitl scoring for Edmonton while Dominic Moore and David Krejci replied for the Bruins.
With a goal and two assists on Thursday, Draisaitl has five points in his last two games.
“I was confident in myself that I could get out of it,” he said of his slump. “Tonight was a good night for me and for my line. It was a step in the right direction.”
Maroon had a couple looks at the empty net late in the third period, but couldn’t complete his second hat trick.
“Somebody needs to teach me how to shoot at an empty net,” he said, laughing, adding he doesn’t have a lot of experience in that situation. “I’m usually not out there when the net is empty, so it was something new for me.”