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( Photo Credit: NHL.com )

By: Yanni Latzanakis  |  Follow Me On Twitter:  @yanlatz

Pre-Game Notes

Arena: Little Caesars Arena

Home: Detroit Red Wings (30-38-10)

Away: Boston Bruins (47-22-9)

Boston Starting Lineup

Forwards

Marchand – Bergeron – Pastrnak

DeBrusk – Krejci – Kuhlman

Johansson – Coyle – Heinen

Nordstrom – Acciari – Backes

Defense

Krug – Carlo

Chara – McAvoy

Grzelcyk – Miller

Goaltenders

Halak

Rask

Detroit Starting Lineup

Forwards

Bertuzzi – Larkin – Mantha

Hirose – Athanasiou – Helm

Kuffner – Ehn – Frk

Puempel – Turgeon

Defense

Dekeyser – Bowey

Kronwall – Hronek

Chelios – McIlrath

Witkowski

Goaltenders

Howard

Fulcher

First Period

The Bruins were without Chris Wagner who did not take warmups. He was listed as out for the game with a lower-body injury and also listed as day-to-day. Karson Kuhlman stepped in and slotted on the right side with Jake DeBrusk and David Krejci on the second line.

Halfway through the first period, the play is beginning to pick up as the B’s and Wings traded chances. Detroit would take a 1-0 lead at the 10:26 mark when Dylan Larkin completed a perfect behind the back pass to wide-open Anthony Mantha who buried a top-shelf shot past Jaroslav Halak.

The Bruins headed to the power play when Andreas Athanasiou slashed David Krejci with 6:22 to go in the first. The Bruins third-ranked powerplay got to work with the top line, but the Bruins could not get anything going on the man advantage as the Red Wings killed it off.

After a commercial break, the Bruins had a little puck luck in the neutral zone. As Acciari carried the puck in the zone, he slid it over to David Backes who got slashed as he fired a shot wide to the glove side of Jimmy Howard. Chelios would head off for the Bruins second power play of the period with just under three minutes to play.

As the power play was expiring, Marchand tries to keep a bouncing puck in the zone, but it got by him. Darren Helm had a partial breakaway which was stopped by Halak, but Matt Grzelcyk was called for a slash. With one second to go, Anthony Mantha buried a slapper to the glove side of Halak, and the Red Wings took a 2-0 lead heading into the first intermission.

Score: 2-0 Detroit

Shots: Detroit-9 Boston-8

Second Period

Justs 2:01 into the period, David Krejci finds a streaking Jake DeBrusk down the slot in the Red Wings zone and wristed it over the blocker of Jimmy Howard for his 25th of the season and to get the Black and Gold on the board.

The Bruins began tilting the ice a little as they started connecting on some of their passes and creating chances in the offensive zone.

Anthony Mantha got a breakaway at the 8:12 mark looking for the hat-trick but Halak stood tall and made the save. Soon after, the Bruins were whistled for delay of game when Charlie McAvoy flipped the puck over the low glass. On the penalty, Bergeron and Marchand come in two-on-one. Bergeron sidesteps the sliding Mantha and slips a backhand feed to Marchand who one-timed it over the outstretched Jimmy Howard for the game-tying goal. With the goal, Brad Marchand became the Bruins all-time leading shorthanded goal scorer with 26.

The Bruins continued finding open space as Johansson and Marchand both had opportunities in down the left wing side with shots that were denied by Howard. However, Bertuzzi got a good chance in front of the Bruins net that Halak made a good pad save on.

Just seconds later, Luke Witkowski laid out Joakim Nordstrom at the Bruins blue line. The clean hard hit sent Nordstrom awkwardly into the boards after the nasty-looking, but clean body check. Noel Acciari came to the aid of his teammate and engaged with Witkowski in a fight. Acciari was assessed the instigator penalty which granted him 17 minutes in penalties with a two-minute penalty for instigating, five minutes for fighting, and a 10-minute misconduct.

In the final two minutes, David Krejci streaking up the left wing side gets a shot on Howard that ends up behind the net, Krejci then pokes the puck up to Kevan Miller at the point who wrists it and gets the deflection from David Backes for the Bruins lead with exactly one minute remaining.

The Bruins woke up in the second and began playing for one another again and took a 3-2 lead over Detroit into the second intermission

Score: Bruins 3 Detroit 2

Shots: Boston 17 Detroit 17

Third Period

As Jake DeBrusk sat for interference just a minute into the third, the Wings tied it up with a goal from you guessed it: Anthony Mantha. His first career hat-trick evened the game with 18:43 to go in the third.

Then, eight seconds later, Taro Hirose scored his first NHL goal as he snapped a one-timer after a fantastic feed by Andreas Athanasiou past Halak and just like that, the Bruins were playing from behind again.

The top line for Detroit continues to give the Bruins trouble in the defensive zone as another close call in front when Dylan Larkin tipped a shot that was handled by Halak. Bruins still trailing by one with half of the third period gone.

With 7:57 to go in the period, the Red Wings again hammered a one-timer by Halak. This time Filip Hronek buried one and Detroit took a two-goal lead with time dwindling for the Bruins.

Bruce Cassidy pulls Jaroslav Halak with four minutes remaining in the third as the Bruins need a pair to tie the game.

With 58 seconds left, Dylan Larkin virtually ends the game for the Red Wings with the empty-netter to make it 6-3 Detroit.

Final Score: Detroit 6 Boston 3

The Bruins will be in action next on Tuesday, April 2 in Columbus as they take on the Blue Jackets.

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