Recap: Bergeron lifts Bruins past Red Wings, 3-1

A matinee against Detroit was all that stood between the Bruins and a nice little holiday break. At times on Saturday afternoon, the anticipation showed.

The Bruins looked sloppy, sluggish, and downright uninterested at times, but Patrice Bergeron was able to will them to victory.

Bergeron scored twice, including the eventual game-winner midway through the third, to give the Bruins a 3-1 win and send the team and its fans into the holiday break on a happy note.

Let’s get to it!

Highlights

Brad Marchand gave the Bruins a 1-0 lead in the first after the Wings took two consecutive penalties. Great passing from David Backes on this one. 1-0 Bruins.

The lead lasted about a minute, as Torey Krug kind of did nothing on a Frans Nielsen break and Tuukka Rask got caught leaning. Bad goal by the whole team. 1-1 tie.

That was it until the third period, where Patrice Bergeron struck. 2-1 Bruins.

The Man Himself iced things late in the third with a tremendous effort to earn the empty-net goal. 3-1 Bruins win!

Game notes

• This one was ugly for large stretches. The Bruins seemed to sleepwalk through the entire second period, and found themselves on the wrong end of the puck too often. However, they ended up sneaking out with a win thanks largely to the PK work of Zdeno Chara, timely saves by Rask and a “put the team on his back” effort by Bergeron.
• Tuukka Rask hasn’t lost in regulation in his last nine starts. The Nielsen goal was a shot he should have stopped, but he was able to make up for it later in the game with several “big-time” saves.
• Torey Krug continues to be a confounding player. He mixes flashes of brilliance with truly bizarre decisions. I don’t remember him being this much of a risk/reward player in the past; maybe he’s just having a weird season.
• Congrats to the Backes family on the birth of their son!

Sorry for the short recap, but we found ourselves a bit shorthanded today. Thanks, as always, for reading, and enjoy the upcoming holiday!