It wasn’t always pretty, but the Boston Bruins won their fourth consecutive game Saturday afternoon at TD Garden.
The B’s were outshot 31-26 by the Detroit Red Wings, but fought their way to a tough 3-1 victory to enter the holiday break on a high note.
Brad Marchand had his hands all over the win, giving the Bruins a 1-0 lead in the first and picking up an assist on Patrice Bergeron’s game-winner in the third. Tuukka Rask played great in net, stopping 30 of the 31 shots he faced.
The Bruins improved to 19-10-5 with the win, while the Red Wings dropped to 13-15-7 with the loss.
Here’s how it all went down:
YEAH!!! … NO!!!
A largely strong first period for the Bruins was negated by an ugly defensive breakdown.
Marchand got the Bruins on the board first with a 5-on-3 power-play goal at 13:37. The Bruins executed beautifully in their own zone, and David Backes finished the sequence with a sweet feed to Marchand.
But the lead lasted less than a minute, as Frans Nielson scored a short-handed goal at 14:38 to tie the score. Danton Heinen’s careless turnover was the key play in an ugly series for the Bruins.
Boston outshot the Red Wings 11-6 in the first frame. There were two penalties called in the period, both on Detroit.
WHERE’S THE CHRISTMAS SPIRIT?
Nielsen’s shorty clearly sucked some energy out of the B’s, as the team looked noticeably flat during the second period.
Thankfully for Boston, the Red Wings were unable to capitalize on their chances, as the teams remained tied 1-1 after the second stanza. But that nearly wasn’t the case, as Rask at one point needed some help from his teammates to prevent Detroit from taking the lead.
Detroit outshot Boston 13-9 in the period. Both penalties in the frame were called on the Bruins.
BERGY NETS THE WINNER
The third period didn’t fare much better for the Bruins, except for one important thing.
Patrice Bergeron took a great pass from Marchand and netted his ninth goal of the season to give Boston a 2-1 lead at 6:11 of the frame. Here’s the play:
Bergeron also scored an empty-netter with 13.8 seconds left to seal the victory.
Those two goals really were the only bright spots of the third period, as Detroit outshot Boston 12-6 in the final stanza. Still, Boston earned a hard-fought victory, even if it didn’t play its best hockey.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will hit the ice again Wednesday when they face the Ottawa Senators. Puck drop from TD Garden is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET.
