Bruins suffer first loss in regulation; fall to Red Wings 5-4
Bruins drop to 9-1-1
The Boston Bruins have lost for the first time in regulation this season – falling to the Detroit Red Wings, 5-4, on Nov. 4.
The loss broke the Bruins franchise record 10-game season-opening point streak.
James van Riemsdyk, Matthew Poitras, Charlie Coyle, and David Pastrnak all had goals for the B’s, but it wasn’t enough to stop the Red Wings.
van Riemsdyk and Poitras put the Bruins up 2-0 in the first period. Lucas Raymond halved the lead to 2-1 on the power play at 16:20. The goal was just the second power play goal the B’s have given up so far this season.
“You play a team with an excellent power play like Detroit, you can’t take–I don’t know if we were shorthanded seven or eight times, I don’t know what it was, but that’s too many,” Bruins Head Coach Jim Montgomery told reporters.
The Bruins went into the first intermission up 2-1, but the lead didn’t last for long. The Red Wings were able to score again on the power play to tie it 2-2 at 9:59 of the second.
Coyle put the Bruins back on top, 3-2, on a pass from Jake DeBrusk at 13:41 of the second period.
The Red Wings responded with three goals in a 3:44-minute span in the third period.
Red Wing Dylan Larkin tied the game, 3-3, at 6:50 of the third. David Perron extended the lead to 4-3 at 8:56. Andrew Copp added another with a goal at 10:34, putting the Red Wings up 5-3.
Pastrnak cut the lead to 5-4 with a power play goal at 14:11, but that was the last of the Bruins scoring chances. Coyle and Pastrnak both received penalties in the final few minutes of the game, short-handing the Bruins to a 5-on-3.
The B’s received 12 penalties, which was equivalent to 32 minutes in the penalty box.
“They wanted that win, and I think we had stretches where I think we weren’t, maybe, playing our best hockey, but I think we fought back,” Defenseman Hampus Lindholm told reporters. “We were still in this game until the end, even though those penalties [were] there. So I think that shows a lot of character, but it’s a tough line between winning and losing in this league.”
Linus Ullmark ended the game with 35 saves. The number of shots faced and goals allowed were both season highs for Ullmark.
“Usually if a goalie is off, he’s not tracking the puck,” Montgomery said. “I thought Linus had to make a lot of really good saves, especially on the power plays they had. He was on top of his game and we just gave up too many glorious chances.”
Ullmark gave credit to the Red Wings after the game.
“We’re one of the better teams in this league, and we [have] to show it and we [have] to prove it every night,” Ullmark told reporters. “Tonight was one of those old-time hockey games, and unfortunately, we didn’t have the results with us…Sometimes you have to tip your hat.”
The Bruins look to bounce back tomorrow, Nov. 6, against the Dallas Stars at American Airlines Center. The game is set to start at 8 p.m. EST.
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