By: Ryan Bosworth | Follow me on Twitter / XĀ @RyanJBosworth
The Bruins (14-12-0) opened their home-and-home with Detroit tonight at TD Garden, looking to bounce back after a rough 6-2 loss to the New York Rangers yesterday. Detroit (13-11-1) came into today’s game off a 6-3 loss against the Tampa Bay Lightning, so they’re looking for a bounce back game, just as the Bruins are. Both teams are in similar positions, with just one point separating them, and one positional standing in the Atlantic Division.
First Period
The Bruins started this game much better than they did yesterday’s 6-2 blowout loss to the Rangers. While this wasn’t a perfect period by any means, there was much more offense generated and a lot less turnovers, despite them still being evident. The Bruins need to be more careful in their own zone going forward if they want to keep the Red Wings at bay.
In a rather uneventful period, that concluded with a score of 0-0, the Bruins faced two Red Wings’ man advantages and were able to stave off both pushes, facing some decent chances from Detroit. Jeremy Swayman was sturdy, stopping all four shots faced. Mark Kastelic got the TD Garden crowd going with a one-sided bout with Detroit’s Moritz Seider.
Second Period
The Bruins came out in the second period better than they did in the first, and beginning the period on the man advantage certainly helps. Ben Chiarot was sitting for a minor penalty, and despite not scoring, the Bruins used those two minutes to generate a lot of momentum.
That momentum led to a goal by none other than Morgan Geekie. Scoring his 19th of the season off a redirect from the point, Geekie broke the deadlock and gave the Bruins a much needed lead. The goal would bring Geekie within one of Nathan MacKinnon for the goal lead in the league.
That would prove to be the only goal tallied in the period, and the momentum still sat in favor of Boston for most of it. The Red Wings had another power play opportunity, but the Bruins were successful in getting the kill, putting them at a perfect three-for-three on the day.
Swayman, just as the man advantage was ending, stopped several point-blank shots from the Wings, keeping the Bruins ahead. He ended the period perfect, stopping all five Red Wings shots faced in the frame.
Third Period
The theme from the first two period carried into the third, and it was the period in which it was, arguably, the most evident. Pressured offense, smart passes and plays, and stellar goaltending had the Bruins in the lead for much of this period.
With just over 13 minutes remaining in the third period, Detroit gets on the board. Lucas Raymond was able to tap in a puck that just went by Jeremy Swayman on the back door. While it pulled some of the momentum back, the Bruins still held the majority of it, and it would help, the now-tied for first in the National Hockey League for goals, Morgan Geekie, get his 20th of the season. He becomes just the second player in the NHL to reach the 20-goal mark.
His goal came after a weird fall, that took him a few minutes to recover from. The worry arose, but it settled after he hopped over the boards, just before tallying goal #20 to regain the lead with under ten minutes to play. It’s his 20th in 27 games, and his seventh goal in six games.
With 1:54 remaining in regulation, Detroit gets the equalizer. Another tap-in goal, this time by Michael Rasmussen, evens the game. Boston has a late push to try and regain the lead to avoid overtime, but they’re unable to prevail. They head to overtime tied at two apiece.
Overtime
Overtime was a nailbiter, as the three-on-three hockey turned into a four-on-three advantage for Detroit after Elias Lindholm took a hooking penalty. Swayman remained stellar, keeping the game alive while the Bruins were short-handed. They successfully got the kill, but were unsuccessful in getting the game winner, as both teams were headed for a shootout.
Shootout
Detroit was up first in the shootout, and Lucas Raymond had the honor. He went towards Swayman, attempting to go glove-side, and Swayman was able to shut the door. Next up was Casey Mittelstadt for Boston, and he cashed in, putting the Bruins up 1-0 in the shootout. A nice forehand-backhand goal to beat Talbot.
Up next for Detroit was Patrick Kane. He attempted to go glove-side, as Raymond did, and Swayman successfully shut the door on Detroit’s second attempt. Geekie went second for Boston, and Talbot made the save. After Geekie was Alex DeBrincat. With a goal, he’d extend the shootout. With a save, Swayman would shut the door, secure the extra point, and go home happy — and he did just that.
An extremely strong, gritty bounce-back performance for the B’s, and a stellar Jeremy Swayman kept them in to secure a much-needed two points. They’re headed out to Detroit for the second half of the home-and-home series against Detroit, set to face off against them in Motor City on Tuesday night.
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