Oilers at Bruins preview
McDavid, Draisaitl, Pastrnak, Marchand each among top five scorers in NHL
by Matt Kalman / NHL.com Independent Correspondent
OILERS (21-17-5) at BRUINS (24-7-11)
1 p.m. ET; ESPN+, NESN, SN, NHL.TV
The Game
Four of the top five scorers in the NHL will play when the Edmonton Oilers visit the Boston Bruins at TD Garden on Saturday.
David Pastrnak is ranked fourth with 60 points (30 goals, 30 assists) and Brad Marchand is ranked fifth with 59 points (20 goals, 39 assists) for the Bruins, who will try to stretch their point streak to 10 games (4-0-5 in past nine).
Connor McDavid leads the League with 64 points (22 goals, 42 assists) and Leon Draisaitl is second with 63 points (23 goals, 40 assists) for the Oilers, who will play the second game of a five-game road trip and have won three of their past 12 games (3-7-2).
Players to watch
Oilers center Ryan Nugent-Hopkins has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past two games.
Bruins forward David Pastrnak has a nine-game point streak (four goals, 10 assists) and leads the League with 30 goals.
They said it
"We seem to put our best foot forward when we play a tough opponent. We've proven that this year. And I expect nothing less [Saturday]. … It's going to be important for us to play the right way to put ourselves in a position to win." -- Oilers forward Zack Kassian
"Well he's a challenge every night, plays in all situation. You know I don't think you ever shut him down, but you contain him, minimize the damage, obviously keep the puck out of his hands as much as possible. … So that'll be what's in front of us tomorrow. But they've got some pretty good other players on that team as well." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy on facing Connor McDavid
Oilers projected lineup
James Neal -- Connor McDavid -- Zack Kassian
Ryan Nugent-Hopkins -- Leon Draisaitl -- Kailer Yamamoto
Joakim Nygard -- Gaetan Haas -- Alex Chiasson
Jujhar Khaira -- Riley Sheahan -- Josh Archibald
Oscar Klefbom -- Ethan Bear
Darnell Nurse -- Kris Russell
William Lagesson -- Adam Larsson
Mike Smith
Mikko Koskinen
Scratched: Caleb Jones, Patrick Russell
Injured: Matt Benning (head)
Bruins projected lineup
Brad Marchand -- Patrice Bergeron -- David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk -- David Krejci -- Charlie Coyle
Anders Bjork -- Par Lindholm -- Danton Heinen
Joakim Nordstrom -- Sean Kuraly -- Chris Wagner
Zdeno Chara -- Charlie McAvoy
Torey Krug -- Brandon Carlo
John Moore -- Matt Grzelcyk
Jaroslav Halak
Tuukka Rask
Scratched: David Backes, Brett Ritchie, Steven Kampfer
Injured: Connor Clifton (upper body), Kevan Miller (knee)
Status report
Kris Russell (maintenance day) didn't practice Friday but will play. … Marchand (sick), Chara (sick) and Nordstrom (doctor appointment) missed practice but are expected to play.
Stat pack
Neal had three goals and an assist in a 7-5 win against the New York Rangers on Dec. 31. … Marchand has eight points (two goals, six assists) in his past five games.