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There is a significant difference between the kind of hockey fans want and the kind of hockey coaches want.
Crowds enjoy high-scoring, end-to-end fireworks while the guys behind the bench like nothing more than seeing their team snuff out anything that even looks like it might lead to a scoring chance.
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In their two meetings this season, the Edmonton Oilers and Boston Bruins proved they can play to both audiences. Just two weeks after giving the people what they wanted — a 6-5 overtime thriller at Rogers Place — the Oilers and Bruins reconvened at TD Garden and dedicated one to the coaches.
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There’s no question which game was more fun to watch, but Tuesday’s 2-1 overtime win is the kind of hockey the Oilers will be facing every night in the playoffs so a late-season head-to-head showdown with a team that plays it as well as anyone was a welcome test.
And, in the end, the Oilers are proved they are right at home in either style.
Leon Draisaitl’s goal with 80 seconds left in regulation forced three-on-three overtime (which doesn’t happen in the playoffs, so that’s where the post-season comparisons end) and his winner late in overtime provided a thrilling finish to what had been a rather uneventful 58 minute
The win extended Edmonton’s streak to five games and counting, and further cemented their ability to play a patient, tight-checking chess match. That was at the heart of their 16-game winning streak and it is again in their current five-game run, where they’ve held their opponents to just seven goals. They had shut outs going in the third period in each of their last two games.
So they have the defensive part down. It’s the offence that’s been slow to respond on occasion, which might illustrate the need for middle-six scoring depth at Friday’s trade deadline.
Goaltender Stuart Skinner took the win for Edmonton and had a strong night in net to keep Edmonton alive on a night when they went nearly 59 minutes without a goal.
E-mail: rtychkowski@postmedia.com
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