Bruins score three in the third period to complete 3-2 comeback in Detroit
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| Carl Soderberg started the scoring in the third period as the Bruins completed the 3-2 comeback. Photo: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images |
The Bruins entered "The Joe" tonight with a chance to tie the hometown Red Wings for third in the Atlantic division. Brett Conolly made his debut in a Bruins uniform playing alongside Greg Campbell and Chris Kelly on the fourth line. The Red Wings were without star player Pavel Datsyuk so this was a big opportunity for the Bruins to continue their strong play down the stretch.
Tuukka Rask was busy early as the Red Wings peppered Boston's netminder. Rask stood tall though, and kept the game scoreless. Zdeno Chara then almost made a very costly turnover in front of his own net, but Rask was there to make an incredible early save. Detroit continued to dominate the puck possession battle midway through the period, but were unable to capitalize on their chances. Zdeno Chara was then called for tripping with 8:48 left in the first. Detroit's potent power-play(PP) generated some good chances, but the game remained scoreless. With less than two minutes left in the period, Chara went back to the sin bin for interference on Darren Helm.
The Bruins survived a horribly played first period and killed off the Chara penalty to start the second. Carl Soderberg had the Bruin's best chance since early in the first period, but Petr Mrazek closed the five-hole on the big Swede. With less than sixteen minutes left in the second period, Brendan Smith flipped the puck over the glass and gave Boston its' first power-play of the game. Louis Eriksson then got loose for a great scoring chance, but again Mrazek made the save on the five-hole attempt.
Quickly after the Red Wings killed of the Bruins' power-play, they received another power-play of their own. Chris Kelly was called for hooking and gave one of the league's best man advantage another chance. Detroit was unable to generate a shot on net during the PP, but quickly scored after as Luke Glendening was able to put a loose puck behind Tuukka Rask. Detroit continued to put pressure on the Bruins and Rask kept his team in the game. Late in the period, Brad Marchand received a nice pass from his captain, but Mrazek made the save on the near break-away. The Bruins then got their second chance on the PP when Darren Helm tripped Matt Bartkowsky with 1:18 left in the period.
The third period began with the Bruins still on the PP, but they were unable to capitalize on the advantage. Patrice Bergeron, who missed nearly the entire second period due to a facial injury, was then sent to the penalty box for tripping. The Red Wings finally burned the Bruins on the PP when Stephen Weiss scores near the top of the crease. The Bruins got their third chance on the man advantage and Carl Soderberg answered the Detroit PP goal with one of his own off the rebound from a Reilly Smith shot. Just two minutes later, Louis Eriksson tied the game in front of the Detroit net off another good play by Reilly Smith who made a nice move to get Mrazek out of position.
With 11:21 to go in regulation, the Red Wings got yet another PP was called for slashing. Detroit could not score and both teams battled to try and break the tie. With just over two minutes left in the period, Zach Trotman beat Mrazek and scored his first NHL goal to complete the comeback for the Bruins in his hometown. The Red Wings were then called for a late too-many-men penalty and they could not recover falling to the Bruins 3-2.
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