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Welcome: B's down Red Wings in Hub, 4-1 |
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Ty Anderson
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In their last two trips to Boston, the Detroit Red Wings were more than happy to play the role of party-crasher at TD Garden. Absolutely trouncing the Bruins back in Feb. 2011 by a 6-1 final, and downing Boston in a shootout back on Black Friday 2011, a return to the Hub for a Saturday night showdown against the Bruins in the new-look Atlantic saw quite the role reversal.
Taking to the ice for their first meeting in almost two calendar years, the Black and Gold simply took it to Jimmy Howard all game long, beating the Team USA hopeful four times on 37 shots, and shutting the Red Wings’ typically high octane power-play down on just two chances en route to their second straight victory, and Detroit’s first loss of the year.
In essence, the Bruins said, “Welcome to the Eastern Conference, Detroit.”
Playing their third game in four nights, and thoroughly manhandled throughout much of the night by a Boston group clearly in more sync than on Thursday night, the effort was anything but satisfactory from a Red Wings coaching staff that was more than frustrated with tonight’s showing.
“I don’t think we were very good, so was it because we didn’t have enough energy or what but we need to play hard enough and trust each other enough and do what we are supposed to do,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said after the loss. “Bottom line is they were better than us, and that’s why you play these games. It’s a competition each and every night and we were not good enough.
“We didn’t get any inside kind of what we talked about going in,” Babcock added. “I thought we were on the outside too much. I didn’t think we were good tonight, so making an assessment after a game you didn’t play very well in the overall [performance] probably isn’t a healthy thing to do.”
Down just over nine minutes into the game by way of a Torey Krug rocket -- his first National Hockey League (regular season) goal -- it was an assault led by captain Zdeno Chara’s net-front presence that put Boston on top early.
“It’s about being in the right area. Obviously on power play you’ve got one more person than they do so somebody is going to be open and it was important that [Milan Lucic] drew so much attention and he made an unbelievable play,” Krug, a native of Livonia, Mich., said after the game. “He just has that sense where he knew I was open and threw it there and it was right on my tape.”
For Boston, that’s what their first power-play unit comes back to, as shown by their goal.
With so many heavy weapons out there -- namely Lucic and Chara -- the lanes have become wide open for talents like Jarome Iginla, David Krejci, and Krug.
“You don’t have a play, throw it down in front and Z is going to battle it. Having Z and Looch down there if we miss the net or if we just throw it down there, there’s a good chance we’re getting the puck back,” Krug noted, adding, “We have a good setup. We’re excited about what we can do this year and we have to continue working on it.”
Despite a game-tying goal from Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg almost seven minutes later, a Brad Marchand goal just 36 seconds into the second frame, his first of the year and 79th since Jan. 1, 2011, did its job, and ultimately looked to break the spirit of a Detroit club that simply didn’t look ready to play.
“We didn’t play at all,” a frustrated Niklas Kronwall said after the loss. “They did a good job and we didn’t. We weren’t even there. It felt like we were a step behind all game.”
The Bruins found insurance on a goal from Jordan Caron courtesy of some slick decision making from linemate Reilly Smith in the middle frame, while Zdeno Chara’s third period dangle-and-snipe power-play tally brought the Garden crowd to life and played the role of the dagger, sealing the deal on a 4-1 win in the Hub, giving Boston yet another 2-0 start to the year.
“I feel we’re headed in the right direction. I think today was a really, really good game,” goaltender Tuukka Rask noted. “We didn’t give them much, we killed the penalties we had to, we scored a goal on a penalty, I think everything was working today. And that’s tough to say, during the season you have so many ups and downs that things may change. But the guys looked good today.”
Perhaps most impressively, the Bruins’ third line, the undeniable question mark of a fully loaded Boston squad, has been absolutely pulverizing in all three zones, playing a hard-nosed, take-it-to-the-net style that’s paying off through the first 120 minutes of the season.
“You guys had every right last year to question that line, and coming into camp as well,” the centerpiece of the line’s success, Chris Kelly, admitted. “I know it’s only two games, and you guys are still going to – that’s your job to question it, but I think the first two games we’ve gone out there and played well and proved that we can play and contribute offensively and defensively and play against other teams’ top two lines or bottom two lines, whoever it may be.”
With two goals from the line, and two wins thus far, it’s two thumbs up for the third line.
Marchand OK after being leveled by Wings’ Abdelkader
You can make the case that there’s not a winger that’s more valuable to the Black and Gold than No. 63, second line winger Brad Marchand.
A forward that’s become a fixture on the Bergeron line with his speed and three-zone game, Marchand opened up the scoring in the Bruins’ dominant second frame, but was nearly done for the night following a huge hit from hard-hitting Detroit forward Justin Abdelkader.
Down on the ice and ultimately heading to the locker room under his own power, Marchand ultimately returned to the game, and finished the night with a goal and two shots in 13:15 of ice-time.
Abdelkader was not penalized on the play.
Up next
The Bruins will get a mini-vacation up ahead, with four days off before returning to the ice for a Thursday night showdown with the Colorado Avalanche. The new-look Avs, led by fiery head coach Patrick Roy, who nearly murdered Ducks coach and noted gerbil Bruce Boudreau last week, will come into Boston looking to continue rolling due in large part to the play of Russian goaltender Semyon Varlamov, who has allowed just one goal in two games played thus far.
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