BSJ Game Report: Bruins 4, Red Wings 1 - B’s finally snap losing streak against Detroit

Everything you need to know from the Bruins’ 4-1 win over the Red Wings in quickie form, with BSJ insight and analysis:

Box Score

HEADLINES

B’s snap out of funk against Detroit:

Through the first 20 minutes of Saturday’s matinee at TD Garden, the Bruins managed to land 19 shots on goal against Red Wings netminder Jonathan Bernier. Detroit countered with just six shots against Tuukka Rask. 

And yet, as Boston and Detroit retreated to their respective dressing rooms at the first intermission, the Red Wings held a 1-0 lead — with Darren Helm opening the scoring for the visitors off of a shorthanded tally just 3:12 into the contest.

It was a tough break for the B’s, one that’s been par for the course for Boston when it comes to its struggles against a Detroit team currently sitting at the bottom of the NHL standings with a 14-42-4 record.

But Detroit’s stretch of good luck against the B’s — and its five-game winning streak against the Original Six club — finally dried up as Saturday’s game progressed. Boston erased its one-goal deficit in short order, tallying three goals in the span of 4:29 in the second en route to an eventual 4-1 victory.

With the win, Boston has now won eight out of its last nine games and improves to 36-11-12 on the season. The B’s dominated the cellar-dwelling Wings for most of the afternoon when it comes to puck possession — with Boston holding a 31-22 edge in scoring chances and 41-26 advantage in shots on goal. 

After Charlie McAvoy finally put Boston on the board at 8:01 in the second, the floodgates finally opened against Bernier, who finished with 37 saves in the loss. Just 1:39 after McAvoy’s second tally of the season, Patrice Bergeron gave the B’s the lead for good off of a shorthanded strike, while Charlie Coyle added some insurance off a tip in of a McAvoy shot at 12:30. 

Brad Marchand and David Pastrnak closed out the scoring in the final period of play, with Pastrnak capping off an odd-man rush with his 42nd goal of the season. Rask extended his point streak at home to 20 straight games (14-0-6), with the netminder closing out in the afternoon with 25 stops. 

FOUR UP:

Charlie Coyle: When Coyle plays as he did on Saturday afternoon,



Bruce Cassidy and the B’s essentially have the luxury of rolling out a pair of “second lines” in support of the Bergeron trio. Coyle was a monster in all areas of the game, using his size and puck-protection skills to extend O-zone shifts and generate quality looks down low against Bernier. Coyle’s tip-in tally was just the icing on the cake, as he very well could have had another goal or two — given that he generated three high-danger scoring chances. 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1228750155781988353

Patrice Bergeron: Saturday’s matinee was just the latest in an extensive list of examples as to why Bergeron is still considered one of the premier two-way players in the league. After breaking up another Detroit shorthanded rush in the closing minutes of the first period, Bergeron’s PK work generated a shorthanded goal down the other end of the ice in the second — as he tucked a puck past Bernier at 9:40 after Brad Marchand won a puck battle against Mike Green. 

During 12:37 of 5v5 play, the Bruins had a 2-0 edge in goals scored and an 11-4 edge in shots on goal when the 63-37-88 line was deployed.

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1228753188095975427

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1228761035898789888

David Krejci: While Krejci’s crew might not have been as effective as Bergeron and Coyle’s forward trios, the B’s veteran reached a major milestone on Saturday afternoon, becoming just the seventh player in B’s franchise history to appear in 900 career games with the club. Krejci landed two shots on goal and won 56.3 percent of his draws at the faceoff circle during Saturday’s win. 

Tuukka Rask: With his 20-game point streak at TD Garden, Rask tied Tiny Thompson for the longest home point streak by a Bruins goalie in franchise history. Rask might want that shorthanded goal back in the first period, but the netminder was strong down the stretch — turning aside seven of the eight high-danger shots that came his way. 

ONE DOWN:

Power play: The B’s power play had an afternoon to forget — going 0-for-2 on the man advantage while relinquishing a shorthanded goal just 3:12 into the game. 

PLAY OF THE GAME: That’s just unfair. 

https://twitter.com/NHLBruins/status/1228795367552012288

PARTING THOUGHTS: At long last, our suspicions were finally confirmed — the Red Wings are, in fact, a very, very bad hockey club:

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1228763088037519365

Also — Brad Marchand, Bruins GM? 

https://twitter.com/ConorRyan_93/status/1228780872918278144

LOOKING AHEAD: The Bruins don’t have much time to rest following Saturday’s win, as the B’s will head down to Madison Square Garden for another matinee matchup against the Rangers on Sunday afternoon. Puck drop is set for 3:30 p.m.