The roller coaster that is the 2014-15 Boston Bruins' season took another enjoyable turn tonight as they rallied for an improbable 3-2 win at Joe Louis Arena vs. Red Wings. Boston (40-25-13) trailed Detroit (40-24-13) 2-0 early in the third period but tied it on goals by Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson before Zach Trotman netted the game-winner (also his first career NHL goal). It was Boston's fourth straight win and it tied them with Detroit for third-place in the Atlantic Division although the Red Wings have one game in hand.
It was a pretty lifeless first period save for two penalties on Zdeno Chara for tripping and interference. The Red Wings scored first in the second period on a bizarre play. Danny DeKeyser's shot hit the end boards then popped back in front where Luke Glendening was there to flip it by Tuukka Rask (35 saves). His 12th goal of the season was also assisted by Stephen Weiss.
There was some anxious moments for Bruins fans since Patrice Bergeron left in the second period with a mysterious injury and never returned in that frame. It happened during a faceoff when his body got twisted around so who could tell? Thankfully, he was out there to start the third with a face shield after he received 30 stitches for a nasty cut on his face. His tripping penalty cost the B's as Weiss was able to make it 2-0 at 2:52 of the third with a power-play goal. He did a give-and-go with Riley Sheahan (yes, they do those in hockey too) and beat Rask from in tight. Marek Zidlicky had the second assist on the power play goal and Weiss' ninth tally of the season.
At that point, it certainly didn't look good for the Bruins but we should have remembered that this is a team that they own (they were 3-1 coming into tonight this season vs. Red Wings). Soderberg got the comeback started with a power-play goal at 5:05. After Petr Mrazek (22 saves) left a juicy rebound of Reilly Smith's shot, Soderberg was able to roof it from close range. Brett Connolly had the second assist for his first point in his first game as a Bruin.
2:14 after that, Eriksson tied it thanks to a nifty backhand pass through traffic and behind the net from Smith. Soderberg had the second helper on Eriksson's 21st goal of the season. Honestly, Trotman's goal was pretty weak on Mrazek's part not that any of the Bruins or their fans were complaining about it. His first shot from the point was blocked so he got more aggressive and drove to the net before his shot somehow squeezed past Mrazek. Ryan Spooner and Connolly had the assists on the game-winner which occurred with 2:08 left in regulation.
Boston wasn't able to gain any ground on Washington (who beat Montreal 5-4 in a shootout) or Florida (who blitzed Carolina 6-1) since they both won tonight as well. The B's host the Maple Leafs (29-43-6) on Saturday night (7, NESN) in their regular season home finale. The Bruins are finally in a nice groove during the stretch run so they should take care of Toronto (who have absolutely nothing to play for but draft position) no problem.
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