A strong third period and 24 saves from Jeremy Swayman propelled the Bruins to their fourth win in a row last night, as they beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-0 at TD Garden.
Pavel Zacha, Fraser Minten, and Mark Kastelic each scored for the Bruins, who moved into the first wild card spot with the win.
While the game was evenly played for the first two periods, the Bruins stepped on the gas and pulled away from Detroit in the third.
They outshot the Wings 16-2 in the final period, with Minten’s early goal making it 2-0 before Kastelic sealed the deal with an empty-net goal.
After a scoreless first period, Zacha got the scoring started midway through the second when he beat Cam Talbot with a wrist shot to make it 1-0 Bruins.
It would remain 1-0 until four minutes into the third period, when Minten finished a nice effort play by Charlie McAvoy to make it 2-0 Bruins.
Detroit pulled Talbot early, with Kastelic’s empty-netter coming with just under four minutes to go in the game.
3-0, Bruins win.
Game notes
- While this game comes with the caveat of Detroit having played at home on Tuesday night, it was impressive to see the Bruins turn up the intensity in the third period before putting the game away. Detroit can point to tired legs, but the B’s deserve credit for playing a solid all-around game.
- The shutout was the first of the season for Swayman, which is a bit surprising given how well he has played for long stretches of the year.
- Minten’s goal was his 11th of the season as he quietly moves into fourth on the team in goals. At this point, it goes without saying that the Brandon Carlo trade is looking like a home run for the Bruins.
- David Pastrnak had an assist on Minten’s goal, the 889th point of his Bruins career. Per the NHL, that assist moved him ahead of Bobby Orr and into seventh place on the Bruins all-time scoring list. NOT BAD.
- At some point, we should probably all stop and reflect on just how good Pastrnak has been for so long, but maybe it’s too early in the season for wistful reminiscing.
- The B’s managed to limit penalties again tonight, giving Detroit just two opportunities on the man advantage.
- It’s far too early to seriously talk standings, but Detroit’s loss dropped them out of first in the Atlantic, a spot they’d occupied for a while. Tampa now sits in first place, having won 11 games in a row. They’re a point ahead of Detroit but have three games in hand, so…yeah.
The Bruins will be back in action on Thursday night, hosting the Seattle Kraken. That game will start at 8 PM due to Zdeno Chara’s pregame jersey retirement ceremony, so be sure to tune in early.
