Pastrnak Saves the Day (and Maybe Claude Julien's Job) in 4-3 OT Win for B's vs. Wings

When you lose four straight games and see your season quickly going down in flames, there really isn't that much left to say. The Bruins (24-21-6) rallied to tie it in the third period tonight at TD Garden vs. the Red Wings (20-19-9) and won 4-3 in overtime on David Pastrnak's sublime one-timer from David Krejci and Brandon Carlo. Pasta's 20th goal of the season was also his first in 18 games but right now, who's counting? It's only one game and two points but you can easily conclude that was the most vital win of 2016-17 thus far for the B's. After their putrid 6-5 shootout loss in Detroit last Wednesday (where they blew not 1 but 2 three-goal leads), they owed the Red Wings this loss.

This being the Bruins that we're talking about, it obviously didn't come easily. Rather, they took a very hard route to end up victorious in front of a crowd far smaller than a sellout. They had previously been 1-16-3 this season when trailing after two periods while Detroit was 10-3-2 when leading after two. It was the final game of Boston's inaugural mothers' trip and Brad Marchand's mother in particular had plenty to cheer about as her son tied it at three in the third period with his second goal of the game. Patrice Bergeron and Torey Krug assisted on Marchand's 19th goal of the season (which temporarily tied him with Pasta for the team-lead) at 8:20 of the third.

In a bizarre but totally true stat (take that alternative facts) Detroit has the NHL's best record in shootouts (6-0!) so the B's were smart to not let it reach that point (they are 2-2 in that goofy way to decide regular season games). Kevan Miller had missed the past four games with one of his endless injuries but he returned tonight and gave us all a taste of the full Kevan Miller Experience. He sniped a shot past Jared Coreau (45 saves) for his first goal of the season (and 1st in 42 games!) at 3:39 of the first period. Tim Schaller and Dominic Moore had the assists while Kevin Hayes (who had been a healthy scratch for the past 7 games) set a good screen in front of Coreau.

The Red Wings didn't record a single shot on goal for nearly the first 11 minutes but they made the first one count. Andreas Athanasiou burned Brandon Carlo and took an outlet pass from Mike Green that he finished on a breakaway with a forehand shot by Rask (23 saves) at 10:59. Niklas Kronwall had the other assist on Athanasiou's 10th goal of the season. Detroit is one of the lowest scoring teams in the league so it certainly didn't help that their top two scorers (Dylan Larkin and Thomas Vanek) were out for this evening's matchup. Marchand made it 2-1 late in the frame by putting in a rebound on the power play at 17:34. Ryan Spooner and Pastrnak had the assists as Boston's power play has connected for 10 goals in its last 11 tilts.

Green tied it at two at 6:25 of the second period as his slap-pass (intended to be tipped by a teammate) went off of Kevan Miller's skate into Boston's net. The ageless Henrik Zetterberg and Maine alum Gustav Nyquist had the helpers on Green's ninth goal of the season. Detroit is a long-shot to reach the playoffs for the 26th season in a row (it's really been that long) but their first three meetings with the Bruins this season have all been tight (Boston won 1-0 in Detroit on Oct. 29). Rask gave up a Malcolm Subban type weak one to Tomas Tatar at 10:51 of the second period that gave the Red Wings their first lead. Zetterberg picked up another assist on Tatar's 11th goal of the season.

It is a credit to Rask though (who left Sunday's blowout loss in Pittsburgh with a migraine headache) that he didn't fold after that. Instead, he never allowed another goal and made many quality saves later in the second, third and even two in the extra session. Boston closes the unofficial first half of its campaign (yes I realize they are well past the halfway point) on Thursday (7, NESN) as they host those high-flying Penguins (30-12-5) who fell 3-0 at home tonight to the Blues (24-19-5). The B's usually play entertaining and close games with Pittsburgh (excluding Sunday's debacle of course) so hopefully that is the case in two nights as they try to get back to .500 at the Garden (11-12-0) this season.

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Goodnight Red Wings, Bring On The Canadiens!

So it turns out that we all overestimated the Red Wings. Boston only needed five games in the first round to get rid of them. The B's knocked out the Red Wings 4-2 this afternoon at TD Garden to advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals vs. Montreal. Even when they cut it to 3-2 late in the third period, you never really felt like Detroit posed that much of a threat to rally either in this particular game or in the series as a whole.

Tuukka Rask (31 saves) had another excellent start, he was one of the main reasons that Boston won so handily (outscoring Detroit 14-6 in the series). Jimmy Howard tapped out in Game 4 with the flu and was never heard from again. Don't blame Jonas Gustavsson though who only allowed three goals in each of his outings and received four goals of support from his overrated, mostly too young or too old teammates.

Boston made sure to never really let Detroit possess much hope in Game 5. Loui Eriksson scored on a backhander during a power play at 3:27 of the first period. His first goal of the postseason (and first since May 2008 with Dallas) was assisted by Dougie Hamilton and Rask.

One of the only Red Wings forwards to show up in the series-Pavel Datsyuk-tied it at 14:41 in the second period on a rebound also during a power play (only their second power play goal of the series). 5:15 after that, Zdeno Chara did what winning captains do as he scored a backbreaking power play goal with 3.8 seconds left in the frame. Patrice Bergeron and Torey Krug assisted on Chara's second goal of the postseason.

Milan Lucic scored a goal for the second straight game, putting Boston up 3-1 at 4:27 of the third period. His third goal of the postseason was assisted by Krug who did most of the work by intercepting the puck on a lazy clear by Johan Franzen and passing to Looch who was wide open in front of Gustavsson (29 saves).

Henrik Zetterberg had the honor of scoring Detroit's final goal of 2013-14. It was another rebound after Rask had made an unbelievable save. I suppose that made for a few tense minutes at the Garden but Jarome Iginla kicked off the mild celebrations with an empty netter. All that was left was one of the best traditions in pro sports: the handshake lines after playoff hockey series have ended.

The series with the Canadiens won't start for a while, probably Friday or Saturday at TD Garden due to both teams getting out of the first round so early and Northeastern having graduation there on Thursday. We feared Detroit since they owned Boston in the regular season; Montreal was the only other team to dominate the B's consistently and their recent playoff history with Boston shows that they'll probably be in for another long and frustrating series. Let's get our rest before we lose our minds cheering against those extremely hateable losers.

UPDATE 4/28: Chara is a finalist for the Norris Trophy along with Nashville's Shea Weber and Chicago's Duncan Keith. It is the sixth time that Z has been nominated and he won it in 2009. When is the last time the Bruins had three players nominated for major awards in the same season?

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My Name Is Jonas...........Gustavsson

Sadly, it wasn't a perfect weekend for Boston sports teams as the Bruins fell 3-2 to the Red Wings this afternoon at TD Garden. Boston (3-2-0) spotted Detroit (4-2-0) a 3-1 lead in the second period, the first time the B's had trailed by two goals this season, and it was too much to overcome.

For the Red Wings, it was payback for the humbling 4-1 loss the B's had dealt them on October 5. These two Original 6 rivals and new divisionmates will meet twice more: November 27 (night before Thanksgiving) and April 2 in Detroit. Is it too early to start preparing for the inevitable playoff matchup this spring?

Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard warmed up before the game but didn't play because of a bruised hand. His backup former Maple Leafs scrub Jonas Gustavsson (28 saves) played well in his first start of the season. Boston's piss poor power play (0 for 5 including a 1:54 two-man advantage) didn't help matters. Henrik Zatterberg and Pavel Datsyuk combined for a highlight reel goal with the former one-timing some backhanded sauce from the latter at 11:33 of the first period.

Loui Eriksson tied it at 14:12 after he deflected Johnny Boychuk's shot from the point. Reilly Smith-who played on the second line for struggling Brad Marchand-had the other assist on Eriksson's second goal of the weekend.

The game was won in a span of 2:20 in the second period as new Red Wing Stephen Weiss one-timed a cross ice pass from Johan Franzen then at 10:41 Dan Cleary potted a one-timer out front distributed by Daniel Alfredsson who was stationed behind the net. There was not much that Tuukka Rask (24 saves; 3-2-0) could do as it was Boston defensemen caught in loose coverage in all three tallies.

The aforementioned 5-on-3 was particularly frustrating since the B's peppered Gustavsson with quality chances yet somehow he kept the puck out of the net. Milan Lucic breathed some life into the Garden with his third goal of the season, cutting it to 3-2 with 1:20 left in regulation. Dennis Seidenberg and David Krejci had the assists. Rask was pulled for an extra attacker but time ran out on the Bruins.

It will be a while until the B's are back at the Garden. The circus is here so Boston heads to Florida on Thursday, Tampa Bay on Saturday and Buffalo on Wednesday for a three-game road trip against fellow Atlantic Division squads. They have only had one road game so far this season so being away for a little while should help them bond further with their new teammates. Also, playing terrible opponents like the Panthers and Sabres should wake up the Bruins' dormant offense (8 goals in 5 games).

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Hey Red Wings, Welcome to the Atlantic Division

It will take some time to remember that the Bruins and Red Wings are now in the same division (Atlantic) now, thanks NHL realignment! Boston's first meeting with Detroit went swimmingly as they rolled 4-1 tonight at TD Garden. Give me a game vs. the Red Wings over contests against bum teams like the Lightning, Panthers or Sabres any day of the week. Boston (2-0) scored their first two power play goals of the season and killed two more penalties, making their penalty kill unit 7 for 7.

Lost in the shuffle of four different goal scorers, the power play and penalty kill success plus the third line's emergence was the steady presence of Tuukka Rask. Ho hum, another 25 saves. The one goal he allowed was off a rebound to Henrik Zetterberg at 16:49 of the first period that tied it at one. Other than that, he wasn't tested that much but then again, we expect greatness basically every time that he starts.

The B's scored first as Torey Krug ripped a slap shot past Jimmy Howard (33 saves) with help from Zdeno Chara's enormous screen. Milan Lucic and David Krejci assisted on Krug's first NHL regular season goal. Brad Marchand scored his first goal of the season 36 seconds into the second period and it was a beauty. His wrist shot from the off wing (right side) went off the post and in. Johnny Boychuk had the lone assist on Marchand's goal. Later in that frame he got run over by Justin Abdelkader's cheap shot and retreated to the dressing room. Bruins fans had to be breathing a sigh of relief when Marchand returned, he led the B's in scoring last season.

Nobody would ever call me a founding member of the Jordan Caron fan club but he's starting (repeat starting) to win me over with some solid performances. He got jobbed out of a goal on Opening Night but this time he cashed in off a filthy backhand pass by Reilly Smith at 7:58 of the second period. Adam McQuaid had the second assist on his first goal of the season.

The Red Wings lost their cool in the third with a pair of lazy interference penalties. Boston made them pay as Chara scored a power play goal at 12:17 that you had to see to believe. It started with Krug intercepting the puck in Detroit's end and Lucic also had an assist but the big man did the rest. He beat Howard with an unreal backhander that left the former Maine star with a broken stick (after he smashed it in frustration).

The schedule makers obviously wanted the B's to enjoy a nice fall in New England since they don't return to action until Thursday (7, NESN) when they host the Avalanche (2-0). The Garden has the little booth between benches, where NBCSN's Pierre Maguire hangs out, so it'll be tough for Patrick Roy to really go after Claude Julien after he inevitably does something to set him off.

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So that's what a real hockey team looks like

You have to admire the way that the Boston Bruins never let their fans get too high before quickly cutting them down to size.

I feel like anytime they play a great game, they follow it up with a dud that always leaves you questioning the team.

The latest chapter in this neverending give and take was last night at TD Garden as the Detroit Red Wings made their first visit to Boston since 2008. The Bs never ever play on a Friday night (especially at home) so naturally they treated they're hard-working fans to a diaper full of Indian food.

It was a fun night for Eminem, Kid Rock and all the other miserable souls from that wretched area as the Red Wings (33-16-6) won 6-1 in a game that didn't even feel that close.

To say the Bruins (31-17-7) didn't show up would be too kind. It was easily their worst performance of the season thus far. Tuukka Rask (14 saves) gave up two goals in the first 3:10 and Detroit added three second-period goals in this laugher.

It got so bad that Rask was booed then given mock cheers when he made routine saves. If that wasn't bad enough for his fragile confidence, Bruins head coach Claude Julien mercifully pulled him after two periods.

Henrik Zetterberg (1 goal, 2 assists), Jiri Hudler (1 goal, 2 assists), Todd Bertuzzi (2 goals), Tomas Holmstrom (1 goal, 1 assist), Daniel Cleary (1 goal, 1 assist) and Pavel Datsyuk (2 assists) led the Red Wings, who believe it or not came into town on a skid (losers of three of their last four, outscored 12-4).

Former University of Maine star Jimmy Howard made 25 saves for Detroit in a very quiet night's work.

Bertuzzi scored at 1:10 of the first period from Johan Franzen and Zetterberg. Cleary made it 2-0 on Detroit's second shot of the game at 3:10 from Jiri Hudler and Niklas Kronwall.

Boston's only highlight of the game was David Krejci's first goal in 21 games (his 8th of the season). It was at 17:53 of the first period on the power play with a nifty pass from Milan Lucic, who caught Howard out of position. Zdeno Chara also assisted.

Hudler (from Zetterberg and Brian Rafalski), Zetterberg (on the power play, from Holmstrom and Cleary) and Bertuzzi (from Datsyuk) all scored in the second period.

A third power-play goal, this one from Holmstrom, was the final Red Wings goal in the third period. Hudler and Datsyuk assisted on that one.

I figured it out, the Red Wings are the San Antonio Spurs and the New England Patriots. The robotically efficient teams that are always good but don't get any credit nationally since they're you know boring. It'll be interesting to see how they fare the rest of the season.

More importantly, the Bruins have a chance to atone for last night's stinker when they go to Joe Louis Arena tomorrow afternoon for a rematch with the Red Wings on NBC. Tim Thomas will be in goal to start and I'm guessing Boston will play just a tad better.