Oilers 4, Bruins 3 (SO)
EDMONTON — Defenceman Martin Marincin scored in the 12th round of the shootout as the Edmonton Oilers snapped a two game losing skid with a 4-3 victory over the struggling Boston Bruins on Wednesday.
Marincin was the only player to score in the shootout as both clubs combined to go 0-for-23 leading up to his attempt.
Nail Yakupov, Ryan Nugent-Hopkins and Teddy Purcell scored in regulation for the Oilers (17-32-10), who ended a 13-game losing streak against Boston that extended back to 2001.
Loui Eriksson, Reilly Smith and David Pastrnak replied for the Bruins (28-20-9), who have now lost five games in a row and are in danger of slipping out of the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
The Oilers were buzzing in the early going in and it paid off four-and-a-half minutes in as Derek Roy made a pass from behind the net to Yakupov, who beat Boston starter Tuukka Rask to extend his point scoring streak to six games.
Edmonton went up 2-0 on the power play. With four minutes left in the first Purcell sent a pass through the top of the crease to Nugent-Hopkins, who blasted home his 16th of the season.
Boston got on the board with a power-play goal of its own with 20 seconds left in the opening period as Eriksson tipped a Dougie Hamilton shot past Oilers goalie Ben Scrivens, who was making his return from a hamstring injury.
The Oilers restored their two-goal lead with another power-play goal nine minutes into the second as Purcell scored on a wrist shot through traffic from the high slot.
The Bruins made it 3-2 with six minutes left in the middle period as Smith picked up a rebound in front of the Oilers net and whacked it past Scrivens.
Less than two minutes later it was a 3-3 game as Pastrnak ticked a rocket of a shot from the point by Zdeno Chara into the Edmonton net.
There was no scoring in the third or overtime despite a pair of glorious chances for Milan Lucic, sending the game to the extended shootout session.
Both teams return to action on Friday as the Bruins play the fourth game of a five-game trip in Chicago.
Edmonton will remain home to face the Minnesota Wild.
Notes: There was some speculation that recent call-up Malcolm Subban would get his first NHL start in net for the Bruins, but they opted to give Rask his 24th appearance in the past 25 gamesb& Oilers defenceman Jeff Petry (ribs) and forward Anton Lander (shoulder) left the game after the second period.