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The Bruins at last looked like a team that was missing half its regular defense corps on Saturday night in Detroit.
The Red Wings scored three goals in 3:44 of the third period to hand the B’s their first regulation loss of the season, 5-4, Little Caesers Arena.
The B’s had lost an early two-goal lead, regained a one-goal advantage late in the second period and then the Wings tied it again at 6:50 of the third period.
After being thoroughly outplayed in the second, the B’s had kept Detroit pinned in their own end, but as soon as the Wings were able to break it out, they tied it. Parker Wotherspoon, who had kept the puck in the offensive zone a couple of times, gave Dylan Larkin a little too much and the speedster took it, beating Linus Ullmark to the short side.
Then the Wings took their first lead of the game at 8:56 on a fluky goal. David Perron whiffed on a shot from the bottom of the left circle but was able to score on a quick do-over.
Detroit then pushed it to a two-goal lead at 10:34. Rookie Mason Lohrei lost a puck battle at the Boston blue line to Andrew Copp who the broke in on a 2-on-1 J.T. Compher hit the crossbar, but Copp followed it up to make it 5-3.
But the B’s got one back on the power play when Matt Poitras fed David Pastrnak for his ninth of the year with 5:49 remaining in regulation.
Any comeback was thwarted, however, when the B’s were called for two offensive zone penalties and then the third one for abuse of officials on coach Jim Montgomery, who hadn’t like the job the refs had been doing all night.
The B’s, who took a 12-game road winning streak dating back to last season into the game, got on the board 5:21 into the game on a simple play. Pavel Zacha won an offensive zone faceoff back to Pastrnak, whose shot could not be handled by goalie Ville Husso. James van Riemsdyk swooped down to the crease and made a pretty stick shift to get the puck on his backhand in tight for his fourth goal of the year, snapping a five-game pointless streak for him.
He’d pick up another point on the B’s next goal at 9:28, a gorgeous one from Poitras. First the rookie made a pass to van Riemsdyk along the right wall from the blue line. Van Riemsdyk connected with Kevin Shattenkirk cutting through the offensive zone and the defensemen, who’d kept the puck in at the blue line to start the sequence, dished it back to an attacking Poitras. He absolutely froze Husso with a forehand fake before getting by him and scoring on his backhand for his fourth of the season.
But the Wings got one back on the power play after a questionable penalty call on Brandon Carlo. Dylan Larkin skated into Carlo on a rush and hit the deck, drawing the penalty.
With Carlo in the box and Derek Forbort still unavailable with a lower body injury, the B’s were down a couple of PK workhorses and they got nicked for just their second goal allowed on the PK on the season in their 41st time shorthanded. David Perron made a beautiful cross-ice pass to a wide-open Lucas Raymond, who had time to pick his spot below Ullmark’s glove at 16:20.
The B’s got a late first period power play when Jake Walman took exception to a clean Pastrnak hit that set off a scrum, resulting in two Wings going to the box and one Bruin, van Riemsdyk. But on the advantage, the B’s got nothing going.
The Wings tied it up at 10:00 of the second with another power-play goal. Lohrei got sent off for boarding 6-foot-6, 220-pound Michael Rasmussen, who seemed to go down pretty easily. Montgomery clearly didn’t like the call. It appeared as though the B’s were going to kill it off when Walman sizzled a one-timer over Ullmark’s shoulder with a second left on the kill.
The B’s had done next to nothing in the second period until they regained the lead with 6:19 left in the period. Wotherspoon made a nice play in his own end to break the puck out and spring Charlie Coyle’s line for a good looking rush. Coyle passed to Jake DeBrusk once he gained the Detroit line and headed for the net. From the side of the cage, Coyle redirected home DeBrusk’s beautiful return pass for his second of the year.
Outshot 17-9 in the second period, the B’s were fortunate to head into the third period with a lead.
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