Maroon nets hat trick as Oilers beat Bruins

BOSTON -- Patrick Maroon had a hat trick and also squared off in a fight with 6-foot-9 Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara, helping the Edmonton Oilers beat Boston 4-3 on Thursday night.

Cam Talbot stopped 33 shots for the Oilers. He took a 4-2 lead into the final four minutes before David Krejci scored on a rebound of Patrice Bergeron's shot in the last two seconds of a 5-on-3 power play.

But Talbot killed off the rest of the power play with the Oilers one man down. He then blanked Boston for another minute with goalie Tuukka Rask pulled for an extra skater.

Bergeron and Colin Miller also scored for the Bruins, and Rask stopped 21 shots.

The Oilers have won five of their last eight.

The night opened with a ceremony to honor "the ultimate Bruin," former Boston captain, coach and general manager Milt Schmidt, who died on Wednesday at 98.

Schmidt's No. 15 was painted on the ice behind the nets. The Bruins also wore patches on their sweaters in memory of the hall of famer.

The Bruins dipped Schmidt's retired No. 15 from the rafters in the pregame ceremony and played a video of his career highlights. In lieu of the usual moment of silence, the announcer asked for "a moment of celebration and applause," and the crowd responded.

But a little more than a minute after the ceremony ended, Connor McDavid slid around Chara and sent a backhand pass to Maroon, who one-timed it past Rask's right skate. Boston tied it seven minutes later when Miller's slap shot from the right point went in off Talbot's pad.

The Bruins took a 2-1 lead midway through the second when David Pastrnak found Bergeron in the slot, and he wristed it in on the stick side. But the Oilers tied it with seven minutes left in the second on another goal from Maroon, who backhanded it under Rask's right pad.

Ryan Nugent-Hopkins broke a 2-2 tie just 14 seconds into the third, then Maroon scored his third of the game midway through the final period on an unassisted goal that was upheld after the Bruins challenged for offside coming into the zone.

The Bruins had won nine of the last 11 times the Oilers visited Boston, but Edmonton won last season's meeting.

Game notes

Bruins F David Backes sat out his third straight game with a concussion. He practiced on Wednesday. ... Chara got in a fight with Maroon in the first four minutes. Chara sat in the penalty box with an ice pack on his right hand.

UP NEXT:

Oilers: Visit New Jersey on Saturday for the third stop in a four-game road trip.

Bruins: Visit Florida on Saturday, the first of two in a row on the road.

Associated Press