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Boston Bruins

3 Stars: Halloween’s over, but Detroit remains house of horrors for B’s

By Ty Anderson
Nov 4, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Shayne Gostisbehere (41) and Boston Bruins left wing Jake DeBrusk (74) battle for the puck during the first period at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

If the Bruins could take a hammer to Detroit’s Little Caesars Arena, they would.

No, not just because they replaced an arena named for one of the most legendary boxers of all time with one named for the worst pizza chain in America. (That alone is good reason though, I must admit.) But rather because it’s been an absolute house of horrors for this club for some time now, and Saturday failed to provide any relief on that front, as the Bruins blew a two-goal lead on the way to a 5-4 loss.

Overall, it was the Black and Gold’s third straight setback on Detroit ice, and their seventh loss in their last eight visits to Detroit’s ‘LCA’ dating back to the start of the 2018-19 season.

  • There’s no denying that the high-flying Wings came into this contest with revenge on their minds after the Bruins held them to the outside for the majority of last week’s showdown on the way to a 4-1 victory.

    And there’s no denying that this was a game that truly saw the Bruins unable to overcome the loss of three regulars on the backend, as they were forced to once again play without the suspended Charlie McAvoy as well as the injured Matt Grzelcyk and Derek Forbort.

    Here are the 98.5 The Sports Hub (dot com) 3 Stars from a loss to the Red Wings…

  • No. 3 Star: David Pastrnak

    Nov 4, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Boston Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal with defenseman Hampus Lindholm (27) during the third period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

    Nov 4, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Bruins right wing David Pastrnak (88) celebrates his goal with defenseman Hampus Lindholm (27) during the third period against the Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena. (Tim Fuller/USA TODAY Sports)

  • Not much to like about the B’s game in this one, I admit, but the play of top-line winger David Pastrnak remained at an MVP-level for the club despite the loss.

    Out there for 18:56 of time on ice, Pastrnak led all Boston shooters with seven shots on goal, ripped home a power-play shot for his ninth goal of the season, and added an assist for his 16th point of the campaign.

    Pastrnak has been an absolute thorn in the side of the Red Wings throughout his NHL career, really, as Saturday’s performance pushed him up to a 15-goal, 30-point line in 26 career showdowns with Detroit.

  • No. 2 Star: Jake Walman

    Nov 4, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman (96) celebrates his goal during the second period against the Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

    Nov 4, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman (96) celebrates his goal during the second period against the Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena. (Tim Fuller/USA TODAY Sports)

  • It takes something special to beat the Boston penalty kill these days, and Red Wings defenseman Jake Walman brought that to the rink Saturday night, as he ripped an absolute one-time bomb through Linus Ullmark on the goal that brought the Bruins and Wings back even and truly gave Detroit a big-time jolt of life.

    It was the highlight of what was an all-around complete night for the 6-foot-1 Walman, who also added two blocks and a hit in 20:22 of action in the victory.

    And on a night that saw the Red Wings simply dominate the puck from a shot-attempt standpoint, Walman finished the night as his club’s standout, as the shot attempts favored Detroit by a staggering 22-8 mark during Walman’s 14:40 of five-on-five action.

  • No. 1 Star: Dylan Larkin

    Nov 4, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (71) celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period against the Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Tim Fuller-USA TODAY Sports

    Nov 4, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings center Dylan Larkin (71) celebrates his goal with teammates during the third period against the Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena. (Tim Fuller/USA TODAY Sports)

  • If you’re looking for the moment where this game straight-up flipped for the Red Wings though, that came in the third period, when Dylan Larkin took advantage of some rough positioning and a bad angle from Parker Wotherspoon to blow into the Boston zone and beat Ullmark for a goal that knotted things up at 3-3.

    In addition to the goal, Larkin finished Saturday night with a power-play assist, landed six shots on goal, and won 10 of his 19 battles at the dot for the Red Wings.

Click here for 98.5 The Sports Hub’s complete coverage of the Bruins. 

Ty Anderson is a writer and columnist for 985TheSportsHub.com. He has been covering the Bruins since 2010, and has been a member of the Boston chapter of the PHWA since 2013. Yell at him on Twitter/X: @_TyAnderson.

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