PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Bruins

The Edmonton Oilers host the Boston Bruins at Rogers Place on Thursday evening.

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PREVIEW: Oilers vs. Bruins

EDMONTON, AB – After falling in a high-scoring rematch of the 2024 Stanley Cup Final on Sunday, the Edmonton Oilers will continue their five-game homestand leading into the holiday break on Thursday night when they welcome the Boston Bruins to Rogers Place.

The Oilers had their five-game winning streak snapped in a barnburner of a 6-5 loss on Monday to the Florida Panthers, where the Oilers scored three unanswered goals in the second period but couldn't close the game off, giving up three of the last four tallies and the game's winning goal to the defending champions on a Carter Verhaeghe marker with 6:55 left in regulation.

“We know we aren’t going to win many games giving up six goals,” said Leon Draisaitl, who posted a goal and an assist in the defeat. “If we keep it to two or three, most nights, we give ourselves a pretty good chance to win the game.”

The Oilers are 18-3-1 this season when giving up three or fewer goals, with their regulation losses coming in a 1-0 loss to Vegas, a 3-0 shutout to Montreal and a 3-0 blanking against New Jersey. Having an average age of 30.5 years old coming into the season, the Oilers traded youth for experience and know what they have as far as leadership goes.

“We have a veteran group that understands what's on the line every night and at different times of the season," said Adam Henrique, who will turn 35 years old in February, said after Tuesday's practice. "When things are ramped up, the team ramps up."

“I think the team does a good job within each game responding if we’re down."

The 6-5 defeat to Florida on Monday marked their first regulation loss for the Oilers when scoring five or more goals since the beginning of the 2023-24 season (26-1-1). Their only other loss during that span was against the Boston Bruins, who are Thursday's opponent for Edmonton.

“Thursday is a good time for us to get back to tightening it up and playing better hockey,” Draisaitl added.

Viktor Arvidsson skated in full at Tuesday's practice in a top-six spot normally held by Zach Hyman, who didn't participate in the practice because of an appointment to address the broken nose he suffered on a deflected Evan Bouchard shot in the second period of Monday's loss to the Panthers.

The Swede impressed during the practice, according to Head Coach Kris Knoblauch, and is a possibility to return from a 15-game injury absence against the Bruins on Thursday.

“Today, he looked fantastic. I think he might have been the best player on the ice for us. I was that impressed with him,” Knoblauch said.

With Edmonton's top six playing well in previous games, Arvidsson's return could see him ease his way back into the lineup from more of a third-line role as he gets back up to speed from over a month since his previous competitive action on Nov. 12 versus the Islanders. Arvidsson will be searching for his first goal against Boston since Oct. 5, 2017 as a member of the Nashville Predators.

"We're heading into three games in four, so for him to come back after missing over a month and play all three games while playing the 16-to-18 minutes a night, that's probably a tall order for him," Knoblauch said.

While Arvidsson would provide a noticeable uptick in the Oilers' scoring prowess, their team offence has taken a significant turn for the better in recent games. Through the first 14 games of the season, the Oilers averaged the third-last goals per game in the NHL at 2.36, but are averaging 4.06 goals per game over the last 17 games, which is second in the NHL.

Connor McDavid has recorded multi-point games in four of his last five outings against the Bruins and has points in all but two games over his 13 career matches with Boston, where he's posted four goals and 16 assists.

Leon Draisaitl has points in five of his last six games against Boston, including two-goal performances in three of those matchups.

Jeff Skinner will be playing in his 50^th career game against the Bruins and has struggled against them with six goals, 10 assists and a plus/minus of -34 for his career. Troy Stecher recorded his career-high of three points with one goal and two assists in a single game versus Boston on Feb. 22, 2020 as a member of the Vancouver Canucks.

The Bruins have steadied the ship after losing back-to-back games against the Jets and Kraken by a combined score of 13-2, winning two in a row over the Canucks and the Flames. They defeated the Flames 4-3 in overtime Monday.

Joe Sacco, interim coach of the Boston Bruins, noted Wednesday that “every one of the defensive details has to be dialled in” when facing the likes of Connor McDavid and Leon Draisaitl. “You are talking about two of the premiere players in the league,” Sacco said post-practice. ”If you fall below [the puck] it is going to make it really difficult on our D-core.”

“We want to do a good job as a forward group to neutralize their speed as much as possible,” he added.

As a team that's dominated the Atlantic Division for years, it's odd to see the Bruins sitting third with a point differential of -18 on the season, seventh-worst in the NHL. They have won seven of their last ten, however, and are tied for first with the Oilers and six others with seven wins since Nov. 26.

Edmonton's projected starter Stuart Skinner has had up-and-down results against the Bruins over his career, posting a .898 SV% and a 2.98 GAA over five starts with a record of 2-2-1. Jeremy Swayman is slated to be between the pipes for Boston and has struggled against the Oilers over his last two starts, conceding eight goals on 64 shots for a 3.96 GAA.

Last time out at Rogers Place, the Bruins won 6-5 in overtime back on Feb. 21. The Bruins have not lost in regulation in six straight games at Rogers Place, going 5-0-1 over that span with all six games being decided by one goal.