By Nicole Belair, Staff Writer
Last week, the Boston Bruins defeated the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins at the TD Garden, ending a four-game losing streak.
On Tuesday, January 25, David Pastrnak scored with less than a minute remaining in overtime to secure a 4-3 comeback win over Detroit. This would be his first goal in seventeen games, but his twentieth goal of the season – a personal record for his NHL career.
Tuukka Rask saved 23 of 26 shots, after leaving Sunday’s game in Pittsburgh due to a migraine. Detroit goalie, Jared Coreau, made an NHL career-high 45 saves.
Boston defenseman, Kevan Miller, scored his first goal in 42 games to give Boston a 1-0 lead at 3:39 of the first period. Detroit wasn’t able to tie it up until 10:59, when Andreas Athanasiou beat Rask on a breakaway.
Brad Marchand had a power-play goal at 17:34 of the first period, taking a 2-1 lead for the Bruins.
But, the Red Wings tied the score in the second period when Mike Green’s soft slap bounced off of Miller and into the net at 6:25.
Tomas Tatar scored the Red Wings’ third goal of the game at 10:51 in the second period for a 3-2 Detroit lead.
The goal of the game, however, came from Marchand in the third period. He and Patrice Bergeron worked a give-and-go in the Detroit zone at 8:20. Marchand scored on a rebound from the left side for his second goal of the game. With the score still at 3-3 by the end of the third period, the game was sent into overtime.
Detroit has lost its past two games in overtime, and this one would be no different.
With just seconds remaining, David Krejci hit Pastrnak with a cross-ice pass for a one-timer, ending the game in a 4-3 Boston victory.
The Bruins hosted the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night, and would hold them off for another 4-3 victory. These two games were the Bruins’ first consecutive wins since the last week of December.
Pittsburgh scored first, at 7:37 of the first period. Justin Schultz’s pass in front was swept into the net by Bruins’ defenseman, Brandon Carlo. Penguins’ Phil Kessel’s power-play goal at 11:26 put the Penguins up by two with no response from the Bruins.
The Bruins closed in on the lead at 1:38 of the second period, when Marchand scored his third shorthanded goal of the season. He was then able to tie the score at two just minutes later, on a rebound of a Pastrnak shot. At 10:25, Riley Nash scored for the Bruins and put them in the lead. Bergeron scored on the power-play shortly into the third period, putting Boston up by two points. Penguins’ Patric Hornqvist made it 4-3 at 10:35, but it would not be enough for Pittsburgh to secure a win.
Marchand’s strong performance on Thursday night followed a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety that morning, which fined him $10,000 for a dangerous trip against Red Wings’ defenseman, Niklas Kronwall, during Tuesday’s game.
“It’s good to kind of just let it go and kind of put it behind me,” Marchand stated after the Bruins’ victory on Thursday. “You can’t change anything after it all goes down. So it’s great to come out here and play the game, have some fun and be part of the big win.”
The Bruins now have a record of 25-21-6 on the season.
They will face the Washington Nationals at the Verizon Center on Wednesday night, and will host the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night.
Boston has failed to beat either team this season, but plans to keep this winning streak alive.