With a win in their first game of the Joe Sacco era, the Boston Bruins (10-9-3) entered Little Caesars Arena for the first time this season, looking to win back-to-back games for only the second time in November in Saturday’s (Nov. 23) game against the Detroit Red Wings (8-10-2). Boston narrowly won a 1-0 game over the Utah Hockey Club on Nov. 22 and were aiming to push further ahead of .500. Detroit, on the other hand, has only won once in their last four games with a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders being the most recent on Thursday (Nov. 21).
In the opening frame, both teams were slow to generate high-scoring chances, with a lot of errors making passes breaking the puck out of the zone and entering the offensive zone. Both Boston and Detroit did a good job defending oncoming rushes, and goals Jeremy Swayman and Cam Talbot performed very well at the shots they faced. Detroit recorded the most scoring chances in the first period, out-generating the Bruins 6-to-1 in that category.
Regardless, it was the Bruins that scored the game’s first goal as Justin Brazeau buried his fifth goal of the season before the halfway point of the period to give Boston the 1-0 lead. Brazeau’s tally, assisted by Tyler Johnson (1) and Mason Lohrei (7), came on the power play, marking the second consecutive game the Bruins scored a goal on the man advantage after being the league’s worst power play before the firing of Jim Montgomery. After a drive down low by Morgan Geekie that resulted in him passing it to the point to Brazeau, Lohrei took a pass at the quarterback position, fed it to Johnson who placed the puck perfectly net-front for Brazeau to tip home.
Justin Brazeau starts the scoring for the Bruins with his fifth goal of the season.
— Jamie Gatlin (@JamieGatlin17) November 24, 2024
pic.twitter.com/79nMzXEEpl
Although Boston held the lead for most of the frame, the Red Wings equaled the score with less than a minute to go before the intermission as Lucas Raymond scored goal number four for him on the season to tie the game at one apiece. The play began with a great breakout feed from Moritz Seider, bringing the puck up the ice to Dylan Larkin. Larkin gave the puck to Vladimir Tarasenko whose pass was one-timed in the bumper spot by Raymond. It was a great play that would keep the game even for a while.
Both goaltenders continued to play strongly as the game went on with a heavy emphasis on Cam Talbot, who kept the Red Wings alive during Boston’s 12-to-2 run in the shot department during the third period. Talbot was seeing the ice very well, reading many of Boston’s plays seemingly before they even started and shutting down most, if not all the rebounds he faced.
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He wasn’t perfect, though, as Bruins captain Brad Marchand broke through the tie 11:30 into the final regulation period, scoring his sixth of the season with a premier snipe high on Talbot after cycling around near the corner boards. Andrew Peeke (3) and David Pastrnak (11) picked up assists on the play and Marchand was eventually credited with the game-winning goal as the game ended with a 2-1 score. Detroit had some chances late in the game to force overtime but were stopped by either Swayman or the crossbar. Boston’s penalty kill that went 4-for-4 in this game came up huge in the dying minutes to help earn Boston the two points.
Looking ahead on the calendar, the Bruins will have a couple of days off before returning to Boston for a home game against the Vancouver Canucks on Nov. 26 with the search for a third straight win in sight. For Detroit, they have a rematch with the New York Islanders on Monday (Nov. 25), as they look to bounce back and get closer to being .500.
