Tonight's Officials
Referees Brad Watson (23), Trevor Hanson (31)
Linesmen Trent Knorr (63), Bryan Pancich (94)
Ntl. Anthem Michael Sicoly
WAYBACK MACHINE
BOSTON vs EDMONTON, LIFETIME SERIES
The Bruins and Oilers are meeting for the 73rd time in their histories with the Bruins having a 45-18-6-3 record and 266-205 scoring advantage in those games.
The Bruins are 19-11-3-2 in their 35 road games of this lifetime series with a 115-113 scoring edge in those contests.
The Bruins had their 16-game point streak vs. the Oilers snapped at 13-0-3 with a 4-3 loss in Boston on 1/5 in the 1st game of this season’s series … It was their 1st regulation loss to Edmonton since a 6-1 setback in Edmonton on 10/17/00 … They are 5-0-2 on their last 7 visits to Edmonton
TONIGHT’S GAME
The Bruins visit the Oilers tonight in the 2nd & final game between these teams and the Bruins’ lone visit this season to Rogers Place… The Bruins are 38-26-6 thus far this season with a 19-12-6 mark on the road … They are 9-4-0 vs. Pacific Division opponents and are 14-10-0 vs. Western Conference teams this season.
The Bruins are playing game 3 tonight of their longest remaining road trip of the season, a 4-game trek from 3/13-20 (VAN-CGY-EDMTOR,
2-0-0 so far).
They are playing game 3 tonight of their 13th of 16 sets of 3-games-in-4-nights this season … They are 7-5-1 in game 1s, 6-4-3 in game 2s and 5-5-2 in game 3s of those series so far.
They are concluding their 12th of 14 sets of back-to-back games this season … They are 7-3-2 in the 1st of those games and are 3-6-
2 in the 2nd game thus far.
MILESTONES APPROACHING
Dominic Moore is 2 goals short of his 100th NHL goal.
INJURIES (141 total man-games lost)
Tim Schaller – Lower body injury suffered 3/8 vs DET; Has missed 2 games, is not on current trip
https://link.nhl.com/static/gamenotes/public/20162017/[email protected]?1489670925000
The Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins are each battling for playoff positions in their respective conferences.
And their star players are making cases for end-of-season hardware.
Oilers center Connor McDavid and Bruins left winger Brad Marchand are in the conversation for the Hart Trophy, which goes to the league's MVP, and the Art Ross Trophy, which goes to the player who has the most points.
Marchand's Bruins visit McDavid's Oilers on Thursday.
Marchand and McDavid are in a three-way tie with Chicago's Patrick Kane atop the league in points. Each player has 76. Technically, Marchand is considered the leader because he has the most goals (36) among the three.
Marchand had a goal and an assist in Wednesday's 5-2 victory over Calgary, which saw the Bruins bring the Flames' 10-game winning streak to a halt.
The Bruins come into Edmonton on a four-game winning streak and entered the conversation for the Atlantic Division title. Edmonton is coming off a 7-1 victory over Dallas on Tuesday.
"We are playing with a higher tempo, guys are joining the rush," Marchand said. "And we seem to be scoring goals, which obviously helps."
The Bruins' David Pastrnak, who hit the 30-goal mark after scoring twice Wednesday, said the Bruins need to carry the momentum from Calgary three hours north on the Queen Elizabeth II Highway to Edmonton.
"I think definitely the third period, we came big," Pastrnak said. "Tomorrow, it's a new day and we need to play good again."
Pastrnak said that getting to 30 goals isn't as important as the push for the postseason.
"It's nice, but we have a job to do."
"We've got another tough game on the schedule," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "After tomorrow's game, there'll be another tough one. We don't get too far ahead of ourselves. We've tried not to. We'll address Edmonton in the morning."
Before the seven-goal outburst against Dallas, the Oilers managed four goals in three games. The Stars are the league's worst defensive team, and came at the just the right time for an Oilers team that was struggling with their confidence.
Coach Todd McLellan said that he hopes the outburst against Dallas will allow his forwards to feel more at ease when the Bruins are in town.
"It takes a little pressure and stress off the group," McLellan said. "They can relax a little and play. Sometimes, when you do that, you give up a lot. There were moments in (the Dallas game) where we gave up a little too much, but we didn't let it get away from us, which is a good sign."
But McLellan said his players won't assume its recent troubles are over because they scored seven on Dallas. He said his team will take the game and "park it" mentally.
"Our next opponent is another opportunity for us, and it'll be a tough night."
Even though the Oilers top line of Leon Draisaitl, Patrick Maroon and McDavid collected five points Tuesday, they weren't at their best. And they see the Boston game as a chance to get back in a groove.
"I don't think our line was very good tonight," Draisaitl said after the Dallas game. "But, this time of year, it doesn't matter who scores. I think our line is skilled enough to pick it up next game and get back to playing the way we can."
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