The Bruins were able to hang with the Oilers for almost a full 60 minutes on Thursday night. But the breakdowns they did have over the course of what was an otherwise tight-checking affair had a way of crushing the Bruins in a major way.

“We made one little mistake, and it cost us one goal,” Bruins coach Marco Sturm said following the club’s 3-1 loss. “But other than that, I thought it was pretty good. You can’t give up one [when on the penalty kill], and you can’t give up one on the power play, too. That’s a hard one.”

Here’s a look at the 985TheSportsHub.com 3 Stars of the game…

3rd Star: Pavel Zacha

Dec 18, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Bruins center Pavel Zacha (18) scores on Edmonton Oilers goaltender Tristan Jarry (35) during the first period at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/Imagn Images)

It may have been the only Bruins goal in this contest, but man oh man, was Pavel Zacha‘s power-play tally a pretty one for the club.

Zacha’s goal, which came off a sweet give-and-go feed from Elias Lindholm, was also good for his fourth goal and seventh point in his last eight games.

Zacha also had a strong night at the dot in his own zone, winning three of five faceoffs against Leon Draisaitl and Connor McDavid in the Boston zone.

2nd Star: Calvin Pickard

SEATTLE, WASHINGTON – OCTOBER 01: Calvin Pickard #30 of the Oilers looks on during the second period Kraken in a preseason game at Climate Pledge Arena on October 01, 2025. (Steph Chambers/Getty Images)

Something didn’t look right when Tristan Jarry made a second-period save on the Bruins’ Morgan Geekie. And though Jarry would stay in for a few more minutes, Jarry’s discomfort ultimately led to his exit, as well as a cold Calvin Pickard coming off the Edmonton bench and into action for the club.

But Pickard quickly warmed up, and proved to be more than capable for the Oilers in this one, as he stopped all 12 shots faced in a strong relief outing.

It wasn’t the most taxing effort, of course. But when Pickard was summoned into action, it was still a one-goal game, and the Bruins were clearly looking for that “quick one on an unprepared goalie.” But Pickard refused to break, and refused to give the Black and Gold any momentum before McDavid put it away in the third.

1st Star: Connor McDavid

Dec 18, 2025; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Oilers center Connor McDavid (97) celebrates after scoring a shorthanded goal against the Bruins during the third period at TD Garden. (Winslow Townson/Imagn Images)

It doesn’t take much for Connor McDavid to get going downhill. And by the time you realize it, it’s typically already too late and he’s long gone and off to the races.

McDavid’s shorthanded goal was exactly that, as he took advantage of an aggressive Charlie McAvoy and stormed towards Jeremy Swayman for what was ultimately the putaway goal in this contest.

In addition to the shorthanded dagger, McDavid also had the primary assist on the Ryan Nugent-Hopkins goal that kicked things off in this contest, and finished with three shots and a forward-leading 22:56 of time on ice.