Edmonton Oilers vs. Boston Bruins: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 3/9/2023

Time: 7:30 p.m. ET

Venue: TD Garden, Boston, MA

Where to watch: HULU, ESPN+, SN, TVAS

DraftKings: Bruins -180, Oilers +150

BetMGM: Bruins -180, Oilers +150

Caesars: Bruins -180, Oilers +150

Oilers: 35-22-8

Bruins: 49-8-5

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The Edmonton Oilers will be playing the Boston Bruins on Thursday, March 9 in Boston, Massachusetts.

The Edmonton Oilers won against the Buffalo Sabres last Monday, March 6 at KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York with a score of [score]. The Edmonton Oilers currently rank 4th in the Pacific Division.

Connor McDavid scored twice to set an NHL career high in points. McDavid, who also extended his point streak to 11 games (12 goals, 15 assists), has 124 points (54 goals, 70 assists) in 65 games, one more than he had in 80 games last season.

"He's the best player in the world and he's pushing his own boundaries, personal bests in those categories," Edmonton forward Zach Hyman said. "He's driving the bus. He's been driving the bus for a long time and continues to get better."

Derek Ryan also scored, and Stuart Skinner made 37 saves for the Oilers (35-22-8), who have won three of four.

Edmonton is tied for third in the Pacific Division with the Seattle Kraken, who have played two fewer games.

"I thought Stuart played a very good game for us," Oilers coach Jay Woodcroft said. "He gave us a chance to win the game. You've got to give credit to the other team too. They have a lot of skill there. They're going to get their looks, and when you get your looks, you've got to make sure that your goaltender is there for you. And Stuart was there for us tonight. He gave us a chance to win."

McDavid gave the Oilers a 1-0 lead at 7:21 of the first period, scoring on a wraparound after Ryan McLeod's initial shot hit off the end boards.

Jeff Skinner tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 9:45, one-timing a cross-ice pass from Tage Thompson in the right face-off circle.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins appeared to put the Oilers ahead at 5:32 of the second period, but the Sabres challenged the play for offside, and the call was reversed after a video review.

However, Ryan did give Edmonton a 2-1 lead at 18:45 when he scored through traffic from the slot. 

Dylan Cozens scored 41 seconds into the third period to tie it 2-2, settling a bouncing puck before spinning and beating Skinner short side from the left circle.

McDavid responded for the Oilers to make it 3-2 at 3:23, shooting five-hole on Anderson from the left circle.

"We talk a lot about momentum shifts, and that's an area as a team we want to get better at," Woodcroft said. "I would say this, you're going to Connor, and that's the finish. … There's a lot of good plays that led to that finish, and the finish was all world."

The Edmonton Oilers have won five of their last 10 games.

The Boston Bruins won against the New York Rangers last Saturday, March 4 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts with a score of 4-2. The Boston Bruins currently rank 1st in the Atlantic Division.

Charlie Coyle had a goal and an assist, and Linus Ullmark made 24 saves for the Bruins (49-8-5), whose winning streak is their longest since they won 12 straight from March 2-22, 2014.

Boston is 19 points ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs for first in the Atlantic Division.

"We did the right things at the right time," Ullmark said. "That's [what] we've been doing all year long, and that's what we're going to keep doing."

Tyler Bertuzzi had an assist in his debut for the Bruins after being acquired from the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.

"It just feels good to get this one out of the way, kind of, and just move forward," Bertuzzi said.

Coyle gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 18:07 of the first period. Trent Frederic backhanded the puck behind the net to Bertuzzi, who passed to Coyle at the net front, where he slid the puck five-hole on Shesterkin.

"They got a pretty good team over there. They got some players, some deadly players, but we have some good players too," Coyle said. "These new additions (Bertuzzi, forward Garnet Hathaway, defenseman Dmitry Orlov) who have stepped up on the score sheet and other ways, the little details, and that's been huge for our lineup with our injuries. … That's what we need. We need that depth and everyone playing that way and picking up the slack."

Tomas Nosek made it 2-0 with a short-handed goal 30 seconds into the second period. He received a centering pass from Coyle and dangled around Shesterkin's left pad before finishing with a backhand.

"Charlie made a pretty good play. I was there alone," Nosek said. "I was going forehand, and then I saw [Shesterkin] going down, and I just made a backhand move and put it in."

Alexis Lafreniere cut it to 2-1 with a power-play goal at 7:03 of the period, tipping Jacob Trouba's point shot under the crossbar.

Patrice Bergeron pushed it to 3-1 at 12:56 of the third period with a wrist shot from the right circle, and David Pastrnak made it 4-1 on a one-timer from the left circle at 16:40.

"I thought we played real intelligently in the third," Bruins coach Jim Montgomery said. "The first two periods, for whatever reason, our mental executions, us reading plays and making plays with or without the puck, was really slow."

Lafreniere scored from a tight angle on the right side at 18:34 for the 4-2 final.

The Boston Bruins have won ten of their last 10 games.

Prediction

Stanley Cup Final preview? Bruins 5, Oilers 3

Oilers:

Ryan McLeod -- Connor McDavid -- Zach Hyman

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Leon Draisaitl -- Kailer Yamamoto

Warren Foegele -- Nick Bjugstad -- Mattias Janmark

Klim Kostin -- Devin Shore -- Derek Ryan

Darnell Nurse -- Cody Ceci

Mattias Ekholm -- Evan Bouchard

Brett Kulak -- Vincent Desharnais

Stuart Skinner

Bruins:

Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- Jake DeBrusk

Pavel Zacha -- David Krejci -- David Pastrnak

Tyler Bertuzzi -- Charlie Coyle -- Trent Frederic

A.J. Greer -- Tomas Nosek -- Garnet Hathaway

Matt Grzelcyk -- Charlie McAvoy

Hampus Lindholm -- Brandon Carlo

Derek Forbort -- Dmitry Orlov

Linus Ullmark