The Edmonton Oilers won their fourth straight game, shutting out the Boston Bruins by a score of 4-0 at TD Garden on Tuesday (Jan. 7).
Related: Adam Henrique Leads Oilers to Convincing Victory Over Bruins
Adam Henrique scored twice for the Oilers, who also got goals from fellow forwards Viktor Arvidsson and Connor McDavid. Edmonton netminder Stuart Skinner made 26 saves, while Boston’s Jeremy Swayman stopped 35 shots.
Tuesday’s performance was one of the finest so far this season for the Oilers; Edmonton outplayed the Bruins in all facets and got contributions down its lineup. Here are three takeaways from the Oilers’ latest win.
Shared Shutout
While he stopped every shot on goal from the Bruins on Tuesday, Skinner was not credited with a shutout. That’s because the Oilers netminder had to briefly leave the game at 15:35 of the first period when he was shaken up after being run into by Bruins bulldozer Nikita Zadorov, who was penalized for goaltender interference and sent to the box for two minutes.
Calvin Pickard took over between the pipes for Skinner, but did not need to make a save over the final 5:25 of the opening frame. Skinner returned for the start of the second period.
Incredibly, this is the second straight season that Skinner and Pickard shared a shutout. It also happened in Edmonton’s 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 10, 2024, only the roles were reversed that time, with Skinner filling in briefly when Pickard was pulled from the game for concussion protocol. Pickard finished that game with 41 saves in 58:44, while Skinner didn’t face a shot in 76 seconds of action.
The only other time in franchise history that two goalies played in a shutout came almost 40 years ago to the day: Jan. 8, 1985, when Grant Fuhr made 18 saves and Andy Moog stopped 10 shots in Edmonton’s 4-0 victory over the Quebec Nordiques.
Hit Parade
The Oilers recorded 18 hits on Tuesday, which is more than they had in their previous three games combined and their most hits in single game since Dec. 19, which was also against the Bruins.
Oilers winger Vasily Podkolzin registered a team-high five hits, which is more than Edmonton had as an entire team in three of its prior seven games. Josh Brown, who drew into Edmonton’s lineup for the first time in two months, recorded four hits, the most by any Oilers defenceman in the last four games.
These modest numbers represent major gains for the Oilers, who rank dead last in the NHL with an average of 12.83 hits per 60 minutes.
While the Oilers play a puck possession game, concern has been expressed over their lack of physicality. Case in point, even though Edmonton threw the body more on Tuesday, the Oilers were still massively outhit, 45-18.
Some observers were also quick to note that no Edmonton player made Zadorov answer for his collision with Skinner, although the goalie harboured no ill will to the Boston blueliner.
“He apologized after, at the start of the second period, which was really nice of him to do,” Skinner said while speaking to media after the game. “It’s an NHL play and it happens.”
Depth Contributors
NHL leading-goal scorer Leon Draisaitl had his point streak come to an end at 14 games when he was kept out of the scoring summary in Boston. McDavid’s tally on Tuesday was just his second goal in four weeks, and the Oilers captain has just three points over Edmonton’s current four-game winning streak.
All of which is actually encouraging, because it shows the Oilers can win without their dynamic duo playing otherworldly every night.
Several Oilers deserve credit for increasing their contributions lately. Henrique’s two goals on Tuesday marked his first multi-goal game since last January, when he was still a member of the Anaheim Ducks before being traded to Edmonton. After being held pointless in 15 of his first 18 games as an Oiler, Arvidsson has three goals and four assists in his last seven games. Brett Kulak recorded two assists against the Bruins, bringing his season total to 14 points, which is two fewer than the defenceman had in all of 2023-24. Over Edmonton’s current four-game winning streak, 14 Oilers have at least two points.
The surging Oilers, who are 15-4-1 in their last 20 games, have now taken sole possession of second place in the Pacific Division, with 53 points in 40 games. Edmonton continues its road trip with a stop in Pittsburgh to play the Penguins on Thursday (Jan. 9).
