Red Wings fall 3-2 in rematch with the Bruins

 

By @SKubus –

DETROIT – Detroit and Boston turned in another Original Six classic at Joe Louis Arena Wednesday night, the second meeting between the two teams in as many weeks.

Gustav Nyquist scored his team-leading third goal in as many games and Jimmy Howard stood on his head, stopping 37 of 39 shots, but Detroit ultimately fell to the B’s in a shootout, 3-2. David Krejci and Reilly Smith scored in regulation for Boston, and also scored both shootout goals for the Bruins.

The Red Wings were the first to say they looked like a different team than their first meeting with Boston.

“They won most one-on-one battles,” Nyquist said. “I don’t think we won enough pucks in their zone to keep possession, and that’s why they broke out quickly and spent more time in our zone and got more shots on net.”

Head coach Mike Babcock said his team’s overall game – speed and one-on-one battles emphasized – was not where it needed to be against a powerhouse like the Bruins.

“We were on the ice for 35 minutes yesterday, so there’s no reason to be tired,” Babcock said. “We didn’t win any battles, so is that because you’re tired or because you weren’t mentally engaged as much as them? I didn’t think we were very good.”

Howard, meanwhile, was outstanding between the pipes for Detroit. His play was enough to earn the Red Wings a point in the standings, perhaps the lone bright spot that can be taken out of the game.

“Howie stole us a point here tonight,” Babcock said. “We felt that we got ripped off the other night (vs. Anaheim), but Howie stole one back here tonight.”

Tatar, who tallied his first of the young season, gave all the credit to Howard for giving Detroit a fighting chance.

“He was great for us. He made lots of unreal saves,” Tatar said. “We can be really happy for the one point because he was holding us most of the game.”

In the game, Krejci proved early why the Bruins missed his presence when they met Detroit last Thursday in the Red Wings’ season opener, as he potted a breakaway goal just 5:12 into the game opened the scoring.

But Tatar answered for Detroit just 3:28 later to even things up. The 23-year-old Slovakian tracked a loose puck in a crowded pile to the left of Rask, pulled it to his forehand and roofed one on the far side past Rask.

With just over six minutes remaining in the second stanza, Smith – brother of Red Wings defenseman Brendan – banged home a botched Patrice Bergeron wrap-around attempt right in front of Howard in the slot to make it 2-1.

In his 100th NHL game, Nyquist potted his third goal of the year from the top of the right circle to tie the game at two aside, as he beat Rask high on the far side with a quick wrister, much like Tatar did.

“Obviously, it’s nice to score goals, but at the same time, we want to win games; that’s most important,” Nyquist said. “We didn’t do that tonight, so it wasn’t good enough.”

In overtime, Bergeron took a penalty with 40 seconds left for hauling down Smith, which gave Detroit a glorious chance to win the game. But Rask and the Bruins had other ideas, and shut down the rather stagnant Red Wings power play.

Krejci and Smith scored in the shootout for Boston, while neither Nyquist nor rookie Andrej Nestrasil found the back of the net.

Detroit heads to Toronto next to take on the Maple Leafs Friday night at the Air Canada Centre before heading back home to play Toronto the next night.