By: Chad Jones I Follow me on Twitter/X @ShutUpChadJones
The Boston Bruins put together a solid road performance against the Red Wings Saturday night, besting Detroit 2-1. Boston improved its record to 10-9-3 with a home record of 6-4-2 and 4-5-1 away from TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts. The B’s currently sit in the fourth position in the Atlantic Division with 23 points, three points behind division-leading Toronto Maple Leafs after 22 games played in this 2024-25 campaign.
Brad Marchand sniped home the game-winning goal with eight and a half minutes remaining in the third period. Jeremy Swayman was solid in his return between the pipes, fighting off 19 of Detroit’s 20 shots on goal. The Bruins stymied Detroit on the penalty kill, as the Red Wings failed to score on any of their four power plays, including a six on four with under two minutes to go in regulation.
Joe Sacco has secured wins in his first two games running the show behind Boston’s bench. The Bruins were victorious in both contests by one goal and outshot their opponents by nine.
“We tilted the ice in our favor in the third because we got skating again,” Sacco told the media postgame. “We played behind their forecheck, which is something that we try to key in on. We were able to get some good looks in the third and spend less time defending.”
Throughout this season, Boston has been ineffective on the penalty kill, their number one goaltender has been off, and producing third period scores has been a struggle. But at Little Caesars Arena, the Bruins stood firm in these three areas.
Detroit has been dangerous on the power play so far this season. They came into play ranked 5th in the NHL by scoring just over 30 percent of the time on the man advantage. The Red Wings only mustered five shots on Swayman during their power play opportunities.
Speaking of Boston’s netminder, Swayman was steady in his first start since allowing five tallies in the loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets last Monday. While Boston effectively limited Detroit’s scoring chances, he answered the bell with key stops throughout the night.
One of the main culprits behind Boston’s sluggish start this year has been the team’s inability to light the lamp in the final frame. The Bruins’ captain decided to address that problem by firing the puck top shelf past Cam Talbot to record his sixth score of the season. It was the third occasion this year that number 63 corralled the game-winning tally.
“A couple little tweaks that we seem to be a little more comfortable playing right now,” Marchand told the media postgame. “Effort seems to be a little bit higher, so there’s some areas that we’re definitely getting better in. Some that we can continue to improve. But I like the way that we’ve closed out the last couple games. Being tight, playing very well defensively, so I do like that aspect of it.”
Boston saved their best 20-minute stretch of the night for the third period. They outshot Detroit 13-5 and emptied the tank to secure two coveted points.
The Bruins have struggled to build off wins and find consistency in their game. That is evidenced by Saturday being only the third time the Black and Gold have won back-to-back games this season. Boston will look to secure their first three-game winning streak of this young campaign when they take on the Vancouver Canucks this Tuesday in Jake DeBrusk’s return to TD Garden.
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