Recap: Bruins lack momentum, drop to Red Wings, 5-2

The Bruins’ PK had a rough afternoon, allowing two goals on six Detroit power plays.

The Boston Bruins fell to the Red Wings, 5-2, at the TD Garden this afternoon as poor execution and a sluggish start dug the team in a hole which they could never find a lead or tying goal from.

The B’s played from behind for all 60 minutes and found themselves more on the defensive than able to generative scoring chances to get ahead.

Here are the highlights:

First period:

The Red Wings opened the scoring at 5:13 of the first period on the power play.

J.T. Compher got his stick on Shayne Gostisbehere’s shot from the point to tip one past Jeremy Swayman. 1-0 Red Wings.

The Red Wings took a two-goal lead at 15:01 of the first period.

Alex DeBrincat stole the puck away from Matt Poitras at the blue line and to come in alone on Swayman. 2-0 Red Wings.

Second period:

The Bruins cut into their deficit at 3:00 of the second period with their own power-play goal.

David Pastrnak threw a shot on net which Jake DeBrusk, in the paint, found the loose puck and kept at it to put a second effort past Ville Husso’s stick. 2-1 game.

The Red Wings took back their two-goal lead at 13:24 of the second period.

Daniel Sprong found Robby Fabbri low inside the right-wing circle for a quick wrist shot past Swayman’s glove. 3-1 Red Wings.

Third period:

The Bruins bounced back at 4:12 of the third period.

Danton Heinen found Brandon Carlo’s rebound out front where he put a snap shot top-shelf just under the crossbar. 3-2 game.

The Red Wings regained their two-goal lead with another power play goal at 5:08 of the third period.

Just six seconds into their man-advantage, Compher fed a wide-open Dylan Larkin out front the puck where he put a wrist shot past Swayman. 4-2 Red Wings.

The Red Wings capped off their win over the Bruins at 18:15 of the third period with an empty-net goal from Perron. Final score: 5-2 Red Wings.

Game notes

• Well, this wasn’t the Bruins’ best game by a long shot to say the least. It’s hard to find many silver linings with their play today as execution lacked in nearly all areas of the game. The game started sluggish and the team couldn’t caught a fast Detroit team today.
• The penalty kill — which had only given up a few this season at 91% going into the game (now 89%) — gave up two this afternoon, and both came fast on the kill. One was 11 seconds in and the other just six seconds. The Red Wings have now scored four power-play goals on the Bruins, pretty much all the ones which have gotten by the Bruins’ PK this year.
• When the Bruins did cut into their deficit, they weren’t able to sustain any momentum. Heinen’s goal to make it 3-2 should have been a momentum swing for the Bruins, but like most of the game, they found themselves on a penalty shortly after and Detroit took back their two-goal lead.
• Credit is due to Detroit. They were on the Bruins for a full 60 minutes and didn’t give them any time to create many plays. The Red Wings found the open man, unlike the B’s to finish on offensive opportunities.
• If there was one positive takeaway from the game, it was how Matt Poitras responded after a turnover in the neutral zone which led to DeBrincat’s goal. Poitras bounced back and carried the puck well, moving it well in the offensive zone. Jim Montgomery said postgame he told Poitras he wants him to carry the puck and turnovers are going to happen. Charlie Coyle also echoed that sentiment postgame, saying they’ve all been there and it’s the next shifts and how you react to those mistakes which make a difference out there.
• It’s a quick turnaround for the Bruins to forget about this game as they will face the New York Rangers tomorrow at 1 p.m. at Madison Square Garden.