Clinching a berth in the 2023 Stanley Cup Playoffs will have to wait another day for Jim Montgomery and the Bruins.

On TD Garden ice with a chance to clinch (though they’d need a little help around the league on the Thursday slate), the Bruins instead blew a 2-0 lead, and it was Edmonton defenseman Darnell Nurse’s seeing-eye sinker with just under five minutes remaining in the third period that proved to the difference maker in a 3-2 final.

“We were a very noncompetitive team offensively tonight, I guess is the best way to say it,” Montgomery said after the loss, which put an end to the B’s 10-game win streak. “Turning down shots, not driving to hard areas, not winning enough battles to create O-zone time. So it’s a good lesson for us to learn, because they played well.”

“We just we didn’t execute when we needed to,” said Brad Marchand.

• But long before the bad vibes took over the night, the Bruins opened things up in the best way possible, as Brad Marchand scored on the B’s first shot of the evening, and with a leaky goal against the Oilers’ Stuart Skinner.

  The strike was Marchand’s 20th of the season, and gave him his 10th straight season of at least 20 goals, and 12th 20-goal season overall. Only linemate Patrice Bergeron (14 seasons of at least 20 goals) and B’s legend Johnny Bucyk (16 seasons of at least 20 goals) have recorded more with the Bruins.

• A milestone marker for Marchy 🙌 pic.twitter.com/gg0VtVGCqR

  — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 10, 2023

• The Bruins appeared to take a 2-0 lead on a David Krejci power-play blast through Skinner with 6:43 remaining in the first period of play, but a coach’s challenge from the Oilers revealed that the Bruins were offside on their zone entry that came 34 seconds prior to the goal.

  “That was really good power play execution,” Montgomery said. “Unfortunate part [because] we knew as soon as we went in, we knew 20 seconds prior that it wasn’t going to count.”

  But the Bruins made sure they did carry a two-goal lead into the first intermission, and did so with a true buzzer beater, as David Pastrnak scored with .2 seconds remaining in the period to give Boston a 2-0 lead.

• Just in the nick of time 🍝 pic.twitter.com/RM2PQNw94L

  — Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) March 10, 2023

• Down by two, the Oilers were given life when Matt Grzelcyk blew a tire in the offensive zone and created a 4-on-1 opportunity for the Oilers.

  Edmonton would not miss such an opportunity, either, as Evan Bouchard beat Swayman for his fourth goal of the season, scored with 9:16 remaining in the middle frame.

  Another Boston miscue, this one from Patrice Bergeron, in the third period, opened the door further for the Oilers, and with the game-tying marker from Ryan McLeod.

  The frustrating part for the Bruins in this game? They held Connor McDavid to nothin’. Held without a point for just the seventh time this season, McDavid was a borderline non-factor, and this marked just the second time this season that the Oilers won a game that saw McDavid post an 0-0-0 line.

• 

  Mar 9, 2023; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Boston Bruins center David Krejci (46) and Edmonton Oilers center Leon Draisaitl (29) during a faceoff in the second period at the TD Garden. (Brian Fluharty/USA TODAY Sports)

• Boston’s defensive rotation continued Thursday night, as Matt Grzelcyk jumped back into the Black and Gold’s lineup and skated on his off side on Boston’s third pairing opposite Derek Forbort.

  Grzelcyk finished the contest with a minus-1 rating and one shot in 16:16 of time on ice.

  With Grzelcyk back in action, Connor Clifton found himself as the odd man out and exited the lineup. Clifton was joined Jakub Zboril in the press box as the B’s healthy scratches.

  The Bruins will wrap up their four-game home stand Saturday afternoon with a visit from the Red Wings.

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