Final, Bruins 3-2: The Bruins have won the hockey game.
Jarome Iginla is going to be credited with the winning goal, as he tipped in a shot from the point to give the B’s the win and a 3-1 series lead as the series heads back to Boston.
Overtime, 10:17, 2-2: The Bruins’ first line just had a pair of chances, but one of them — a pretty open look from Milan Lucic — appeared to hit a body in front. Shortly thereafter, David Krejci dropped a pass for Jarome Iginla. His shot was stopped with a glove by Jonas Gustavsson, and the puck deflected over the net.
Overtime, 6:41, 2-2: Henrik Zetterberg almost got free on a breakaway, but Zdeno Chara used his long reach to knock the puck off of Zetterberg’s stick.
Overtime, 3:06, 2-2: The Bruins’ fourth line just had the best shift of overtime. Torey Krug wheeled across the offensive zone and put a pass through the slot that Shawn Thornton whiffed on and couldn’t convert. That came seconds after a mad scramble in front in which Gregory Campbell couldn’t jam the puck in the net.
Overtime, 0:50, 2-2: Tuukka Rask just robbed Justin Abdelkader after Abdelkader got in all alone on a breakaway.
Overtime, 0:01, 2-2: Overtime is underway.
End third period, 2-2: The Bruins had a great chance just as the third period ended. Justin Florek was right in front and tried to redirect a pass from the point, but Jonas Gustavsson got just enough of the puck to keep it out of the net with about 1.2 second to play.
This game is heading to overtime.
Third period, 15:57, 2-2: The Bruins just missed springing Patrice Bergeron on a breakaway. The pass was just a little too far in front of him, and the puck went into the corner in the Detroit zone. He was the first player on the puck, but the Red Wings got back in time to take away any sort of chance. The B’s attempted a shot, and the puck was deflected into the crowd, and we’ve got our final TV timeout.
Third period, 12:00, 2-2: Kyle Quincey had a good chance for the Red Wings, but Tuukka Rask made a pad save, and he’s able to keep the game tied.
Third period, 9:45, 2-2: Brad Marchand is having a rough night. For the second time in this game, Marchand just missed a wide-open net. This chance was even more open than the first one. Marchand’s look was as good as it gets, as he took a gorgeous cross-slot pass from Torey Krug. Marchand ended up missing the vacant cage, and a gorgeous chance to put the Bruins ahead is over.
Here’s a look at the chance he had, via @PeteBlackburn on Twitter.
Third period, 6:06, 2-2: The Bruins are feeding off that game-tying goal. The B’s began the period with plenty of jump which culminated with Milan Lucic’s goal. Since then, they’ve had a lot of good offensive zone pressure. There has been some back and forth, though, that probably won’t make Claude Julien very happy, but Boston is keeping the Wings on the outside and that’s limited the Wings’ chances.
The B’s are doubling up on shots in the third with a 6-3 advantage so far.
Third period, 1:15, 2-2: The hockey game is tied.
The Red Wings’ defense just fell apart, and Carl Soderberg took advantage. He skated into the zone pretty unopposed, won a race to the puck and made a gorgeous centering pass to Milan Lucic, who jammed the puck by Jonas Gustavsson for the game-tying goal.
Third period, 0:01, Red Wings 2-1: The third period is underway.
Second period reaction: The good news for the Bruins is that they’re within a goal and had a better second period. The bad news, however, is that they’re still not playing nearly their best. If you’re looking for one group to really pick it up in the third period, the B’s could sure use a lot more out of the first line. Milan Lucic, David Krejci and Jarome Iginla have combined for just three shot attempts through two periods, and they were on the ice for the Pavel Datsyuk goal in the second period.
The Bruins are still struggling to get much of anything going when the play is 5-on-5. The Boston goal came on the power play, and they’re still looking to get consistent offense at even strength. They have had their chances, sure, but they’re still struggling to cash in on those chances. At some point, that catches up to you.
Boston did have some momentum late in the period. If they can keep that up into the third period — and actually convert a chance or two — they still very much have a chance to win this game.
End second period, Red Wings 2-1: The Bruins were solid in the final few minutes of the period, but they could not break through and tie the game before horn sounded. Boston outshot Detroit 15-7 in the second period, and the Wings hold a 22-17 advantage through two periods.
Second period, 15:21, Red Wings 2-1: The Bruins have killed off Gregory Campbell’s boarding penalty, thanks in large part to Tuukka Rask. The Boston goalie made a real nice glove save on Tomas Tatar to keep the Bruins within one.
Second period, 13:14, Red Wings 2-1: Detroit is going back on the power play. Gregory Campbell just boarded Darren Helm, and the B’s will have to kill off another penalty.
Second period, 10:14, Red Wings 2-1: The Bruins are back into the game.
Torey Krug just ripped an absolute bomb from the point that looked to have deflected off of a Detroit stick in the slot and went screaming by Jonas Gustavsson. That’s a power-play tally, as the B’s were on their abbreviated power play.
Second period, 8:16, Red Wings 2-0: And the Red Wings’ power play is over. Todd Bertuzzi was called for interference just 13 seconds into the man-advantage. That was questionable to say the least.
Second period, 8:03, Red Wings 2-0: The Red Wings are getting another power play. Justin Abdelkader and Kevan Miller got tied up behind the Boston net as play went the other way, and that’s when Miller wrestled Abdelkader to the ice. That was enough for a roughing penalty apparently.
Second period, 4:27, Red Wings 2-0: The Red Wings now have a two-goal lead.
The Bruins got caught running around in their own end, and Detroit makes them pay. The puck bounced over the net to Niklas Kronwall. He gloved it, put it down and was able to get it to Pavel Datsyuk who was standing right in front. Datsyuk had a wide-open cage, and he’s not going to miss that opportunity.
Second period, 0:01, Red Wings 1-0: The second period is underway.
First period reaction: That was easily the Red Wings’ best period of the series, which comes one game after their first period in Game 3 was their worst of the series. You knew this was coming, though, right? Detroit got its captain back and playing in front of the home crowd, it makes sense that the Wings would have plenty of jump. The Bruins, however, didn’t do a great job of handling that. The Wings got pretty much whatever they wanted, as they finally used their speed through the neutral zone to generate chances for the entire period.
Luckily for the Bruins, Tuukka Rask is on his game so far. Rask made 14 saves in the first, and the one goal he did allow came on the power play, and it came with Todd Bertuzzi right in his grill. Other than that, Rask was spectacular, and he’s a big reason the Wings didn’t put three or four goals on the board in the first.
The Bruins also had their chances. Brad Marchand missed a wide-open net, and Reilly Smith’s semi-breakaway went through Jonas Gustavsson’s legs and hit the post. What the Bruins need more than anything moving forward is to possess the puck more. The B’s had just five shots on goal on the first, which doesn’t do much to challenge a goalie who hasn’t played in a while and is making his NHL playoff debut.
End first period, Red Wings 1-0: The first period is over, and the Red Wings will take a 1-0 lead to the dressing room. Detroit outshot the Bruins 15-5 in the first period.
First period, 19:28, Red Wings 1-0: The Bruins’ power play is over, and there’s not a lot of good to report. The Bruins had just one shot on goal.
First period, 17:28, Red Wings 1-0: The Bruins are going on the power play.
Brendan Smith just tripped his brother Reilly Smith, and the B’s get their first chance of the game.
First period, 15:24, Red Wings 1-0: Brad Marchand is going to be seeing that one in his sleep.
Kevan Miller made a gorgeous slap pass to Marchand who was sneaking in the back door down the left wing and Marchand was left wide open with a look at an empty net. Marchand flat-out missed the net, though, and the puck sailed wide.
First period, 13:30, Red Wings 1-0: The Bruins have killed off the second part of Justin Florek’s double-minor. It wasn’t easy, as the Red Wings put three shots on goal during the second power play, but Tuukka Rask came up big to help the B’s make the kill.
First period, 11:00, Red Wings 1-0: The Wings are on the board.
Niklas Kronwall just blasted a slap shot by Tuukka Rask from the blue line, as Todd Bertuzzi was parked in front of the net to provide the screen.
First period, 10:56, 0-0: The Bruins had a sparkling chance when Reilly Smith made an incredible effort to get through the Detroit defense and had beat Jonas Gustavsson with a backhander that went through the goalie’s legs. However, the puck ended up hitting the post and deflecting wide, erasing the Bruins’ best chance of the game so far.
The B’s will now have to kill off a penalty, too. A double-minor at that. Justin Florek caught Drew Miller with a high stick, and the B’s will have to kill off four minutes.
First period, 7:01, 0-0: The Red Wings have gotten out to a much better start in this one than they did in Game 3, which is no surprise really. The Wings are going with a slower lineup in this one, but they have had good jump so far and are clearly feeding off a crowd that is feeding off of Henrik Zetterberg’s return.
Zetterberg just put a shot on goal, and the Wings have three shots on goal now. The B’s have yet to register a shot on Jonas Gustavsson.
There will be 4-on-4 play for the next two minutes. Dougie Hamilton and Justin Abdelkader picked up matching roughing minors for their roles in a post-whistle scrum.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: The first period is underway.
8:03 p.m.: Jimmy Howard has the flu, the Red Wings have announced.
8 p.m.: Jonas Gustavsson — not Jimmy Howard — will start in net for the Red Wings. That is a bit of a shocker to say the least.
7:57 p.m.: It’s official: Henrik Zetterberg is back in the lineup for the Red Wings and will make his first appearance since early February. It will be interesting to see what kind of minutes he gets, as he was reportedly set to get 10-12 minutes. We will see.
7:38 p.m.: Judging by the pregame line rushes, there is no change to the Bruins’ lineup. That means the forward lines remain the same, and Matt Bartkowski will be in the lineup again. It also means that Andrej Meszaros is another healthy scratch after playing in Games 1 and 2.
Here are the Bruins’ projected lines and defensive pairings, per the pregame skate.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Reilly Smith
Justin Florek — Carl Soderberg — Loui Eriksson
Jordan Caron — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton
Zdeno Chara — Dougie Hamilton
Matt Bartkowski — Johnny Boychuk
Torey Krug — Kevan Miller
7:29 p.m.: Pregame warmups are underway, and Henrik Zetterberg is on the ice. It certainly appears as if he’s going to return.
7:20 p.m.: One quick note on this game, as it will be Claude Julien’s 100th career playoff game. His record in those games in 56-43, and picking up No. 57 tonight would be a potentially crushing blow for the Red Wings in this series.
12:38 p.m.: Bruins coach Claude Julien fully expects Henrik Zetterberg to return on Thursday night. Julien says that seeing Zetterberg on the ice when the puck drops won’t really change much about how the Bruins go about their business.
This is what Julien had to say about Zetterberg, according to the Macomb Daily’s Chuck Pleiness:
“We can’t just worry about one player,” Julien said. “We fully expect him to be in there tonight. We expected that. The biggest thing is they have another real good player on their team. We’re not aware of where he is in his conditioning, but at the same time every playoff game has to be about your team. You make adjustments to play against the other team not just an individual. That’s not going to change for us.”
12:26 p.m.: As expected, Daniel Paille is still out and won’t play in Game 4. He’s getting close, according to head coach Claude Julien, but the fourth-line winger isn’t quite ready to get back in the lineup. Paille has been cleared for contact, which is obviously good news and the latest step in a potential return to game action.
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12:15 p.m.: Daniel Paille being on the ice for morning skate is good news for the Bruins, of course, but it doesn’t appear that he’ll be in the lineup for Game 4. He didn’t take part in any line rushes as Paille spent that time stickhandling in the neutral zone during the line rushes.
So, it seems that the Bruins lines are the same. In case you’re new around here, these are the lines the Bruins are expected to roll with in Game 4.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Jarome Iginla
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Reilly Smith
Justin Florek — Carl Soderberg — Loui Eriksson
Jordan Caron — Gregory Campbell — Shawn Thornton
Bruins coach Claude Julien is set to speak with the media shortly.
11:33 a.m.: There might be lineup news on the way for the Bruins, too. Boston’s morning skate just started, and Daniel Paille is on the ice for the practice session. Paille, presumably dealing with a concussion, hasn’t played since April 12.
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11:25 a.m.: Henrik Zetterberg’s potential return is dominating the storylines entering Game 4, and rightfully so. If he’s in, he won’t be the only Detroit lineup change, though. Wings coach Mike Babcock announced that Todd Bertuzzi will be added into the lineup in place of Tomas Jurco.
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11 a.m.: Naturally, Henrik Zetterberg will not speak with the media following morning skate. According to reporters in Detroit, Zetterberg has to head straight to a doctor’s appointment following the skate — presumably for clearance — and will be a game-time decision.
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10:40 a.m.: Red Wings morning skate is underway, and it sure seems as if Henrik Zetterberg is going to be in the Detroit lineup. He was taking first-line rushes on a line with Pavel Datsyuk and Justin Abdelkader, which certainly seems to indicate he’ll be in.
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10:15 a.m.: There is a lot riding on Game 4 in the first-round Stanley Cup playoff series between the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings, which makes Thursday night’s game a crucial contest.
The B’s hold a 2-1 series lead entering Game 4, and win on Thursday would send the series back to Boston with the Bruins having a chance to close out the series on Saturday in Game 5. If the Wings are able to win the fourth game, however, the entire series looks different, and Detroit would have a real chance at pulling off the upset.
If Game 4 goes anything like the two that preceded it, though, this series is going to be over very soon. The Bruins have dominated the last two games, as they have outscored Detroit 7-1 in those contests. Boston flat-out dominated Detroit in the first period of Game 4 on Tuesday where the Bruins completely took the Joe Louis Arena crowd out of play early.
That crowd is expected to be rocking in a big way on Thursday night. That’s because Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg is reportedly making his return to the ice. Zetterberg hasn’t played since Feb. 8 and underwent back surgery on Feb. 21. The Wings are likely hoping Zetterberg can help jump-start an offense that has scored just two goals in three games and is 0-for-9 on the power play.
Puck drop from the Joe is scheduled for 8 p.m.
