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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B's Have Figured Out How to Play Well At Home, Consistency & The Road are the Next Steps

It's impossible to explain how a team that could beat Nashville 5-3 last Tuesday then Detroit 5-2 tonight (both at TD Garden) could be the same one that no-showed on Saturday in Columbus (a 6-2 loss that was the lowest point of the season). That's what makes the Bruins (19-15-3) so frustrating in 2014-15; when they are motivated and pulling in the same direction, they are capable of beating anyone. Then they have these frequent bizarre lulls where they are awful and get blown out by non-playoff teams.

Boston came into this evening without the services of Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic, who are both "day-to-day" with injuries picked up from the Blue Jackets debacle. They also lost Matt Fraser as he was picked up off waivers by his hometown Oilers. No problem, they've got Jordan Caron and Matthew Lindblad. Haha ugh. Therefore, it was shocking when the B's played their best first period of the season. They pumped in three goals (season-high) and took 19 shots (also a season-high). They got out to a 3-1 lead as Reilly Smith scored on a blast from the point at 2:44 then Gregory Campbell got a hustle goal on a rebound at 16:12 and Carl Soderberg (3 points) tapped one in from Loui Eriksson (2 assists) behind the net 1:13 after that.

Detroit's (19-9-9) opening goal came on Justin Abdelkader's diving backhander when he was falling down at 11:21 that tied it at one. Smith's goal was his ninth of the season, Campbell's was his fourth (first in over a month) and Soderberg grabbed his seventh. The Red Wings have the No. 3 power play in the league so it made sense when they cut it to 3-2 on Tomas Tatar's screened shot at 15:50 of the second period.

The B's bounced back though with a very solid third period of their own. Seth Griffith potted a sweet power play goal at 5:11, his sixth of the season, assisted by David Krejci. The youngster capped it off with a sweet celly but even cooler than that, he had showed off his skills by ripping a snap shot top shelf by Jimmy Howard (40 saves). Boston's season-high 45 shots came in handy and they clinched it with Chris Kelly's empty-netter at 17:34. Tuukka Rask made 28 saves, a much better effort than his sorry relief work on Saturday.

The stupid cliché that the next game is the most important one for the Bruins is actually true. Doubly so when they meet an Atlantic Division rival like the Red Wings or Maple Leafs on Wednesday (7, NESN) aka New Year's Eve. This mini three-game homestand is capped off by the Senators on Saturday afternoon (1, NESN). So while you're waiting for the ball to drop either at a bar or some friend's house, make sure to tune in what should be an interesting contest. Each team has a blowout win to their credit: Boston won 4-1 on Oct. 25 at the Garden then got smoked 6-1 in Toronto on Nov. 12. With tonight's results (Toronto lost 3-2 at Tampa Bay), the B's are only two points behind the Leafs and they have each played 37 games so a win by Boston would tie them up.

For the B's, a spot in the top eighth of the Eastern Conference should be all they are thinking about as the regular season nears the halfway point. They have thrown away too many points already to worry about anything bigger than that.

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Simon Gagne Will Lead the Bruins to the Promise Land & Other Hot Takes

It took longer than it should have but the Bruins (2-3-0) finally got the job done tonight at Joe Louis Arena in Detroit (1-1-1) as they outlasted the Red Wings 2-0 in a shootout (David Krejci, Reilly Smith) for a 3-2 victory. Boston snapped a three-game losing streak and exacted some revenge on Detroit who had beaten them 2-1 at home last Thursday (sweet scheduling, bro).

Twice the B's took the lead only to have the Red Wings quickly answer. David Krejci scored his first goal of the season at 5:12 of the first period after Chris Kelly sprung him on a breakaway (something Boston is normally allergic to) and Krejci beat Jimmy Howard (37 saves).

Tomas Tatar took advantage of a turnover by Kelly to score against Tuukka Rask (18 saves) at 8:40 of the first period. Tomas Jurco and Riley Sheahan had the assists.

Even though they came into tonight with four goals as an entire team, Boston's second line has been pretty solid. They were rewarded for a ferocious forecheck as Brad Marchand stole the puck behind Detroit's net then moved it to Patrice Bergeron who tried a wraparound. Howard stuffed that but it popped right out to Smith who didn't hesitate to snipe it by Howard for his second goal of the season. That made it 2-1 Bruins at 13:31 of the second period.

After killing off the first three power plays successfully, Boston predictably allowed the tying goal. Maine product (so is Howard) Gustav Nyquist shot through traffic and by Rask at 2:56 of the third period.

There was plenty of time for the B's to end this earlier but Simon Gagne and Milan Lucic among others were stopped from in tight in the last minute of regulation. Speaking of Gagne, who made his Bruins debut in his 800th career NHL game, he was surprisingly pretty effective even on the fourth line with Ryan Spooner and Daniel Paille. They still don't have a legitimate top line right wing (they're still basically holding auditions every game) but Gagne over Caron and Robins is clearly an upgrade for a team that has scored six total goals (1 less than Arizona had tonight vs. Edmonton).

Things don't get any easier for the Bruins as they visit Montreal tomorrow night (7:30, NESN), the first meeting of the Original Six rivals this season. Boston played there in the preseason but that hardly counts, let's call it the first real game vs. the Canadiens since they won Game 7 last postseason at the Garden vs. top-ranked Bruins.

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Admit It: the Bruins Were Due For a Loss in Regulation

If you are a realist like me and a Bruins fan to boot, you realize that as good as they are this season, 15-1-1 months like they pulled off in March are insanely difficult to do. That's why tonight's 3-2 loss to the Red Wings are Joe Louis Arena was a sobering reminder that they are human and yes they can lose from time to time (this was their first regulation loss since March 1). By taking the season series 3-1, Detroit (36-26-14) served notice that they'd be a true pain in the ass in the first round of the playoffs should Boston (52-18-6) have to face them.

With a 2-1 lead midway through the third period not to mention outshooting the Red Wings by a wide margin-(35-20) was the final count-this is a game that the B's hardly ever gag away. Credit to Detroit who honestly needed this way more as they try to hold on to a Wild Card spot in the Eastern Conference. It helped them and obviously hurt the B's that Jarome Iginla didn't play (because of either a lower body injury or simply rest for his old bones).

Johnny Boychuk gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead at 16:50 of the first period with one of his patented Johnny Rockets that got by former Maine star Jimmy Howard (33 saves). Chris Kelly and Brad Marchand assisted on Boychuk's fourth goal of the season.

Detroit's Tomas Tatar tied it at 4:45 of the second period just as Patrice Bergeron's penalty expired. His shot was labeled for the corner, there was nothing that Tuukka Rask (17 saves) could do about it.

The action picked up in the third period as Carl Soderberg's power play goal at 1:10 wrestled back the lead for the B's. Patrice Bergeron and Reilly Smith assisted on the Angry One Eyed Swede's 16th goal of the season.

The Red Wings responded as another Tomas-Jurco-tied it at 11:06 after a huge pileup in front of Rask's crease. Tatar had the primary assist from kicking the puck over with his skate, all that Jurco had to do was tap it in. Detroit benefitted 1:42 after that from the brilliance of emerging star Gustav Nyquist (who also went to Maine). He was able to steal the puck after Soderberg failed to dump it in deep and then he used his speed to blow past Zdeno Chara who was flat-footed after a sloppy line change.

Boston had won their last nine games on the road (a franchise record) and picked up a point in 16 straight (14-0-2). It's a new month now so time to start some fresh positive streaks. The Bruins get a chance to bounce back right away as they are in Toronto (37-32-8) tomorrow night (7:30, NESN). What more motivation do they need besides the fact that they can shatter the Maple Leafs' postseason dream even further?

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