Too much stock gets put into line rankings. The best teams have always had 3 solid lines and a decent 4th line. Each line is important, so to get too involved on the 5 W's of questions and why people are on certain lines, it will drive you crazy.
Bottom line is, if the so called "3rd line" is playing the best in a game, that line will get played a lot more and in the end, that's all we all really want. Competing lines that can go out and score.
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Beers - Connor McDavid finishing his check on the big Zdeno Chara, then not backing down from him all night long. Not many would try and get the best of the big man, but McDavid didn't waiver. Good on him. (2 assists in today's game)
Beers - Nugent-Hopkins constantly playing a solid game. He seems to do no wrong right now. Really liking every aspect about his game.
Beers - Strome with a rocket of a shot. Nice feed from Draisaitl. Makes it 3-2 in the 2nd and ultimately it's the game winner. He looked great playing with Draisaitl.
Beers - Talbot played strong at the end to keep the Bruins scoreless in the 3rd. Wouldn't say he stole the game for the Oilers, but he did keep them in it. Good to see from him today. Been long overdue.
Beers - Leon Draisaitl was a force tonight. Used his speed and hands and walked away with a great game under his belt. He admitted he wasn't playing well and knew he needed a game like this. I had hoped he could turn it around and he did today.
Honourable Mentions - Cammalleri played pretty well. One must imagine he's still trying to adjust to the team as you see him floating into spots that the other guys would normally take. But all in all, he notched an assist and looked OK with McDavid and Lucic.
Speaking of Lucic, he had 6 hits tonight. That's an eventful night for the large fella. He still needs to work on some minor things to get his own game moving, but if he can bomb out 6 hits a night, it will go a long way to helping this team get better.
Written by Brent Huska