Detroit Red Wings show fight but fall to NHL-best Bruins, 3-2, in Boston
BOSTON — The Detroit Red Wings showed fight but the Boston Bruins showed might.
The Wings, their playoff dreams all but eliminated, built a quick lead Saturday at TD Garden, but the Boston Bruins, their playoff hopes virtually secure, scored three straight goals to claim a 3-2 victory.
Playing on national TV, the Wings showed they aren't going to be doormats, even as they lost four teammates at the trade deadline, one of whom (Tyler Bertuzzi) was in the Bruins' lineup. Andrew Copp and Alex Chiasson scored in the first period, and Magnus Hellberg played as big as his 6-foot-6 frame to counter a relentless attack by the Bruins in the second period.
Hellberg gave up a goal to Garnet Hathaway with 6:06 to play in the third period, as the Bruins zeroed in on their 50th victory of the season. Final shots favored the Bruins, 38-32.
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While the Wings project to miss the playoffs for the seventh straight year, the Bruins are pushing to break the 62-victory mark for one season set by the 1995-96 Wings and tied by the 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning.
The teams meet again Sunday at Little Caesars Arena.
What a start
The Wings hardly could have scripted a much better start on the road against the best team in hockey. Being forced to kill a penalty one minute in to Moritz Seider presented a challenge, yes, but then Copp intercepted David Krejci's attempted pass, carried the puck into Boston's zone and ripped a shot from the top of the right past Linus Ullmark at 1:36. That quieted the crowd. The Wings followed up with a goal on their other special teams unit, with Chiasson finishing a pass from David Perron during a power play to make it 2-0. That was all before the five-minute mark. Hellberg had maybe his best period of hockey in a Wings uniform, turning away 11 shots, of which at least half were solid scoring opportunities.
How momentum swung
Hellberg continued a stellar performance into the second period, as the Bruins exerted their dominance. They ran up an 11-0 edge in shots before Seider got the Wings' first on net, midway through the period. It wasn't until the 26th shot on net that the Bruins broke through, with Hampus Lindholm scoring at 12:43. The Wings appeared to come right back and answer with a goal, but officials called an interference penalty on Dylan Larkin, negating the play. The Bruins scored during their fourth power play, with Patrice Bergeron picking up his 24th goal and the momentum swinging soundly to the Bruins.
Black, gold and bruising
The Bruins wasted no time playing up theoir trade-deadline acquisition of Bertuzzi (for which the Wings got a top-10 protected 2024 pick and a fourth-round pick in 2025). He was featured on a poster giveaway for Saturday's game, a bold, gold B emblazoned on his chest.
Bertuzzi was greeted heartily by fans when he was introduced as part of the opening lineup. He wasted little time re-establishing contact with his former teammates: During a Bruins power play early in the game, goaltender Magnus Hellberg shoved Bertuzzi, who was hovering around the net; Bertuzzi retaliated by shoving defenseman Olli Määttä.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames.
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Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings outpaced by Bruins, 3-2, in Tyler Bertuzzi reunion
