BOSTON — The Bruins lost twice to the Red Wings earlier this season. And Detroit looked as if it was going to take its third from Boston.
The Red Wings jumped out to an early 1-0 lead after the first period Saturday afternoon at TD Garden. But the B’s came out hot to start the second and scored three unanswered goals before David Pastrnak added his 42nd of the season in the third to help lift his team to a 4-1 win.
Boston played a strong first period, it just couldn’t crack Jonathan Bernier. But that all changed a period later. So, what did Bruce Cassidy tell his squad after the first 20 minutes?
“There wasn’t a whole lot. I think we knew our game was in good shape,” the head coach said after the game. “They made a smart play on the penalty kill, picked off a pass. We talked about adjustments we could make on the power play. Turns out we didn’t have any, so it was kind of a waste of an intermission in that regard. But I think our guys knew we were playing the right way — we had lots of O-zone possession time, lots of activity around their net, a couple of bounces that didn’t go our way. If we stuck with it, probably get a little more traffic in front of them because lately whatever we’ve been shooting, when he’s seen it, he’s been stopping it. There was no panic. I thought we stuck with it and as a result, made a big play. Marchy (Brad Marchand) winning a puck there, Bergy (Patrice Bergeron’s) goal I thought was a big goal for us. Killed any momentum that they were going to establish.”
Bergeron’s shorthanded tally put the Bruins up 2-1, a lead they never would relinquish.
So even though Cassidy didn’t say much, it appeared to be enough as Boston racked up its 36th win of the season.
