To say that the Boston Bruins needed their 6-2 win over the Edmonton Oilers on New Year's Eve would be a major understatement. Stuck in a six-game winless streak that saw them go 0-4-2 with a shootout loss to the Vancouver Canucks and an overtime loss to the Calgary Flames, the only two points, the Black Gold got over that span.
Boston took advantage of some questionable goaltending by the Oilers' Connor Ingram to score six goals, and it was a night that Boston really needed to see a lot of pucks go into the net for confidence. David Pastrnak had two goals, and they got two goals from defensemen Jonathan Aspirot and Hampus Lindholm. After the game, head coach Marco Sturm didn't beat around the bush in terms of how big the win in Edmonton was.
“Feels really good. I think everyone is sick of losing,” Sturm said. “I am just proud of the way we played today and the way we came out. I don’t think a lot of people thought we [could] grab two points here tonight, but we did.”
What was key in the game was that Boston was able to build on a 1-0 first period, something they failed to do in losses to the Sabres and Flames to begin the trip. They close out the trip against Vancouver on Saturday night and then visit the Seattle Kraken next Tuesday night before returning to Boston next week.
WJC reaches quarterfinals
The quarterfinals of the World Junior Championship in Minnesota begin on Friday. There is one regulation game between Germany and Denmark at the 3M Arena, but here is the schedule for the quarterfinals.
- Quarterfinal 1: Sweden vs. Latvia, Grand Casino Arena, 2 p.m.
- Quarterfinal 2: Czechia .vs Switzerland, 3M Arena, 4:30 p.m.
- Quarterfinal 3: United State vs. Finland, Grand Casino Arena, 6 p.m.
- Quarterfinal 4: Canada vs. Slovakia, 3M Arena, 8:30 p.m.
Games 1, 3, and 4 will be broadcast on the NHL Network, while TSN will carry all four games. The semifinals will be on Sunday. Bruins prospects James Hagens and Will Zellers will look to continue their strong play in the tournament.
Former Bruins forward suffers injury
The Anaheim Ducks announced that former Bruins forward Frank Vatrano will miss six weeks with a shoulder fracture. In 38 games for the Ducks, he has three goals and six points. Anaheim has lost six of its last seven games.