Red Wings-Bruins quick take: Marchand the rat stifles a wonderful rally by a surprisingly plucky Wings team

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to snap a 7-game winless streak against the Boston Bruins on Tuesday evening. Detroit faced a streaking Bruins team that attempted to battle through injuries to Patrice Bergeron, Tuukka Rask and Charlie McAvoy.

The Red Wings are now winless in 8 games against Boston, with the Bruins scoring in OT to defeat the Wings 6-5, but Detroit rallied from 2-0 and 4-2 deficits to tie the game at 5 on a Martin Frk marker halfway through the third…

Anthony Mantha had 2 goals and 2 assists, Tyler Bertuzzi was a pest who had 2 assists, Dylan Larkin was excellent with 8 shots, 12 attempts and an assist, Mike Green had a goal and an assist, Henrik Zetterberg was inspired as well and Jimmy Howard bailed out Jared Coreau by helping Detroit salvage a point against a Bruins team now 15-1-and-1 against Detroit. The Wings were physical, heavy on the puck, determined defensively when they weren’t giving up goals, and the 3rd period was one of the Wings’ better periods over the last month.

A lot of Wings fans will complain about this game, but I feel that the Wings have earned some good marks for effort and execution despite the disappointing result.

The lineups for both teams were known prior to puck drop, as posted by NESN’s Nicholas Goss…

Brad Marchand–Riley Nash–David Pastrnak
Jake DeBrusk–David Krejci–Rick Nash
Danton Heinen–David Backes–Brian Gionta
Tim Schaller–Sean Kuraly–Tommy Wingels
Zdeno Chara–Brandon Carlo
Torey Krug–Kevan Miller
Matt Grzelcyk–Nick Holden

And the Red Wings:

The Bruins started Brad Marchand, Riley Nash and David Pastrnak at forward, Nick Holden and Torey Krug on defense and Anton Khubodin in goal;

The Red Wings started Gustav Nyquist, Henrik Zetterberg and Tyler Bertuzzi at forward, Danny DeKeyser and Mike Green on defense and Jared Coreau in goal.

Tom Chmielewski and Jean Hebert refereed the game, with Tim Nowak and Derek Nansen working the lines.

The 1st period

1st period observations:

  • Zetterberg drew in for the opening faceoff opposite Riley Nash, and the Wings mucked the draw back to DeKeyser, who fired the first shot of the game in on Khubodin only six seconds in. Boston raced back into the Wings’ zone and immediately went offside.
  • Zetterberg won the second draw back to his defensive corps, and Nyquist and Bertuzzi could not penetrate the Bruins’ blueline, so the Bruins skated into the Wings’ zone…

And Torey Krug took the rebound of a shot from his defensive partner and blasted a high, hard shot through traffic and over the glove of Jared Coreau at 37 seconds.

 Krug scored from Holden and Marchand at 37 seconds of the 1st period.

On the post-goal shift, Jake DeBrusk skated into the Wings’ zone, put the puck off Jonathan Ericsson, and Jared Coreau was sliding across to try to stop DeBrusk, yielding a 2-0 goal.

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DeBrusk made it 2-0 at 52 seconds of the 1st period.

  • On the post-goal shift, Coreau was given a Bronx Cheer for stopping Brian Gionta, and the Red Wings continued to struggle to deal with the B’s pressure, first surrendering a shot to Danton Heinen that Coreau stopped, and then icing the puck.
  • 1:50 into the 1st period, Witkowski, Glendening and Frk surrendered a puck to the Bruins’ third line, Coreau had to stop another point shot, and the Red Wings got a break…

As Tommy Wingels hacked Glendening at 2:10.

  • The Wings set up on the PP, winning the initial faceoff…

And Zetterberg’s faceoff jam was pushed by Chara back to Zetterberg, and with Justin Abdelkader standing in front of Khudobin, Nielsen jabbed the puck into the net.

 Nielsen scored from Zetterberg at 2:16, on the power play, to make it 2-1.

  • Nyquist nearly broke away from the Bruins on the post-goal shift, but the Bruins came back to stifle the Wings’ rush, and Detroit quickly changed, with Mantha, Abdelkader and Larkin grinding it out down low some 3:12 into the 1st.
  • Boston re-set and chugged into the Wings’ zone, Mike Green flubbed an exit, Larkin and Abdelkader helped Kronwall and Green send the puck out to center ice, and Detroit had to re-set…
  • Detroit attacked the Bruins, with Daley pinching to help the Wings cause some chaos down low, and Ericsson jabbing a puck on the B’s net…
  • Boston skated the other way, and as the 5-minute mark passed, and both teams changed, Coreau had to make a big point stop on the B’s.
  • Gionta got loose from the Wings’ defense and generated a point-blank shot on Coreau as well, but Jared was up to the task of stifling the B’s.
  • A little late, but it counts.
  • Nearly 6 minutes into the 1st, both teams were engaged in a fierce and frantic battle for puck possession, and the Bruins were winning the war.
  • Boston charged in with Wingels stopped by Coreau, Detroit attempted to clear, Coreau had to make another stop off Schaller and as the B’s cycled the puck down low, Green slid the puck back out front, where Coreau covered up.
  • At 6:30 of the 1st period, Boston led in shots 8-2 and attempts 11-7; hits 4-2 Detroit; giveaways 2-1 Detroit, takeaways 1-1; blocked shots 3-1 Bruins; faceoffs 6-2 Detroit (75%).
  • When play resumed, Larkin won a defensive zone draw and the Wings chipped the puck out to center, stole it from the Bruins’ forwards, and generated a shot attempt via defense…but Boston skated back into the Wings’ zone, Daley had to block a B’s pass, and Detroit returned to the Bruins’ zone, where Mantha tried to set up Green.
  • Green stayed deep, Larkin swiped a Bruins pass attempt, Detroit cycled point to point, and Green fired a shot on Khubodin.
  • 7:40 into the opening period, Detroit and Boston were playing high-risk games..

And Mike Green skated in from the point, Athanasiou tapped the puck back to Green, and the game was tied at 2.

 Green scored the 2-2 goal at 7:53, from Athanasiou and Mantha…

  • On the post-goal shift, the Bruins made a mess of the Red Wings’ slot, and Coreau had to skitter and slide around his crease to stop the Bruins from scoring.
  • Zetterberg chugged up the ice the other way and nearly scored…
  • And I can’t keep up with how crazy this first period was.
  • Boston came right back into Detroit’s zone, and the Wings stood around while Chara and company poked pucks into the slot, with Coreau making more stops.
  • At 10:12, Detroit was out-shot 9-4 and out-attempted 17-12; hits 5-4 Detroit; giveaways 3-1 Detroit, takeaways 1-1; blocked shots 4-3 Boston; faceoffs 8-2 Detroit (80%).
  • When play resumed, the Wings tried to settle things down a bit, with Green and DeKeyser trying to settle things down, but Mantha turned the puck over, Larkin tried to break free for a 2-on-1, and Wingels blocked it, and then Detroit swiped the puck, with Mantha feeding Daley, Daley feeding Abdelkader and Abdelkader sliding the puck across to Larkin, who was STIFLED by Khudobin.
  • Rick Nash then got dumped in the Wings’ slot, sans penalty, and Athanasiou raced the other way, but was stopped 1-on-2…
  • Boston tried to set up some 13:20 into the 1st, Zetterberg, Nyquist and Bertuzzi tried to cycle, but bad ice + Bruins defenders = a bouncing puck.
  • Boston continued to cycle as the 13-minute mark passed, and the Red Wings took a penalty.

Danton Heinen dove when he felt Nick Jensen’s free hand grab him at 13:08…

  • Boston won the deep offensive zone draw and created chaos in the slot, held the puck in after a Coreau stop, and Boston worked lateral passes to perfection.

Torey Krug took a lateral pass from Brad Marchand and the puck slithered through Coreau’s legs to make it 3-2 Boston on the power play.

 Krug made it 3-2 at 13:48 from Marchand.

  • On the post-goal shift, Heinen clanged a puck off the goalpost, Athanasiou had to come back to help Kronwall and Jensen off a Kronwall turnover.
  • Zetterberg went the other way and stuffed a puck in on Khudobin, but Khudobin blockered the puck as he slid back into the net, holding the goalpost.
  • At 14:57, Boston out-shot Detroit 14-7 and out-attempted Detroit 24-15; hits 5-4 Detroit; giveaways 5-2 Detroit; takeaways 2-1 Boston; blocked shots 4-4; faceoffs 9-5 Detroit (64%). Detroit is -5.
  • As play resumed, Boston skated into the Wings’ zone, Heinen was blocked off, and Glendening, Nyquist and Bertuzzi worked their way into the Bruins’ zone, Bertuzzi nearly fed Zetterberg, Detroit re-set at center, and Bertuzzi bumped Chara over, which did not make #33 happy.
  • Bertuzzi was playing like he was shot out of a cannon…
  • As were the Bruins, who blasted their way into the Wings’ zone, nearly set up Marchand for a goal, and as Zetterberg and Daley over-committed, Holden fired a point shot wide of the goal.
  • With 3:14 remaining, Boston re-set, Detroit swiped the puck 3 on 3, Green hacked the puck into the slot, Larkin deked and dangled but was stopped by Khubodin, Abdelkader and Mantha cycled, Larkin got a shot off…
  • Up came the Bruins, and they started working their lateral passes, but the Wings cleared their own zone and changed with 2:15 remaining.
  • Boston proved to be tougher through the neutral zone, and a bad helm turnover yielded another point shot that slid wide of the net, but Helm, Nielsen and Athanasiou could barely clear their own zone, so Kronwall and Jensen played catch as the fourth line took to the ice.
  • Glendening, Witkowski and Frk had an offensive foray before Green and DeKeyser set up, Frk found Larkin coming off the wing and off the bench, and Nyquist helped Larkin re-set at center, Larkin fed Zetterberg, and his shot was wide, but his rebound was blocked by Chara.
  • Coreau played the puck to DeKeyser, the Bruins took the puck, and Marchand over-passed to Pastrnak…
  • But the whistle blew as Frans Nielsen got hacked down.
  • Backes’ shoulder hit Nielsen in the face, and that’s illegal.

Backes was called for roughing at 19:48.

  • Detroit lost the deep zone faceoff and had to re-set at center, with Zetterberg getting one final shot off as time expired.

The 1st period in summary: Wild and wacky, the Red Wings and Bruins played a n unstructured, entertaining and sometimes insane first period, a period in which both goaltenders would like some goals back and both teams’ coaches would like to see their teams play defense. I was thoroughly entertained by the chaos, but Boston came out on top.

Statistically, Detroit was out-shot 14-10 and out-attempted 26-20; hits 10-5 Detroit; giveaways an ugly 7-2 Detroit, takeaways 3-3 (possession changes 10-5 Boston); blocked shots 6-5 Boston; faceoffs 10-6 Detroit (63%).

Individually, Larkin led Detroit with 4 shots, and Green had 2; Witkowski had 4 hits, Abdelkader and Nyquist 2; 7 different players had 1 giveaway; Nyquist, Glendening and Ericsson had 1 takeaway; Ericsson had 2 blocked shots; Zetterberg’s 3-and-1 (75%) led the Wings in the faceoff circle; Detroit was -5; DeKeyser led the Wings with 7:33 played; Green played 7:06, Kronwall 6:36, Abdelkader 6:20, Jensen and Daley 6:18.

The 2nd period

2nd period observations:

  • The Red Wings began with 1:49 of PP time.
  • Zetterberg, Abdelkader, Frk, Kronwall and Nyquist drew in, Detroit won the draw and Kronwall set up behind his net, tried a lateral pass to Zetterberg, then dropped to Nyquist, Zetterberg dropped to Kronwall, Kronwall fed Frk for a wide shot, Zetterberg sent a pass to the slot and he was finished by Zetterberg…
  • So the Wings re-set, worked the perimeter, and Detroit over-played the Frk angle, so Zetterberg sent the puck to Nyquist in the slot, and he bumbled a puck to Abdelkader, who could not stuff the puck through Khudobin with Carlo in front.
  • Detroit changed units with only 22 remaining in the PP, Athanasiou, Larkin and Bertuzzi worked with Green and Mantha, and no shots were fired by the 2nd PP unit.
  • Some constants rule, like the Wings’ power play being mediocre.
  • Glendening stepped into Nielsen’s spot on the checking line, working with Witkowski and Helm…

And Witkowski took a dumb penalty, cross-checking Torey krug in the back at 2:12.

  • Larkin, Glendening, Ericsson and Daley started the PK, won the opening draw, and parried away the Bruins’ rush, with Larkin sending a shot on Khudobin instead.
  • Boston sated back into the Wings’ zone, and Pastrnak was tripped by Larkin, but Larkin was not called…
  • So the Bruins re-set, and Marchand was afforded a slot shot that Coreau stopped.
  • Detroit lost the next faceoff, and Abdelkader and helm worked the PK with Kronwall and Jensen. The quartet sent a tip shot off target, they worked the lateral pass, and Marchand made it 4-2.

Brad Marchand took a lateral pass from Torey Krug and the Red Wings continued to stand and stare as Marchand flipped a puck in before Coreau could cover up the goalpost.

Marchand made it 4-2 at 3:27.

  • The Red Wings seemed to perk up a little bit on the post-goal shift, with Nyquist, Zetterberg and Bertuzzi generating some offensive zone pressure before coming back to help Green and Kronwall defend;
  • 4:30 into the 2nd, Detroit was still trying to attack, and Green fed Abdelkader for a fine chance on Khudobin that was stifled.

And Jonathan Ericsson fought David Backes, holding his own though he was taken down at 4:45.

  • Howard then stopped the Bruins’ first shot on him some 5 minutes into the 2nd, and Abdelkader, Green and DeKeyser got crossed up, re-set at center, and poked the puck to the B’s line.
  • Regrettably, Marchand raced into the Wings’ zone, got a feed from Carlo, and Marchand nearly scored a hat trick goal on Howard as the Wings got caught standing around again….

And Mike Green got called for a make-up call, sitting for cross-checking at 6:15.

  • Glendening, Helm, DeKeyser and Daley took the first PK shift, and they lost the deep defensive zone draw but mucked the puck out to center ice.
  • Boston returned to the Wings’ zone, Detroit cleared the zone, and with 1:18 left in the PK, Detroit changed units.
  • Krejci gave the puck up to Larkin and Larkin raced in on Khudobin, who made a nice stop…
  • Larkin got another chance via a Jensen turnover/takeaway, and Larkin raced in on Khudobin, jabbing the puck into the Bruins’ goaltender, who fell back into the net.
  • Abdelkader followed play up and kicked the puck into the net, but the call on the ice was “no goal,” so the refs reviewed, and the call on the ice stood.
  • Play resumed with a faceoff at the Bruins’ blueline, and Boston won it, Marchand and Krug set up, but the Wings swiped the puck from Krug, Glendening pushed the puck deep and then re-set, and Jensen, Kronwall, Larkin and Glendening cleared the zone yet again.
  • Helm did a nice job of working the puck out from down low as well, but Boston blocked the puck off.
  • Detroit had a great penalty kill.
  • Mantha, Nyquist and Zetterberg worked with Kronwall and DeKeyser, DeKeyser fired a long shot on Khudobin, and the Wings cycled down low, with Mantha finding Kronwall for a wide shot, and Zetterberg and Nyquist mashed and ground the puck to Green, who held the puck in.
  • Detroit was just playing dogged hockey, and Boston was flagging as the 10-minute mark passed.
  • Athanasiou, Bertuzzi and Larkin were reunited for a shift, and they worked with the blueline to get the puck in deep.

Tyler Bertuzzi then drew a penalty, with Brandon Carlo sitting at 10:03.

  • At 10:03, shots in the 2nd were 5-5, 19-14 Boston overall; attempts 34-29 Boston; hits 16-7 Detroit; giveaways 9-4 Detroit, takeaways 5-4 Boston; blocked shots 8-6 Boston; faceoffs 19-9 Detroit (68%).
  • Predictably, the Red Wings lost the initial faceoff, and Kronwall carried the puck up to center, the Wings worked a lateral pass at the blueline, and Nyquist worked the puck to Athanasiou, Zetterberg fed Abdelkader, who was stopped, Zetterberg fed Kronwall, Athanasiou cycled, Kronwall fed Nyquist, but the lateral pass bounced, and the B’s cleared.
  • On the 2nd PP unit, Mantha fed Larkin, he fed Bertuzzi, he cycled around the back of the net, Green fed Frk, he was stopped and Khudobin stopped Mantha’s rebound.
  • With 28 seconds remaining on the PP, the Wings won a deep zone draw, Green fed Larkin, and he decided to send a one-timer wide of the net, so Detroit had to re-set.
  • Mantha charged in deep, slid the puck around the back boards to Bertuzzi, and Green fed Bertuzzi, who tucked a backhand in.

Bertuzzi cycled to Mantha, he dropped the puck to Green, he sent a slap shot on goal, and with Mantha and Bertuzzi both swinging at the puck, Mantha got a backhand goal on Khudobin.

 Mantha scored his 22nd goal on Khudobin from Green and Bertuzzi. Score 4-3 at 12:16 of the 2nd.

  • The Red Wings got a chance on the post-goal shift from Glendening, Detroit held the puck in off the faceoff, Abdelkader got a chance off and then stifled Gionta, and as the fans booed, the refs did not call Ericsson for a big hit on Gionta.
  • Daley turned the puck over, however, and Howard made a couple of good stops…

But Daley’s unforced turnover yielded a lot of standing around, and Marchand took a bounce from behind the goal line and tucked it in off Howard to make it 5-3.

 Marchand scored to make it 5-3 at 13:18, from Pastrnak and Nash.

  • Marchand whacked a Wing on the bump-up shift, and Detroit battled into the Bruins’ zone, with Larkin feeding Frk for a slot shot that was sent wide;
  • Detroit turned the puck over and Chara sent a boomer into the netting, yielding a TV timeout.
  • At 14:29, Detroit was out-shooting Boston 11-9 in the 2nd, but shots were 23-20 Boston overall; attempts 39-36 Boston; hits 17-8 Detroit; giveaways 9-4 Detroit, takeaways 5-4 Boston; blocked shots 9-7 Boston; faceoffs 23-10 Detroit (70%).
  • When play resumed, the Red Wings battled the puck into Boston’s zone, re-set at center, and coughed up the puck.
  • Detroit managed to work the puck into the offensive zone for a moment, but Athanasiou, Glendening and Helm had little chemistry, and…
  • Athanasiou stole the puck from the B’s defender, RACED IN on Khudobin, and face-planted into the boards as he was stopped.

The Red Wings managed to flip the puck to center ice, Mantha swiped Abdelkader’s centering pass away from Chara, and Mantha’s backhand went in through Khudobin.

 Detroit made it 5-4 at 15:50. Mantha from Abdelkader and Larkin.

  • Zetterberg lost the initial bump-up-shift faceoff, and Daley got high-sticked on the ensuing faceoff, sans penalty, so Boston chugged into the Wings’ zone, turned the puck over, and so did Detroit…
  • The result was Bertuzzi chipping and chasing, kicking the puck to Zetterberg, who was stood up by Backes, and Jensen fed Larkin, but he lost the puck to Gionta, and Boston iced the puck.
  • Larkin, Abdelkader and Mantha drew in for the offensive zone draw, tied it up, and Boston emerged with the puck, grinding its way through center and into the Wings’ zone. Detroit had to chase the puck around due to successive turnovers, and Abdelkader and Riley Nash got into a chat.

Abdelkader and Nash sat at 17:35 for roughing, yielding a 4-on-4 situation.

  • Boston won the initial draw and pushed the puck into the offensive zone, and Howard had to make a big stop with Rick Nash screening him.
  • Zetterberg and Glendening of all people took to the ice, skating up 4 on 3, and Ericsson fed Daley for some reason, so Detroit reset, got Larkin on ice, and he sent a backhand into the net as Carlo and Daley shoved and Gionta came in.
  • The Red Wings headed into the final minute of play trying to stretch out the ice, to the tune of an icing call, and the Wings won the deep defensive zone draw, Glendening fed Mantha, he chipped a puck into Khudobin’s glove, and Kevan Miller shoved Mantha after play.
  • Detroit won the deep offensive zone draw, and ultimately, the Wings got pushed into their own zone, literally and figuratively, to end the 2nd period.

The 2nd period in summary: The Red Wings were almost literally climbing up the walls in frustration to start the 2nd period, but Jonathan Ericsson’s fight at 4:45 bolstered the team, and despite the pair of goals from Marchand, the Red Wings attacked the Bruins with significant intensity and effort throughout the 2nd period, with Mantha scoring two goals. The Red Wings just needed better defense to hold them in a game as they pursued a tying goal in the 3rd.

Statistically, Detroit out-shot Boston 14-10 in the 2nd, but they were out-shot 24-23 overall. Attempts 41-40 Detroit; hits 21-13 Detroit; giveaways 10-4 Detroit, takeaways 8-5 Boston (possession changes 18-9 Boston); blocked shots 9-7 Boston; faceoffs 29-14 Detroit (67%).

Individually, Larkin led the Wings with 8 shots, and Green, Mantha and Zetterberg had 3; Larkin also had a total of 10 attempts; Witkowski had 4 hits, Abdelkader and Nyquist 3; Athanasiou had 2 giveaways, and 8 other players had 1 giveaway; Glendening had 2 takeaways, Nyquist, Green and Ericsson 1; Glendening and Ericsson blocked 2 shots apiece; Zetterberg’s 10-and-4 (71%) led the Wings in the faceoff circle, and Detroit was “even”; DeKeyser played 14:36, Zetterberg 14:07, Larkin 13:55, Abdelkader 13:46, Kronwall 13:38, Daley 12:36, Nyquist 12:27, Mantha 11:36.

The 3rd period

3rd period observations:

  • Zetterberg drew in for the opening faceoff, he won it, and the refs blew play dead for a bad faceoff drop.
  • So Zetterberg lost the next draw, and of all people…

Brad Marchand sat for slashing at 0:05.

  • Nyquist, who got into a hacking match with Marchand, got a good chance off the initial power play faceoff, and Nyquist was tugged and pulled down on the rebound, affording Chara a clear;
  • Detroit tried very hard to work through center ice, and Nyquist chipped the puck deep, Chara was blocked by Zetterberg once, but not twice, and Detroit had to change lines as they only had 55 seconds remaining in the PP.
  • Green carried the puck to center ice, dropped it to Larkin in the Wings’ zone, Larkin charged into the B’s zone with 39 left in the PP, and Boston cleared the zone.
  • Howard set up Green with 25 left in the PP, Green skated to center and dropped it to Larkin, Larkin and Mantha fed Bertuzzi, and he fed Mantha offside with 9 left on the PP.
  • That was the power play.
  • Boston returned to the Wings’ zone at even strength, and Dley fed Athanasiou, he slid the puck in deep and Glendening and Helm battled the puck back to the point, and DeKeyser’s point shot nearly went to a Bruin behind the Wings’ defense.
  • Nash was unable to get to Pastrnak’s pass(es).
  • When Zetterberg’s line returned to the ice, Bertuzzi went offside again via another drop pass at the offensive zone blueline. Bad habit noted.
  • Detroit brought Larkin’s line back onto the ice, and they chipped and chased, Ericsson helped Larkin hold the puck in, and Marchand fed Pastrnak, and Marchand fed a lateral pass to Pastrnak, who fanned on the open net chance.
  • Detroit then attacked the Bruins’ zone, with Bertuzzi forcing a turnover and feeding Zetterberg for a one-timer that he whiffed upon…

And Luke Witkowski was called for hitting Holden sans puck. It was an old time hockey hit at 4:38, and it’s not old time hockey.

  • The Bruins set up on the PP and Krug slang a puck off the goalpost behind Howard;
  • Boston retained possession and Nash hammered pucks in on Howard, as did Marchand, but the Wings’ goalie held the fort…
  • Backes hacked the puck away from Daley and DeKeyser, and Boston took over again…
  • Marchand tried to work the lateral pass, and for once, DeKeyser chipped it out of trouble.
  • Boston returned to the offensive zone, however, and Abdelkader was dumped by Backes, yielding a Pastrnak shot that Howard had to stretch to stop.
  • With 30 left in the PK, Krug raced in, Krejci cycled to the line, Krug sent a shot wide, Krejci got the puck to Grzelczyk and he fed Krug a couple of times.
  • Witkowski and Glendening skated in 2-on-1 and Witkowski was stopped by Khudobin.
  • The Bruins went the other way 3-on-2, but they were unable to generate offense…
  • Detroit returned to the offensive zone for a moment, and Zetterberg generated a scoring chance.
  • Boston went the other way and forced Howard to make a stop, forcing a TV timeout.
  • At 7:17, Detroit was out-shooting Boston 4-3 in the 3rd and shots were tied 27-27 overall; attempts 49-47 Boston; hits 25-16 Detroit; giveaways 10-6 Detroit; takeaways 8-6 Boston; blocked shots 11-11; faceoffs 31-17 Detroit (65%).
  • When play resumed, Larkin was tossed out of the faceoff, Abdelkader won the defensive zone draw, and Detroit and Boston mucked it up through center ice.
  • Slowly but surely, Larkin shoveled the puck through center…and iced the puck?

Larkin was tripped by Kuraly at 7:41 going through center ice.

  • Zetterberg, Abdelkader, Nyquist, Kronwall and Athanasiou lost the initial deep offensive zone faceoff, Kronwall performed his drop pass to Nyquist, he dropped it to Abdelkader, and Detroit got a Zetterberg shot in on Khudobin, Athanasiou worked things laterally, Athanasiou got high-sticked, and Boston cleared the zone.
  • With 1:04 remaining in the PP, Detroit changed, and Bertuzzi, Mantha, Larkin, Green and Frk worked the puck deep, Green fired a shot wide, Green worked the puck to Larkin, across for Frk, and the puck was sent too far wide.
  • So Green turned over the puck, Larkin bailed him out and raced into the Bruins’ zone, and Mantha put a puck off Khudobin.
  • Frk blasted a shot wide and Larkin, Bertuzzi and Mantha ground the puck to Frk who tied the game.

Bertuzzi cycled the puck out front, he fed Frk and Frk’s shot bounced off a Bruins defender and over Khudobin’s shoulder.

 Frk tied the game at 5 off Krejci at 10:14 of the 3rd, at even strength. Bertuzzi and Mantha got the assists.

  • Detroit worked the next shift through center ice and the Wings controlled the puck and pace of play for the most part, Nyquist centered a puck that was blocked by the B’s…
  • Backes picked off Nyquist and tried to work a 2-on-1…
  • Pastrnak rushed in but was blocked off by Green…
  • Ericsson blocked a big point shot by Miller…
  • Frk worked in, dropped the puck to Ericsson, Larkin fired a shot wide, Mantha raced in, got hacked, Detroit re-set at center, and with 8 minutes remaining, Frk fired a heavy shot off Khudobin.
  • Detroit was able to parry away a Bruins rush and changed…
  • And Howard made a big glove stop on Holden off a feed from Rick Nash.
  • At 12:27, Detroit was out-shooting Boston 8-6 in the 3rd and 31-30 overall; attempts 55-53 Detroit; hits 27-20 Detroit; giveaways 10-6 Detroit, takeaways 8-8; blocked shots 13-12 Boston; faceoffs 33-18 Detroit (65%).
  • Zetterberg, Glendening and Bertuzzi won the deep defensive zone draw, pushed the puck into the B’s zone as Nyquist joined the fray, Detroit parried away a Bruins rush, Bertuzzi jammed the puck in deep and was dumped, and Boston took over.
  • Marchand skated in, deked and dangled, fed Riley Nash, and Howard stifled Nash’s shot.
  • Detroit won the next deep defensive zone draw and chipped and changed, eventually taking over with only 6:16 remaining in regulation, but the Bruins swiped the puck and skated to the Wings’ line.
  • With 5:42 remaining, the final TV timeout of regulation hit.
  • At 14:18, Detroit out-shot Boston 8-7 in the 3rd, shots 31-31 overall; attempts 55-54 Detroit; hits 29-21 Detroit; giveaways 10-6 Detroit; takeaways 8-8; blocked shots 13-12 Boston; faceoffs 35-18 Detroit (66%).
  • When play resumed, the Red Wings iced the Zetterberg line, and they surrendered possession and control to the Bruins, but bore down defensively, and ultimately iced the puck with 5:12 remaining.
  • Zetterberg took the next draw and Detroit iced the puck again, but Khudobin played the puck to his defenders, and Boston chipped and chased, with Krejci, Nash and Kuraly forcing Detroit to chip the puck out to center…
  • Detroit cleared the zone, Mantha set up, and Jensen and Kronwall watched the Wings change with 4:12 remaining.
  • Glendening, Frk and Helm took to the ice and watched Green helm the puck in deep; Detroit ground the puck out along the boards, and when the B’s tried to flip pass a puck to Marchand, the Wings bore down.
  • Boston persisted, but the Wings were strong, standing up at their blueline and forcing Pastrnak to send a wide shot in on Howard, who covered up.
  • Zetterberg, Nyquist and Bertuzzi charged up and into the Bruins’ zone off a lost draw that Nyquist swiped, and they forced Khudobin to cover up.
  • With 3:07 remaining, Zetterberg and Nyquist jabbed the puck to the point, Kronwall and Jensen worked the puck in deep, Nyquist tipped a puck on goal, Kronwall and then Nyquist held the puck in, Jensen pinched, Bertuzzi and Nyquist dropped and dropped and they forced the Wings out to center.
  • With the Wings and b’s changing, Bertuzzi and Zetterberg set up Ericsson for a shot, and Bertuzzi then got away with a trip as the B’s sent a pair of long-distance shots on Howard.
  • Detroit won the defensive zone draw, worked the puck to the B’s line, Mantha stole it and chipped a puck over the net.
  • Larkin set up, worked to Mantha, Bruins sticks bounced pucks down, and they were called for touching the puck with a high stick.
  • With 1:49 left in regulation, Glendening drew in for an offensive zone draw.
  • Glendening lost the draw, Boston chipped the puck to center, and Green nearly sprung Glendening.
  • Instead, Chara was stood up by Glendening, and the Bruins went offside.
  • Detroit won its defensive blueline draw, re-set off a Bruins dump-in, and chipped and chased, with Khudobin playing the puck up to several B’s and ultimately Chara at the point. Howard made a nice stop.
  • Boston seemed to smell the points disappearing, and they bit down HARD.
  • With 54.3 left in regulation, Glendening won the defensive zone draw, Detroit chipped, Zetterberg and Bertuzzi chased, and Daley sent the puck to the B’s bench, with Bertuzzi and Nyquist sending a long shot in on Khudobin.
  • Boston returned to the Wings’ zone, and Nash, Krejci and Backes cycled to the line, Krug fed Nash, and Bertuzzi ate the puck, Daley went lateral and the Wings chipped away at the Bruins until time expired.

The 3rd period in summary: The Red Wings ultimately tied the game by out-working the Bruins, and if work was an indicator of score, the game should have been won in regulation by the visitors.

Statistically, Detroit out-shot Boston 12-11 in the 3rd. Shots were 35-35 overall. Attempts 64-59 Detroit; hits 23-20 Boston; giveaways 10-6 Detroit, takeaways 9-8 Boston; blocked shots 15-12 Boston; faceoffs 42-20 Detroit (68%).

IN OVERTIME…Marchand, Riley Nash and Krug pressured DeKeyser, Larkin and Mantha, but the Wings wound their way into the Bruins’ zone.

Off a linesman the puck went, Boston charged in 3 on 2…

And that little shit scored as the puck went off the linesman, Krug found Nash, Krug put a puck off Howard and the rebound went to Marchand, who backhanded the puck over Howard, making it 6-5.

 Marchand made it 6-5 at 34 seconds from Krug and Riley Nash.

Statistics:

Here’s the Game Summary…

And the Event Summary: 

Final shot attempts were 62-61 Detroit.

Published by

George Malik

My name is George Malik, and I'm the Malik Report's editor/blogger/poster. I have been blogging about the Red Wings since 2006, and have worked with MLive and Kukla's Korner. Thank you for reading!

11 thoughts on “Red Wings-Bruins quick take: Marchand the rat stifles a wonderful rally by a surprisingly plucky Wings team”

  1. I also see a lot of positive. Lots of negatives, but overall our kids are still kids. Mantha outmuscling Chara! There is fight in this team. It was a fun game to watch.

  2. Does our coach want Coreau to fail? He protects new skaters with limited ice against top talent, then gives Coreau the hottest scoring team after sitting him for a couple weeks.

    Trying to give a fellow Sault guy some patience….but I am quickly turning to a no confidence vote.

  3. This is why I didn’t support wasting 1 of the 4 call-ups on Coreau. He’s not an NHL goalie. It’s been clear for some time now. Would rather use these call-ups to see more of Hackett’s, Hronek, Turgeon. Oh well. It’s March and the games have meaning. Mission accomplished Kenny…

    1. Fatty,
      Which goalie would you have chosen off waivers then? Which one of that handful is really an NHL goalie?

      I can answer that, none of them.

  4. Interesting thought, FS, esp since the Jets sent Michael Hutchinson down yesterday. He’s probably not the goalie of the future, but he’d be a fine stop-gap guy so that Coreau can get some playing time in GR and we don’t burn a call-up. I guess it was too late by then, but there was probably somebody out there on the wire or somewhere we could have gotten. Oh well, this season is a bust, and Coreau isn’t really proving to be NHL material.

    1. Franny,
      What were the Wings supposed to do for a back up goalie for the past week’s worth of games, just hope an “injury prone” goalie doesn’t have Jensen fall on him again?

      1. I’m not sure who you’re talking to, here, but Maxime Lagacé, who played quite well for the Knights when their goalies were going down like flies, and Charlie Lindgren, who was decent in Montreal were both sent to the minors on trade deadline day. And there were a handful of goalies who went on waivers btw the time we traded Mrazek and the deadline, too.

        The point being made was that playing the veterans at this point accomplishes nothing. Bringing up kids and letting them get their feet wet is how you start a rebuild. The Wings org needs to stop overripening their prospects in GR and give them some time with the big club.

        1. Whether we like it or not, the Wings need to figure out what Jared can do for them, and that’s going to involve playing him again. Detroit definitely needs to stop over-ripening prospects as a rule, but going from a macro to micro perspective, regarding goaltending, it’s best the Coreau plays a couple more starts, even if he gets lit up.

          Then the Wings will at least know what they have.

          1. Totally agree, but we all know that Blash isn’t going to play Coreau much at all for the rest of the season, even tho we’re essentially running out the clock now. Especially after getting lit up and pulled last night. We have 3 more back-to-backs this season, so we’ll see if Jared even gets into any of those. 5 of those 6 teams are either playoff teams or on the bubble and fighting for points (the exception being MTL), so there won’t be many of those that would be good starts for a goaltender with shaken confidence.

            Not sure what the solution is here, except to play him. Don’t sit him for a couple weeks and then throw him in against one of the hottest teams in the league.

  5. Poor Coreau, even at his best he’s over matched in the NHL. Hasn’t played in nearly 3 weeks and gets rewarded with the Bruins. Oh well, I tried to just sit back and enjoy the game. For the most part it was fun to watch, other than Marchand scoring a million points.

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