The Boston Bruins turned in a strong 40-minute effort against the Detroit Red Wings Saturday night (Oct. 28), but in the final 20 minutes, they left a lot to be desired. As good teams do, the Bruins overcame a struggle in the third period where they were outplayed and outshot by Detroit to escape with a 4-1 win at the TD Garden.
Detroit is an up-and-coming team in the NHL and they Bruins got a first-hand look at how good and dangerous they are up front. In the end, the Bruins were able to grind out a win, something they are going to have to do a lot of this season. Here are three takeaways after Boston improved to 7-0-1 on the season.
Bruins Power Play Looked Sharp
Through the first seven games of the season, one disappointing unit has been the Black and Gold’s power play unit. Not just the first unit, but also the second. They have struggled to produce and entered the game against the Red Wings ranked 18th in the NHL and to be honest, that’s a little higher than originally thought. Against Detroit, however, they managed just one goal from Pavel Zacha in four chances, but it looked much better and more crisp.
On the first power play, James van Riemsdyk had a nice tip of a David Pastrnak pass early that hit the post before Zacha was able to knock home a loose puck past Detroit goalie Ville Husso for a 1-0 lead. The other power plays didn’t generate a goal, but they were better than in previous games. Getting production from the power play this season is going to be a big key.
Bruins Third Period Struggles Continue
Thursday night (Oct. 26), the Bruins led the Anaheim Ducks 3-1 with less than two minutes left. They allowed two goals to force overtime before the Ducks won it to hand Boston their first loss of the season. Against the Red Wings, they took a 2-0 lead into the third period and you would have thought that the Bruins learned from their mistakes 48 hours earlier, but apparently they didn’t.
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Detroit, quickly becoming one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference after the moves made by general manager (GM) Steve Yzerman over the offseason, came out and took the play to the Bruins, firing their most shots of any period on goal with 10. Joe Veleno cut the deficit to 2-1 at 6:50 of the period and the visitors continued to pin the Black and Gold in their own end, force turnovers and come up with some scoring opportunities. Pastrnak, however, saved the Bruins by scoring on a penalty shot six minutes after Veleno scored and he added an empty-netter for his eighth goal of the season to give his teammates some breathing room.
Jeremy Swayman Turns in Another Strong Effort
Once again, Jeremy Swayman saw a lot of rubber, and once again, the 24-year-old was up to the challenge. He made 13 saves combined in the first two periods, then turned back nine of the 10 shots he faced in the final period. A lot of the rubber he saw was because of turnovers by the Bruins and their inability to clear the puck out of the zone.
Swayman and Linus Ullmark have combined to allow just 12 goals so far through eight games, the best in the NHL and they continue to come up big while the Bruins are shorthanded. Goaltending is going to be key this season and it was games like the one against Detroit where Swayman and Ullmark are going to have to continue to come with big saves in what appears to be close games on a nightly basis in 2023-24.
Bruins Quick Takeaways
- Charlie McAvoy scored what turned out to be the game-winning goal in the first period when he pinched in from the point, got the puck, cut in front of the net, and was able to get the puck to bounce off of Husso and roll into the net. It’s goals like that the Bruins are going to need more of from McAvoy and other defensemen.
- Another night, another impressive performance from rookie Matthew Poitras. The 19-year-old continues to impress with the little things, winning board battles, keeping his composure with the puck in all areas, and getting pucks to the net creating scoring chances for him and his teammates. It’s been said before and needs to be said again, the kid has earned the right to spend the season in Boston. It’s a no-brainer.
- Oskar Steen made his season debut on the fourth line with Patrick Brown and John Beecher. The trio had a good shift in the offensive end late in the first period where they won battles along the boards and their forechecking led to McAvoy’s goal for a 2-0 lead.
- The Bruins’ penalty-killing unit had another perfect night, going 4-for-4 against one of the better units in the NHL. Early in the season, the Red Wings entered the game with 34%-percent of their goal-scoring coming on the power play. Like the Bruins, they can send some serious talent over the boards on both units.
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In the end, the Bruins bounced back from their loss to Anaheim with a win against a team that is going to be a factor this season in the Eastern Conference. Aside from their win over the Los Angeles Kings on Oct. 21, this is the second-best team Boston has played on their schedule so far this season. Now they get the Florida Panthers at the TD Garden on Monday night (Oct. 30) and we all know what happened the last time they were in town last April.