Boston put the scare on the Red Wings to win at the Joe Louis Arena
Saturday night. The Bruins got a goal
midway into the game that held to beat Detroit 1-0
that put an end to their six game winning streak and four game streak on home
ice. Tuukka Rask
made 24 saves on the night to get a well-deserved shutout against the Atlantic
Division rivals.
Detroit held a six game winning streak coming back home to
face the Bruins for the first time this season. The Red Wings came to the end
of October with a strong success with most of their wins coming at home. With
an Original Six rivalry in the midst and the final season at The Joe in play,
taking their offense to Boston would be huge to keep the streak alive. Rask
returned in net for the Bruins after missing the last three games due to
soreness. He’ll compete against Jimmy Howard who sat on his own winning streak
to defend.
Steve Ott got things started for Detroit getting into a
scuffle with Boston captain Zdeno Chara. The six foot nine defenseman tried to
get something going but saw himself and the Red Wings forward go for
unsportsmanlike penalties. It was the only moment in the game to occur as
neither team took a shot on goal in the opening four minutes. The Bruins
managed to do better on the face-offs holding Detroit from winning their first.
Boston took their first chance on net where Howard made an
easy stop on them. Detroit tried finding their first but didn’t get it on Rask
till 10:30 into the period. The Bruins already had five shots to the Red Wings
net with Chara taking some drives on Howard. Despite the late actions, the Red
Wings did well to hang in with the Bruins. They gained plenty of action in the
final minutes in their attempt to take control of the score. Detroit was unable
to get it done but did match Boston’s seven shots while killing their only
power play of the period.
The Red Wings opened the second with their first man
advantage of the night with the top shooters in play. The Bruins cancelled out
the remainder of the penalty sending things to 4 on 4 with Gustav Nyquist slashing
Brad Marchand to prevent a shorthanded breakaway. Boston got two shots during
the remainder of their power play but couldn’t convert it into a lead.
The fight for control ensued drastically with the shots
increasing and both goaltenders still playing flawless in their respective
nets. Power plays were dealt with by the penalty killing units leaving the only
option to make something happen during even strength. With three minutes left
in the game, Boston had the puck and went for a scoring chance on Dominic Moore
as he delivered a wrist shot into a small spot that Tim Schaller got a piece
of. Detroit challenged the play due to off sides but was defeated. It was the
first time in 156.13 that Howard allowed a goal being Schaller’s first of the
season.
With the lone goal giving Boston an edge, Detroit had to
make something happen in the third. The offensive surge of the Bruins slowly
took its toll in the opening minutes as the Red Wings struggled to outduel their
opponents. It wasn’t till the seventh minute that Detroit got a chance to
increase their shots on net, gaining a power play. They let another one slip by
leaving them scratching their heads on how to get around Boston and level the
score.
Boston had answers for dealing with the Red Wings breaking
up their moments with the puck, taking the play away from them all while
killing time off the clock. 70 seconds remained on the clock and the decision
came to pull Howard from the net. The sixth man didn’t help as the Bruins
cleared the puck twice in their efforts. A final chance with the faceoff in the
Boston zone occurred with six seconds left, but despite having a 6 on 4
advantage, the Red Wings were foiled at home to end their six game winning
streak.
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