BOSTON — The Bruins were up 2-1 over the Oilers after two periods on Thursday. That has been a lights-out scenario for the Bruins all season. They entered the night without a regulation loss when leading after 40 minutes.
The Oilers put an end to that.
Ryan McLeod and Darnell Nurse put pucks past Jeremy Swayman in the third period to give the Bruins a 3-2 loss at TD Garden. It was only the Bruins’ third regulation loss of 2022-23.
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“I thought the Oilers were the better team,” coach Jim Montgomery said. “They were good. We weren’t good enough. I thought they outplayed us, outworked us and outcoached us.”
Observations:
1. Brad Marchand scored his 20th goal at 3:51 of the first period. The No. 1 left wing fired a shot from the left dot that got through Stuart Skinner. Marchand has reached the 20-goal threshold in each of his last 11 seasons.
“I think it’s his work ethic and the way he just approaches every practice, every game, every workout,” Patrice Bergeron said. “His will and his want to just get better every day. His competitive level, obviously. He’s just one of those guys that competes and goes to those tough areas. Kudos to him. I’m not surprised he’s been able to do that again.”
Marchand scored his 20th one day after declaring he was still not satisfied with his performance this season following double hip surgery.
“I thought I’d feel better now than I do, to be honest with you,” Marchand said after practice on Wednesday. “It’s been really relieving that we have the team that we have and we’re as deep as we are. It definitely takes the pressure off. But I thought I’d be where I was last year right now. I don’t necessarily feel like that. So I still have a little ways to go before playoffs.
“Surgery-wise, it was by far the best decision I made for the longevity of my career. I’m happy with how it went. The best-case scenario happened where we have a really good team and it takes a lot of pressure off. But I thought it would be a little easier to get back to where I was last year than what it’s been.”
2. Bergeron had a tough shift prior to McLeod’s game-tying goal. The captain misconnected with Charlie McAvoy in the neutral zone, which forced him to chase after his errant pass. After tracking it down, Bergeron tried to clear it off the glass. Devin Shore intercepted the pass and found McLeod in front for the goal.
“When it’s self-inflicted like that, they’re going to make you pay,” Bergeron said. “There’s areas we want to improve as a team. Turnovers have been one of those. Tonight was a good example.”
Bergeron was also on the ice for Nurse’s winner. Swayman said he didn’t see the shot.
“He holds himself accountable more than anybody else,” said Montgomery. “That’s the first time I’ve seen him make a mistake. I’m going to let him go on that one.”
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3. Thursday was Connor Clifton’s turn to take a seat. Matt Grzelcyk replaced Clifton on Derek Forbort’s right side. It may not be a postseason solution.
Like most defensemen, the left-shot Grzelcyk is more comfortable on his strong side. He’s been at his best playing with McAvoy on the No. 1 pairing. On his weak side, Grzelcyk needs an extra moment to study his surroundings before making his moves. It doesn’t necessarily play to his strengths.
In the second period, Grzelcyk tumbled to the ice while turning with the puck in the offensive zone. Evan Bouchard scored on the following rush.
4. The Bruins’ No. 2 power-play unit thought it had scored in the first. A successful offside challenge by the Oilers wiped out the goal.
But Montgomery was encouraged by the second unit’s puck movement prior to the goal. McAvoy, dropped from the first unit, made the play happen. From the right side, McAvoy spotted David Krejci open on the opposite elbow. McAvoy identified the seam and hit Krejci with a cross-ice pass. Krejci one-timed the puck home.
“That was really good power-play execution,” said Montgomery. “Unfortunate part is we knew as soon as it went in, 20 seconds prior, that it wasn’t going to count.”
The day before, Montgomery had adjusted both units. Dmitry Orlov replaced McAvoy at the point on PP1. The first unit did not get much action against the Oilers.
5. The Bruins kept Connor McDavid off the scoreboard. It was only the seventh game this season that McDavid has gone without a point. The Bruins did well to keep the puck off McDavid’s stick. They were also above the explosive center to deny him open-ice wheeling.
“When in doubt, take him away,” Montgomery said. “We want to be over top of him when he’s going east-west, not when he’s going north. Because once he starts crossing over, you don’t have a chance.”
(Photo of Brad Marchand: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
