Oilers beat by Bruins 3-2

Edmonton's Dustin Penner attempts to get the puck past Boston's Tuukka Rask Sunday, Feb. 27 at Rexall Place. The Bruins won the game 3-2. (Photo by Andy Devlin / Edmonton Oilers Hockey Club)

 

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PRE-GAME

Preview Game Notes Head-to-Head Stats Comparison Video interviews Audio Interviews

PHOTOS

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VIDEO

Watch the highlights IN FOCUS: Post-game comments from Vandermeer, Brule, Foster, Hall & Renney Watch Jim Vandermeer fight Milan Lucic The Other Side: Tyler Seguin, Michael Ryder, Milan Lucic & head coach Claude Julien comment on the win

AUDIO

Coming soon: Audio Highlights Jim Vandermeer Gilbert Brule Taylor Hall Kurtis Foster Head Coach Tom Renney

UPDATE

With the loss, the Oilers record falls to 20-35-8.

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Under the Scope

WHAT'S NEXT

The Oilers continue their four-game homestand Tuesday, March 1 vs Nashville. The game starts at 7:30pm MT and will be broadcast on Rogers Sportsnet West. Why watch on TV when you can catch it live? CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS

Despite scoring the first and last goals of the game, Edmonton surrendered three in the middle, resulting in a 3-2 loss to Boston Sunday night. Ales Hemsky and Gilbert Brule lit the lamp for the Oilers, while Devan Dubnyk stopped 37 shots in the losing effort.

Under the Scope

FIRST PERIOD

Dubnyk made the first save of the game and Tuukka Rask the second, but the third attempt couldn't be stopped. Capitalizing on a juicy rebound, Hemsky fired from the slot and got the puck across the Bruins goal line to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead one minute into the game.

Following the goal, the Bruins peppered Dubnyk in an attempt to get back on even terms. At 8:27, the focus turned to Theo Peckham and Nathan Horton, who dropped their gloves for a spirited scrap near the Oilers bench. The fight ended when Peckham lost his balance and tumbled to the ice, and he would not return to the game for precautionary medical reasons.

By the 15-minute mark, Boston had assumed a 12-3 shot advantage and tied the game. With Dubnyk desperately stretching to cover the left side of his net, Michael Ryder caught a loose puck and lifted it over the sprawled-out goalie, evening the score 1-1.

Three minutes later, confusion among Oilers defencemen left Horton out in the open. With help from David Krejci and Dennis Seidenberg, the Bruins winger fired into an open net to give the visitors a 2-1 lead and 15-5 shot advantage heading into the second period.

SECOND PERIOD

16 seconds into the middle frame, Adam McQuaid tripped up Taylor Hall and the Oilers benefited from the game's first power-play. Edmonton couldn't get the puck on (or past) Rask, however, and as McQuaid left the penalty box, he was tripped up by Kurtis Foster, resulting in a Bruins power-play. The visitors added three attempts to their tally, but Dubnyk turned them all away.

A second consecutive Oilers infraction, this time to Hall for roughing, helped the Bruins crack the 30-shot mark with four minutes remaining on the clock. Edmonton, by comparison, had 12.

In the final minute of the second period, Boston got its 32nd shot and third goal. Completing a give-and-go with Ryder, Rich Peverley skirted Dubnyk and tapped the puck into the net to set the score 3-1 after 40 minutes.

THIRD PERIOD

Early in the third period, Edmonton got back within one. From along the left wing boards, Brule slapped the puck under Rask's glove to firmly announce his return from a two-month stint in sick bay.

The goal sparked the Oilers, and Andrew Cogliano channeled the team's fire into flying fists. Squaring up against Brad Marchand, the speedy forward fared well in his first fight since December 28, 2009.

Shortly after both players settled into the penalty boxes, Jim Vandermeer and Milan Lucic embarked on a fight of their own in front of Dubnyk. The lengthy brawl brought fans to their feet and, after earning the decision with a handful of landed jabs, also brought a smile to Vandermeer's face.

The smile didn't last long. The Oilers opted for six skaters in the final 90 seconds of regulation, but the extra attacked failed to produce an extra goal. As a result, the Bruins capped the weekend with a 3-2 win.