Red Wings at Bruins

This is a late-arriving crowd at TD Garden for tonight’s Wings-Bruins game that is being carried exclusively by ESPN+/Hulu. NESN360 won’t help you tonight.

Detroit is ranked 31st is 5v5 goals for and last in penalty kill. Can the Bruins turn these deficiencies to their advantage? They need to because let the Red Wings hang around and this becomes just one more missed opportunity for a team that desperately needs to establish some traction and separate itself from the bubble pack in the Eastern Conference.

Jordan Oesterle is back in the lineup and starts tonight on the Boston blue line.

Finn vs. Finn in net tonight: Ville Husso vs. Joonas Korpisalo.

FIRST PERIOD

The Bruins have come out strong, and Cole Koepke, skating LW without Mark Kastelic (third-line RW), made an excellent bodycheck to take away a breakout play and control the puck, making two ensuing plays resulting in scoring chances for Boston. Excellent start for Koepke.

Mason Lohrei got caught puck watching in a 1-on-1 against Austrian center Marco Kasper and needed Johnny Beecher’s backcheck to save him.

The Bruins turned the puck over, then had to ice it. Then defenseman Simon Edvinsson’s backhand deflected off Charlie McAvoy’s skate onto the stick of Lucas Raymond, who scores to make it 1-0 Detroit at 7″31 of the first period. Korpisalo stuck out the left leg and got a piece of the puck but not enough to make it miss the mark.

Nikita Zadorov blasts the puck past Husso top-left corner to tie the game at 9:15. Brad Marchand won the puck on the left halfwall and made a nifty move to made the defense think he was looking to carry the puck to the net, only to wheel it back to Zadorov, who was perched at the center point and bearing down. 1-1.

Charlie Coyle got the puck at the left post and tried to make the move that worked twice for him recently but this time wound up getting tripped on his face. Hey, if it ain’t broke …

The Bruins keep up the pressure, it’s a good first period with one mistake with ramifications, so it’s 1-1 after one with Boston outshooting Detroit 13-6.

SECOND PERIOD

The Red Wings are playing better, but they’ve passed up two strong shooting opportunities for set-up plays that didn’t work. One was an open point shot that instead went to Dylan Larkin on the halfwall; Larkin wasn’t even inside the circle and they set him up for a one-timer that Korpisalo easily thwarted. The second was a rush play running out of room, but the Bruins picked off the pass across the slot.

It took some time, but the Bruins have gotten back to their forecheck and in-zone pressure. Shots are not abundant, but the transition game and the entry game are getting back toward opening-period levels.

Trent Frederic turns it over on the zone exit, leveraging Charlie Coyle into a tripping penalty. Korpisalo did an excellent job on the stop and rebound.

Red Wings to the powerplay.

Kasper tips home Jonatan Berggren’s shot to make it 2-1 Detroit at 12:41 of the second period, but hold on… the Bruins are challenging for offsides. The replay indicates that Erik Gustafsson, who was not involved in the play, curled just over the line prior to the puck’s entry into the attacking zone. Looks like the Bruins will win the challenge.

Bruins win the challenge, we’re still tied.

The Zadorov-Brandon Carlo D pairing is positively gassed in this penalty kill, and the Bruins need some luck to escape a PPG against. The penalty expires and Coyle returns, but Zadorov crosschecks Raymond to the ice, setting off a mini-scrum. Zadorov gets the lone PIM’s, two minutes at 14:09, as the Wings go back on the man advantage.

Zadorov chases the icing out of the box, bumps Ben Chiarot, who throws a punch at Zadorov. Gustavsson jumps in. Zadorov winds up atop Chiarot by the time the stripes are involved. No calls on the play.

Wow. The Bruins cannot be happy with that.

Pastrnak with a partial? He pulls up and passes across to Oesterle, whose shot is stopped by Husso. The fans voice their displeasure.

Andrew Peake deflects and is hit in the face by Tyler Motte’s shot … leaves for repairs.

A delayed penalty against Detroit forward J.T. Compher is nullified by Brandon Carlo’s interference of a Detroit forward during the delayed penalty.

The balance of the second period is scheduled to be played 4-on-4 in front of the goalies.

THIRD PERIOD

It’s 1-1, and the Bruins are fortunate that things did not become more difficult than the even-steven where we sit entering the third.

Carlo’s and Compher’s penalties have one second remaining, and with the opening faceoff at center it’s likely their position will have limited ramifications.

Raymond scores from the slot 1:19 into the third, and it’s 2-1 Detroit. The Bruins had numbers back, but no one picked up Raymond.

McAvoy joins the attack but is called for hooking at 6:31, so the Red Wings to the powerplay up by one.

The Bruins are outhitting Detroit, 29-8. Pastrnak, whose game has a little more spark here in the third, landed a good one behind the Detroit net.

The Bruins get zone time and a powerplay with Chiarot to the box at 9:28.

Four seconds in Justin Brazeau tips Mason Lohrei’s shot past Husso to tie the game at 2-2. Frederic with the faceoff win for the second assist.

The TF Garden roars its approval.

Bruins on the fly, a rebound to Frederic, save Husso. Big save with 9:41 remaining in regulation.

Mason Lohrei with another wrist shot from the point that gets tipped by a Bruin and causes problems for Husso, who stops the puck but loses control as it rolls dangerously to his right. Former STL defenseman Jack Brownschidle made this an art form.

Gustafsson to the penalty box for tripping Pastrnak, who had him beat behind the net.

Bruins to the powerplay with 4:45 remaining in regulation in a 2-2 game.

Things obviously looking up.

Not a great powerplay for the Bruins, but a couple of close calls shortly afterward, as the Bruins scramble but can’t find the puck in front of Husso. Wings fly the other way, as Frederic pressures the backcheck on a developing 2-on-1. McAvoy gives Korpisalo the shooter, and the goaltender delivers once again.

Bruins ice it with 31.9 seconds left.

Detroit wins the draw, shot, save Korpisalo.

McAvoy rags the final 12 seconds off the clock to the hometown fans’ displeasure.

Shots on goal through regulation: 33-26, but the whopping stat (no pun intended) is a 37-11 hits advantage by the Bruins. Gotta be a franchise differential record in this era.

3v3 OVERTIME

The Red Wings are furious after the Bruins pull down one of their player and, two passes later, Pavel Zacha ends the game. Bruins win it, 3-2.

Edvinsson stays on the ice to watch the big videoboard replay the goal, slams his stick against the boards and finally exits the rink.

Drive safely.