The Detroit Red Wings had a tough go in their first match-up with the Boston Bruins. But they got their chance for a rematch with the Bruins on home ice. Detroit shook things up and tried to shuffle the deck, seeing head coach Derek Lalonde shake things up with the lines and special teams over the past few games.
It has not been the simplest week of games for the Detroit Red Wings, and after a loss against the Panthers, it was no easy test to match up with Boston. Early on, Boston had control of the game. They were able to get behind Red Wings netminder Ville Husso to jump out to an early lead.
It was James van Riemsdyk who was able to slip through the defense of the draw, crashing hard. Husso coughed up a tough rebound, and van Riemsdyk tapped it home. Then, Bruins forward Matthew Poitras made a really nice play to get behind Husso and bury one with a nice deke.
The Red Wings were being fed tons of power plays, and both of their goals came with a man advantage. Lucas Raymond caught a shifty no-look pass across the offensive zone. He set up for the wrister before burying another one to beat Linus Ulmmark between the legs for a goal.
The Detroit Red Wings fell to the pressure early on but battled until the end.
In the second period, the Red Wings added another powerplay from Jake Walman. He fired one home from the point and added the Red Wings second, tying things up at two. This came before the Bruins were able to retake the lead. Charlie Coyle had a tap-in goal, putting Boston ahead once again.
Dylan Larkin took it upon himself to tie things at three. He drove hard to the net as he entered the offensive zone and was able to sneak one by Ullmark to make it 3-3 near the midpoint in the third. David Perron was in front of the net, whiffed on a shot, recovered, and fired one between the pipes for a goal to make it 4-3.
It was Andrew Copp who decided to step in and extend the lead. He set up J.T. Compher in the offensive zone, who fired one at Ullmark. The puck ended up back on Copp’s stick, who fed it into the open net for the goal.
David Pastrnak kept things interesting, though. On a tough call on Copp for tripping, the Bruins were able to convert to make it a 5-4 game. He fired one from the point and beat Husso, who did not have himself a great game.
A couple of late penalties proved to be detrimental for the Bruins. Boston crumbled near the end of this one as they struggled to do much of anything. They ended up running around like a group of pissed-off teenagers.
The Detroit Red Wings held on and maintained composure to beat the Bruins.
The Red Wings handed the Bruins their first regular loss, leaving them running around near the end of the game and taking stupid penalties. It had to be a tough blow for Boston to have their point streak snatched.
Detroit may have struggled out of the gates, with a couple of challenging goals allowed by Husso, but Detroit did not quit. They kept their foot on the gas and also stayed pretty composed throughout the rest of the game.
The Red Wings offense kept on pressing, trying to produce scoring chances. They ultimately were able to get it done, and the Red Wings came out on top because of it. Before today’s game, head coach Derek Lalonde talked to the media about shuffling up the special teams units as well as being more competitive.
“We didn’t have much compete. I don’t know if we were tired, I don’t know if it was a credit to them. But we weren’t very competitive.” – Newsy via Detroit Free Press
On Saturday night, Detroit was able to come out and perform to a much different tune. The Red Wings were rewarded for their efforts, even after a tougher start. The Red Wings came out ahead and will be able to try and roll the wins together.
The Red Wings are back in action against the Rangers on Tuesday as they hit the road.