Bruins defeat Oilers with three goals in third period

EDMONTON -- The Boston Bruins scored three goals in the third period to defeat the Edmonton Oilers 3-2 at Rogers Place on Tuesday.
Boston (37-13-8) remained one point behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for first place in the Atlantic Division and Eastern Conference.

David Krejci broke a 2-2 tie from the slot on a set-up from Danton Heinen and David Backes with 1:04 remaining. Noel Acciari and Matt Grzelcyk also scored, and Anton Khudobin made 18 saves.
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"I thought [Krejci] has had some jump around the net lately, even though he hadn't had much luck around the net," Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said. "I don't think his linemates [Jake DeBrusk, Ryan Spooner] were as good as they had been the last few games, so we made the switch and it worked out in the end."
Ryan Strome and Jujhar Khaira scored for Edmonton (24-31-4), and Cam Talbot made 42 saves.

Edmonton has lost seven of its past eight games (1-7-0).
"We weren't detailed defensively, I think we got beat a couple of times," Khaira said. "They came out and pushed and we didn't have a response. We need every win we can right now, but those ones hurt. We're up 2-0 and they score three. There is not much to be said, we need to be better."
Strome scored at 18:29 of the first period to give the Oilers a 1-0 lead.
With the teams playing 4-on-4 because of coincidental penalties to Bruins defenseman Torey Krug and Oilers defenseman Brandon Davidson, Strome collected the puck off the boards in his own zone, skated down the left side and shot through Khudobin's pads.
Khaira made it 2-0 at 11:38 of the second period on a 3-on-2 rush. Khaira took a pass from Anton Slepyshev in the slot and shot it over Khudobin's glove through a screen.

"I thought in the second period that continued, once we had the 2-0 lead, and came into the [intermission], I didn't think we were very aggressive," Oilers coach Todd McLellan said. "I thought we played more to protect and we weren't assertive enough and didn't play in their end enough."
Acciari scored at 4:37 of the third period to make it 2-1. He banked a wraparound in off Strome's skate past Talbot.

Grzelcyk tied it 2-2 at 11:42. He converted a backhand pass from Riley Nash off a rebound from a shot by Charlie McAvoy from the point.
Krejci ended a six-game goalless streak with his second winning goal of the season.
"Even though we haven't been scoring goals the last few games we had so many good looks, and we have the skill to put the puck in the net on this team," Krejci said. "Sometimes you are going to go through a few games like that, but you just have to stick with it and it will eventually go in."

It was the first time in 14 games this season Edmonton lost when leading after two periods.
"I'm still at a loss right now," Talbot said. "We're up 2-0, we knew that they were going to come. They get a lucky bounce on the first one. [Strome] is doing his job backchecking to the paint. Tough bounce."

Goal of the game

Krejci's goal at 18:56 of the third period.

Save of the game

Khudobin's save on Slepyshev at 11:02 of the third period.

Highlight of the game

Grzelcyk's goal at 11:42 of the third period.

They said it

"The other goalie played a hell of a game. If you are thinking things aren't going your way then they are never going to go your way. You have to keep positive, keep playing and shooting and you are going to get rewarded. We were rewarded tonight. We stuck with our game and we got the win." -- Bruins goaltender Anton Khudobin

"At the end of the day you're here for wins and losses, and it's tough to take moral victories out of the game. We know the position we're in and that's a disappointing result after 40 good minutes. There are some things we can correct and it's back to work tomorrow." -- Oilers forward Ryan Strome

Need to know

Edmonton is 2-15-2 this season when Connor McDavid does not have a point. ... Boston is 2-12-3 when trailing after two periods this season. ... Krug has points in six of his past seven games (two goals, five assists). The Bruins are 13-1-2 in their past 16 road games. ... Oilers defenseman Kris Russell played his 700th NHL game.

What's next

Bruins: At the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday (7 p.m. ET; SN, NESN, NHL.TV)
Oilers: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Thursday (9 p.m. ET; SN1, ALT, NHL.TV)