Wings end 6-game skid, Nedeljkovic has 47 saves vs. Bruins
Apr 5, 2022, 7:26 AM | Updated: 8:50 pm
Detroit Red Wings center Oskar Sundqvist (70) reaches in with his stick against Boston Bruins center Charlie Coyle (13) in the third period of an NHL hockey game Tuesday, April 5, 2022, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
DETROIT (AP) — Jakub Vrána had a goal and an assist, Alex Nedeljkovic made a season-high 47 saves and had an assist, and the Detroit Red Wings defeated the Boston Bruins 5-3 on Tuesday night.
“It felt like the puck wasn’t going to go in,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “That’s when you know your goalie is on top of his game. It felt like he was definitely on top of his game.”
The victory snapped a six-game losing streak for Detroit and halted Boston’s three-game win streak.
“We just kind of made mistakes we couldn’t overcome,” Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy said.
Dylan Larkin, Michael Rasmussen, Filip Zadina and Sam Gagner also scored for Detroit.
The Bruins got goals from Erik Haula, Brandon Carlo and Patrice Bergeron, and Jeremy Swayman made 24 saves.
Zadina broke a 2-all tie at 11:32 in the second period. Swayman had moved to cover Vrána at the left side of the net and Vrána found Zadina for his ninth goal of the season.
Vrána’s goal came on the power play at 4:08 of the third, when he fought through traffic and fired the puck from the left dot into the top left corner of the net.
“I saw they were a little flat-footed on the blue line so I tried to get there a little faster and I was able to still able to get the shot on net, so I was happy about that,” Vrána said.
The Boston Bruins struck first with two goals in the first period, Haula at 4:43 and a shorthanded score by Carlo with about six minutes left.
With Oskar Sundqvist screening Swayman, Larkin scored with 39.3 seconds left in the first, two seconds after the team’s power play had expired. It was Larkin’s 30th goal of the season, the second time in his career he has reached the 30-goal mark. He had a career-best 32 during the 2018-19 season.
Rasmussen tied the game at 5:46 of the second period for his third goal in four games.
The Bruins pulled within one on Bergeron’s goal with about three minutes left. Charlie McAvoy assisted, extending his assist streak to six games.
“I think it’s attention to detail all the way through,” Bergeron said. “You can’t put your foot off the gas pedal at the end, especially late in periods. It gives the other team momentum. Definitely need to rectify that.”
Gagner scored the empty-net goal with 47 seconds left.
INJURY LOSS
Boston Bruins defenseman Hampus Lindholm left the game in the third period with a lower-body injury.
ROOKIE SENSATIONS
Red Wings rookie defenseman Moritz Seider and forward Lucas Raymond assisted on Larkin’s first-period goal. Seider leads all rookies with 40 assists. Raymond is second among rookies in points with 53.
ROSTER MOVES
The Red Wings recalled center Kyle Crisculo from the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins under emergency conditions. Criscuolo was a healthy scratch. … The Bruins played without co-leading scorer David Pastrnak, who aggravated an injury Monday night in Columbus, and center Trent Frederic, who suffered an upper-body injury in the second period Monday. Defenseman Derek Forbort returned to the lineup after missing one game with a lower-body injury.
BACK-TO-BACK
The Bruins completed their ninth of 10 sets of back-to-back games this season, falling to 4-5 in the second games.
UP NEXT
Bruins: At Tampa Bay on Friday night.
Red Wings: At Winnipeg on Wednesday night.
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