Bruins @ Red Wings, 04/05/22

Snapping their six game losing streak, the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Boston Bruins 5-3 in what was a spirited, albeit frustrating, game for Boston.  David Pastrnak and Trent Frederic were not available to play, and by the end of 60 minutes Hampus Lindholm joined the growing list of injured Boston Bruins.   

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Erik Haula continued his hot streak, scoring roughly five minutes into the game off a pass from Taylor Hall.  Filling in for Pastrnak alongside the pair was Tomáš Nosek; typically found on the Bruins’ fourth line, Nosek has been crucial for Boston’s penalty kill this season, averaging 1:49 a game short handed, and in second place on the team in faceoff percentage at 53%.  Guess who’s in first.  While killing a Marc McLaughlin high sticking penalty, Brandon Carlo extended Boston’s lead with his second career shorthanded goal, beating Alex Nedeljkovic from the high slot.  In light of recent injuries, coach Bruce Cassidy made significant changes to the Bruins line up, including the return of both McLaughlin and Jack Studnicka.

For the twenty-third time this season, the Bruins let up a goal in the last minute of the period.  As Detroit’s powerplay expired, captain Dylan Larkin’s rising snapshot found the back of the net, with Oscar Sundqvist screening Jeremy Swayman, only 40 seconds before the end of the first period. 

5:46 into the second period, Detroit Red Wing Michael Rasmussen evened the score following a failed clearing attempt by defenseman Mike Reilly.  Six minutes later, Detroit took the lead with their third unanswered goal, as the collapsing Bruins defense left Filip Zadina wide open to fire a shot past the out-stretched Jeremy Swayman.  

The rookie goaltender’s indecisiveness while puck handling continues to be an issue. This is something that must be addressed before season’s end, as teams will be looking to capitalize off of this shortcoming in the playoffs.   

Halfway through a Detroit power play, a bad angle shot through coverage by Jakub Vrana put the Red Wings up 4-2 with 15:52 left to play.  With 2:36 remaining in the game, Boston reduced the Red Wings' lead to one, doing so on a de facto 5-on-4 power play with their goaltender pulled.  Despite putting up a season high 50 shots on net, the Bruins were unable to send the game to overtime, falling to Detroit 5-3 after a Sam Gagner empty netter.  34 penalty minutes were handed out post-game as both teams continued to bark and brawl after the final whistle blew, including 10 minute misconducts for Derek Forbort, Anton Blidh, and Michael Rasmussen.

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Frustrated with losing a winnable game, Boston went to the locker room with a newly formed chip on their shoulder and gap in the lineup, losing defenseman Hampus Lindholm to a lower body injury.  Beyond the loss of Pastrnak, Frederic, and now Lindholm, the Bruins inability to score on the power play has swiftly become one of their biggest shortcomings.  While both power play units have struggled even before Pastrnak’s absence, losing the player behind 30% of the team’s power play goals this season certainly isn’t helping.  The Bruins have the next two days off before facing the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday night, and will hopefully do so at full strength, though there is still no news about the conditions of Pastrnak, Frederic, or Lindholm.