The Boston Bruins rode the momentum of their Centennial Game victory by making it two in a row with Tuesday night’s 3-2 overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings at TD Garden.
Boston’s elite defensive effort, which has become a trend since interim head coach Joe Sacco took over at the helm, made itself a critical factor against Detroit. Similarly to their November trip to the Motor City, the Bruins took a 1-1 first-period tie, followed by a scoreless second period into a do-or-die final frame of regulation.
It’s become a scenario that the Sacco-led Bruins are far too familiar, and this time, again, the Black and Gold overcame the adversity.
The Red Wings went right after Boston’s Joonas Korpisalo at the start of the third period, breaking the 1-1 tie courtesy of Detroit’s Lucas Raymond on the power play. Detroit had gone 0-for-3 in its first trio of opportunities to counter Boston’s miscues and the fourth time proved to be the go-ahead charm. So… what do you get when you have the Bruins — with the worst power play — and the Red Wings — with the worst penalty kill — in the league?
You get an electric nail-biting race to the finish line in order to decide a winner.
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Justin Brazeau, following in Detroit’s footsteps, too, netted a power play goal to even back up the contest and uplift TD Garden’s home crowd over eight minutes after the Red Wings delivered their go-ahead blow — eventually sending the contest to overtime.
Boston’s poise rewarded the Bruins in the form of Pavel Zacha’s game-winner, improving the team’s record to 13-11-3 and giving Detroit its third straight loss. The B’s are also 5-2 now under Sacco, keeping the momentum shift alive.
The Bruins will pack their bags and head to the Windy City for a matchup with the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday night. Puck drop from United Center is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET, and that battle will be aired on TNT.
Featured image via Brian Fluharty/Imagn Images
