In the final game of the 2023 calendar year, the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings battled in an Original Six matchup at Little Caesars Arena.
After having their two-goal lead erased in the middle frame, the Bruins held on to defeat the Red Wings 5-3 on Sunday night.
With the win, the Bruins improved to 22-7-6 on the season and the Red Wings fell to 17-16-4 on the campaign.
Check out the full box score here.
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ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Bruins penalty kill needed to come up big against the Red Wings after surrendering six man-advantage opportunities to Detroit.
Boston allowed just one Detroit power-play goal in the final minute of regulation before Pavel Zacha iced the game with the empty net goal with 24 seconds remaining in regulation.
Jeremy Swayman made eight saves on nine power-play shots and 25 overall in the game to earn his 11th victory of the season.
Jake DeBrusk had regained the two-goal lead for the Bruins with just over two minutes to play with an empty net goal, but the Boston forward was called for tripping with 1:30 left in the game. Detroit got within one with their lone power-play goal from J.T. Compher.
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STARS OF THE GAME
— Frederic recorded the first two goals of the game to give Boston the 2-0 lead with his eighth and ninth of the season.
— Charlie Coyle recorded his 13th goal of the season breaking the 2-2 tie in the third period. After winning the face-off, Coyle skates out to the bumper to collect the Charlie McAvoy pass and get the snap shot past Alex Lyon.
— Swayman made 25 saves on 28 shots in the Bruins win.
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WAGER WATCH
FanDuel Sportsbook set the odds that Frederic would score the first goal of the contest at +3000. The Bruins’ forward cleared those odds with his first of two goals with 52 seconds remaining in the opening frame. A $100 wager would have netted a $3,100 payout on Frederic’s eighth goal of the season.
UP NEXT
The Bruins complete their two-game road trip when they head to Columbus to take on the Blue Jackets on Tuesday night. Puck drop from Nationwide Arena is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, and you can catch the game, plus an hour of pregame coverage, on NESN.
Featured image via Brian Bradshaw Sevald/USA TODAY Sports Images
