Bruins beat Red Wings in regulation

David Krejci #46 of the Boston Bruins celebrates his second period goal with teammates while playing the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on February 6, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)

The Boston Bruins kept their winning streak alive once again Tuesday night. A go ahead on the scoreboard and holding off the Detroit Red Wings in the final minutes gave them their third in a row in a 3-2 win at Little Caesars Arena. The Bruins had the offense on high speed that took steam away from Detroit that handed them a second straight defeat.

Detroit’s loss to the Florida Panthers Saturday didn’t pan out the way the wanted but coming home was a positive moment for them. Their home win over the Sharks on Feb. 1 gave them reasons to perform well with two days off and a faceoff against their Original Six rivals. Howard earned the start where he hoped to snap four straight defeats. Much like many of their recent opponents, the Bruins are on a hot streak going 7-1-0 in their past eight games earning a point in their past 20. Tuukka Rask was the reason for many of their wins as he earned the start with a .942 save percentage.

The Red Wings challenged his strength in net with some scoring chances in the opening minutes of the period. The Finnish star reached out far to make some serious saves including one by Nick Jensen who played in his 100^th NHL game. Detroit stayed ahead of the Bruins on shots on goal but gave them chances to catch up with seven minutes left. They overtook Detroit adding plenty of physical hits to help their efforts of breaking Howard before the first finished up. They were denied of doing that as he stopped all 13 shots. While Detroit went quiet during the last part of the game, a defense was key to keeping the game scoreless through 20 minutes.

The Red Wings got another good start to open the second which then came in the shape of a power play 80 seconds in. It didn’t take their power play unit to get something going as they got the puck to the far end before bringing it back in where Martin Frk one timed the shot to score his ninth and first since Dec. 20. While his goal didn’t help increase the offense or stop that of Boston’s the mission of getting on the scoreboard first put pressure on the Bruins to do the same.

After stopping a play by the Red Wings, Boston was rewarded for their hard work with a three man play that ended with Sean Kuraly scoring his fourth at 12:11. It was their 20^th shot on Howard had a lot going on during that play for things to be even. Boston wanted more and did so gaining possession on a faceoff in the Detroit zone. The line worked well together pressuring the Red Wings defense that saw David Krejci scoring his tenth on a one-time centering shot.  The push that the Bruins created took Detroit out of it for a time before a 4 on 4 to close out the second saw them trying to pick up the pace but too late. They were once again outshot 11-5 with a lot needing to occur in order to level back and make the third period a priority.

Through seven minutes of play in the final stanza, Detroit had five shots but they couldn’t get on the pace they wanted to outplay and outscore the Bruins. It got much harder as Boston made it 3-1 at 11;39 with Danton Heinen scoring his 12^th easily on the Detroit netminder that took the wind out of the Red Wings. Rask was still stunning in net having allowed them a goal but denied every other opportunity Detroit got.

The situation was bad for the Red Wings as time was running out leading them to pull Howard from the net. They did everything with six men in play to get a goal and move closer in the margin. Frans Nielsen made the first move with 1:24 left as he got on a rebound in front of the net for his 12^th. With a minute to go, the Red Wings continued their relentless chances getting Howard out of the net after the center ice faceoff. They charged the puck close to the Boston net with Nielsen nearly getting the job done but Rask made a huge stop to stop play.

With 43.6 left in regulation, Detroit used their timeout with coach Jeff Blashill setting a play up for them with the faceoff taking place in the Boston zone. The Bruins won it going with a plan to keep it on the boards and kill time. Another chance was foiled by Boston who had Rask grabbing the puck on a wraparound attempt. He held it together for them to bring the game to a close earning his 22^nd win of the season.

The 30-year-old was clearly on a roll for himself stopping 26 on the night for a .929 save percentage helping his team gain two points. Howard ended his rough night in net stopping 28 but recording his 17^th loss. The Red Wings would try to brush it off as they continued their homestand against the New York Islanders Friday.