By: Tom Calautti | Follow me on Twitter @TCalauttis
The Boston Bruins improved to 5-2 under interim head coach Joe Sacco after prevailing over the division-rival Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night. The game wasn’t pretty by any stretch of the imagination, but in the end, the Black and Gold pulled out an ugly win on the front end of a back-to-back. Here’s how it went down:
Zadorov Stands Tall
Boston’s tallest defenseman played arguably his best game for his new club. The 6’6″ Russian eliminated chances in his own zone, established himself physically, and provided some much-needed offense from the back end. Nikita Zadorov opened the scoring for Boston after the Red Wings took a 1-0 lead. Captain Brad Marchand weaved his way through traffic on the half wall and sauced a backhand that the hulking defenseman one-timed past goaltender Ville Husso for his second goal of the season.
“He was engaged in the game tonight,” said head coach Joe Sacco of his defenseman. “He was physical, and he was just defending hard tonight. When he was on the ice, the opposition knew that he was playing.”
The ice was heavily tilted in Boston’s favor when Zadorov was on the ice. He was paired with Brandon Carlo for most of the game, and while those two were skating together, shot attempts were 25-12, shots were 15-6, scoring chances were 9-6, and goals were 1-0.
Since Joe Sacco took over, Zadorov has been one of Boston’s most effective defenders. For the team to maintain its stout defensive identity, he’ll need to maintain this level of play and continue to be a game-changer.
Second Powerplay Unit Shines
The Bruins got the better of the Red Wings in the first frame, but the score was still 1-1 after one. The second period saw Detroit ratchet up the pressure and score a powerplay goal that was eventually overturned on an offsides call. Boston escaped their lackluster second period with the game still tied but surrendered the opening goal in the third when Lucas Raymond was left alone in the slot and wristed one past Joonas Korpisalo (24 saves in another strong performance).
The Black and Gold only had one powerplay before the start of the third period, and as has been the case lately, the second unit looked better than the first. So when David Pastrnak drew an interference penalty, Joe Sacco didn’t hesitate to send out the second group. Off the opening draw, Trent Frederic won a puck back to Mason Lohrei who wired a high wrister on net that Justin Brazeau redirected in for his sixth goal of the season.
“Obviously (Frederic) did a good job on the draw,” said Brazeau about the start of the powerplay. “I thought (Lohrei) did a really good job of recognizing that (Detroit’s penalty killers) were spread out and there was a lane. He put a puck to the net, and I was lucky it went in.”
Brazeau is now tied for the team lead in powerplay goals alongside Pastrnak and Charlie Coyle in far less ice time. I’d like to see him and Lohrei get more opportunities with the first unit to try and spark Boston’s big guns into more production.
Pavel Zacha Calls Game
The Bruins had one last powerplay opportunity with under five minutes remaining in the third but couldn’t capitalize on their opportunity, resulting in the need for an overtime frame. A game that could be described as plodding and a bit sluggish actually yielded a relatively entertaining extra five.
Detroit’s Dylan Larkin had the best chance early on, pushing a puck through a Bruins defender and into the neutral zone, where he turned on the jets and gathered the loose puck for a breakaway. He made a strong forehand-backhand move but was eventually denied by the post.
The eventual game-winner came from an incredible forechecking effort from David Pastrnak, where he caught up to and eventually picked the pocket of Detroit sniper Alex Debrincat and found Pavel Zacha open at the dot. Zacha fed Pastrank for a one-timer, and the former 60-goal scorer turned down the shot in favor of finding Zacha for the open net goal.
“(Pastrnak) was really good on the forecheck,” said Zacha of his fellow countryman’s effort in overtime. “I saw they had two guys, so if he couldn’t get (the puck), I was there to help out. But he made a great play and won that battle, and that was really important in how we scored.”
The Bruins have a short turnaround as they face the Chicago Blackhawks tonight in the Windy City.
Game Notes
- Since joining the Bruins in 2022-23, Zacha is third behind Marchand and Pastrnak in overtime goals with 11.
- Although the Red Wings won the high-danger chance battle, every Bruins forward line out-attempted Detroit. This further signals Coach Sacco’s coaching philosophy of shot quantity over quality.
- Of all NHLers with at least 40 minutes of powerplay time, Brazeau currently ranks 8th in goals/60.
- Of all NHLers with at least 34 minutes of powerplay time, Lohrei currently ranks 6th in assists/60.
Leave a Reply