Youth served the Boston Bruins well Wednesday night.
All three goals in the Bruins’ thrilling 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings came off the sticks of their two youngest active players: 23-year-old defenseman Colin Miller, who scored with 1:44 remaining to force overtime, and 21-year-old winger Frank Vatrano, who notched the game’s first goal and then deflected in a Miller shot for the game-winner in OT.
The clutch scoring from the rookies, coupled with a virtuoso performance by veteran goaltender Jonas Gustavsson, allowed the Bruins to steal two points from the Red Wings despite being outplayed for nearly the entire evening.
“I think that’s probably the biggest thing: We found a way to win,” Julien said in a postgame interview with NESN’s Jack Edwards and Andy Brickley. “And our kids did a great job of that. Obviously, Frankie Vatrano with a couple of goals, Colin with that great pass there on the winning goal and the great shot on the tying goal. Our young kids did a great job for us tonight.”
Vatrano, making his return to the lineup after an upper body injury sidlined him for two games, opened the scoring midway through the first period. The Bruins held their own in that opening frame, and thanks to a few big saves by Gustavsson, they led 1-0 at intermission.
The next 38 or so minutes, however, belonged to the Red Wings. They dominated possession, outshooting their visitors 11-4 in the second period and severely limiting their scoring chances for much of the third. Detroit, which got goals from Pavel Datsyuk and Tomas Tatar in the second, still held a one-goal advantage as the 18:00 mark of the third came and went.
But before coach Claude Julien could call Gustavsson to the bench for an extra attacker, winger Loui Eriksson entered the offensive zone and slid a pass back for Miller, who bombed a one-timer past goalie Petr Mrazek to tie the game at 2-2.
“It was a really big goal,” Vatrano, who watched the play develop from the bench, told NESN rinkside reporter Sarah Davis. “We were pushing all third period. We had a tough second period, and we knew we needed to bounce back. It was a great shot by Millsy and a great play by (David Krejci) and Loui to get the puck to him. It was a big goal for us, and I think we took that momentum going into overtime.”
The teams combined for just one shot on goal in the 3-on-3 overtime period that ensued, but it was all the Bruins would need.
Vatrano redirected Miller’s contested slap shot past Mrazek, then let loose in wild and well-deserved celebration as his teammates paraded onto the ice.
“It was pretty exciting,” Miller told reporters after the game, as aired on “Bruins Overtime LIVE.” “After the second period, I think we were kind of really frustrated with ourselves, so I think we tried to just forget about that from there and go out and have a really solid third period. And I think we did that.”
The Bruins’ Thanksgiving turkey will taste a whole lot better this Thursday, and they have the kids table to thank for it.
Thumbnail photo via Rick Osentoski/USA TODAY Sports Images
