When the dust settled, and the Boston Bruins dropped a 3-1 decision at home to the Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night at the TD Garden, there were several areas where you could point the finger at Boston's loss.
How about Edmonton's goaltending? Yes. Tristan Jarry left in the second period with 3:52 left in the middle period with an injury and was replaced by Calvin Pickard. They combined to make 24 saves, with a first-period power-play goal from Pavel Zacha being the only Black and Gold goal.
How about the special teams play? Yes. Edmonton scored a power play goal and a shorthanded goal in the third period from Connor McDavid to give his team some insurance early in the period.
How about his team's 5-on-5 play? No. In fact, head coach Marco Sturm was happy with his team's performance 5-on-5, with Quinn Hutson's second-period goal being the game-winner at even strength. Regardless, Sturm was happy with his team's performance at even strength.
“I was really happy, actually, with our 5-on-5 game,” Sturm said. “We made one mistake, little mistake that cost us one goal. But other than that, I thought it was pretty good, exactly what we wanted. Special teams, yeah, you can't give up one. You can’t give up one on the power play, too, so that's a hard one. Overall, it's just a little bit frustrating, because I thought guys were into the game, guys were sharp, but that little pop was missing. I don't know, that little bit of energy on the bench wasn't there, but it was a good game from us. Just little mistakes cost us.”
Marco Sturm thinks loss will pay dividends down the line
Talk about bad timing, schedule-wise, for the Bruins. Edmonton has been playing its best hockey of the season recently, and it just happened to show up on Causeway Street as a hot team. They are the two-time defending Western Conference champs. They still have a lot of offensive firepower and are a measuring stick for teams across the league.
“I like playing teams like that, because they make you better,” Sturm said. “That one mistake, it will make us better, trust me. And that's a good thing. Unfortunately, we have to learn the hard way. … For me, it's a great teaching game. Really good. Cost us maybe in two points, but overall, I do believe those kinds of games will help you.”
Even the little mistakes can cost you, and that was the case for Boston on Thursday night. They have to wait only 12 more days to get another crack at Edmonton when they visit them on New Year's Eve. For the 2025-26 Boston Bruins, it's taking the positives from a loss and moving on. Sturm is finding the positives and moving on.