How Boston sees the rollercoaster road trip

The Boston Bruins capped their five-game road trip with an overtime loss to the defending Western Conference champion Edmonton Oilers on Thursday night.

The trip began with the Bruins going 13-2, losing to the Winnipeg Jets and Seattle Kraken. Boston then won two games in a row before finishing 2-2-1 overall.

“We definitely finished better than we started,” Brad Marchand told reporters in Edmonton. “But we can’t afford to give away points like that at the moment. We needed to be more prepared to start the road trip than we were. It should have been better than it was.

“But at the end of the day it’s good to get five (points). It could have been a lot worse with five points, but it should have been better.”

Mark Kastelic, who scored the Bruins’ second goal of the game against the Oilers with just over two minutes left in the first period, is looking forward to putting the road trip behind them as they head home for a quick two-game close to compete at home.

“I mean, .500 is good, but we definitely wanted more,” Kastelic said of the overall results. “We still have two games here before the break that we definitely want to take advantage of and try to feel good before Christmas. … I’m sure we’ll look at a few things in the next few days and then you just park it and drive on to Buffalo.”

The Bruins led 2-0 after the first period, but the Oilers scored three unanswered goals to end Boston’s two-game winning streak. Jeremy Swayman stopped 20 of 23 Edmonton shots he faced and finished 2-1-1 in his last four games.

“I feel like the confidence is growing and it’s all coming from the guys in front of me,” Swayman said. “I think we wanted to finish this road trip right and they played the right way. We just couldn’t get the result. I’m really happy with this team and the effort we’re putting in.

“It shows what kind of team we have here and what faith we have. The leadership group is a central part of this and we didn’t take no for an answer. That’s really good to see at this point in the year. The first two games (of the road trip) don’t matter. It’s game by game and I’m really proud of the group and the way we responded.”

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Here are more notes from Thursday’s Bruins-Oilers game:

– Connor McDavid scored the equalizer for Edmonton with 2:21 left in regulation. Swayman admitted he didn’t make the right decision on the play.

“I think I focused too much on the passing option,” Swayman said. “I opened up a little too much. He’s a great player, so he’ll play.”

— Marchand provided the first assist on Elias Lindholm’s goal in the first period, extending his scoring streak to eight games. The Bruins captain scored five goals and four assists in that span.

– Oliver Wahlstrom made his Bruins debut against the Oilers. He ran on the third line with Charlie Coyle and Trent Frederic. Wahlstrom had two shots on goal in 8:51 minutes of ice time.

– The Bruins return home to host the Buffalo Sabers on Saturday. TD Garden puck drop is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET, and you can watch the game on NESN after an hour of pregame coverage.