Hockey: Red Wings attempt to continue turnaround vs. Bruins

It took many twists and turns, but the Detroit Red Wings secured an overtime victory on Friday. They will look to close out 2023 on a high note when they host the Boston Bruins on Sunday.

The Red Wings were 2-8-1 in their previous 11 games before pulling out a 5-4 win over the Nashville Predators. Lucas Raymond scored the game-winner 2:13 into overtime.

“I wouldn’t say ‘must win,’ but it’s a big win for us,” Raymond said. “We haven’t been playing the way we’ve been wanting to these last couple of games, this last stretch. We know what we’re capable of, and we showed it for 25 or something games. It’s up to us to get back to that and start playing winning hockey. (Friday) was a step in the right direction.”

Detroit led 2-1 after the first period, but the Predators were on top 3-2 after the second. The Red Wings regained the lead with two quick scores midway through the third period, only to have Nashville tie it with 7:36 remaining.

“It’s a good step,” Red Wings coach Derek Lalonde said. “I loved the fact we found a way to get two full points when trailing going into the third period. That doesn’t happen a lot in our league.”

Detroit defenseman Jake Walman had two goals and an assist and Alex DeBrincat supplied a goal and two assists. Patrick Kane extended his point streak to six games and reached 1,250 career points with two assists.

“You have to expect some sort of adversity at some point, and it’s good, the guys in the room are ready for that challenge,” Walman said.

The Red Wings and Bruins will close out their four-game season series on New Year’s Eve. Boston won the first matchup 4-1 before Detroit handed the Bruins two of their seven regulation losses in the next two meetings. The Red Wings pulled out a 5-4 win at home on Nov. 4 and a 5-2 road triumph on Nov. 24.

Dylan Larkin and David Perron both contributed a goal for Detroit in each of those victories. Larkin had a short-handed goal on Friday.

The Bruins will be playing the second game of a back-to-back set. They recorded a 5-2 home win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday as David Pastrnak and Kevin Shattenkirk had two goals apiece.

Pastrnak, who added an assist, now has 22 goals this season. Shattenkirk, a defenseman, passed the 100-goal mark for his 14-year career.

Boston is 2-0-0 since Christmas after entering the holiday break on a four-game winless streak (0-2-2).

“I just think it was nice, honestly, having a reset and just having some time away from the game,” said Bruins forward Jake DeBrusk, who contributed a goal and an assist against the Devils.

Bruins coach Jim Montgomery also believes the short break did his team a world of good.

“I like the pace we’re playing with, I like how we’re connected,” he said during a postgame TV interview. “I think we’ve been really good about getting back above pucks and coming back hard towards our net. Tonight, I really liked our offensive game and our commitment to forechecking.”

–Field Level Media