Bruins Postgame Takeaways: Stone Cold (Penalty) Killers

The Boston Bruins defeated the Detroit Red Wings by a final of 2-1 on Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena.

Justin Brazeau and Brad Marchand both scored for Boston in support of Jeremy Swayman and his 18 saves on 19 shots.

Lucas Raymond had the only Detroit tally. Cam Talbot made 27 saves on 29 shots in net for the Red Wings.

But that’s just the box score. Here are the key takeaways from the night that was in the Mo-Town.

Stone Cold (Penalty) Killers:

The Bruins faced a tall task against Detroit’s fifth-ranked power play unit. But not only did they not bend, they didn’t break at all, killing off all four of their shorthanded situations.

The biggest of which helped seal the win late in the third period when the Red Wings threatened to tie the score while playing with a six-on-four advantage with the goalie pulled.

Boston has now gone five straight games without surrendering a power play goal and is a perfect 14 for 14 in shorthanded situations during that span.

“It was the reads. It was the communication and guys having sticks in the lanes and making sure that they had nothing,” Jeremy Swayman told the media in Detroit. “Obviously, their strengths are sifting pucks into the middle, and again, our guys did a great job of eliminating that and blocking shots, and we got rewarded for it.”

Nikita Zadorov has typically been the reason the Bruins have found themselves killing penalties this season. Against Detroit, however, the defenseman was a shorthanded hero, leading the Bruins with 5:09 of time on ice while on the penalty kill.

Swayman Bounces Back:

Jeremy Swayman didn’t see a ton of shots but looked calm, cool, and collected against almost every single one he faced after struggling mightily in his last few starts.

The one puck that got passed was a perfectly placed shot from Red Wings forward Lucas Raymond, who fired a violent one-timer past Swayman’s blocker at 19:02 of the first period to even the score at 1-1.

Swayman’s role as Boston’s unequivocal starting goalie began to be questioned lately, as his recent hardships coincided with the rise and stellar play of backup Joonas Korpisalo, and so too was his status within the Bruins locker room.

If he can string together more performances like his on Saturday, Swayman will erase any and all doubts about where he stands.

“I’m happy for his response tonight,” Bruins interim coach Joe Sacco told the media in Detroit. “I’m sure he’s starting to feel better about himself. It’s only a matter of time before Sway starts to find his groove consistently.”

Power Play Pulling It Together:

The dreadful Bruins power play is beginning to find its form, having scored in three straight games.

Justin Brazeau got the offense going on Saturday as he cleaned the crease on the man-advantage to put the Bruins ahead 1-0 at 8:33 of the first period for his fifth goal of the season, which tied his career high.

“That’s the way goals are scored a lot of times. It’s not always the pretty play, especially on the PP,” Tyler Johnson, who had the primary assist on the goal for his first point as a Bruin, told the media in Detroit. “On the man-advantage, sometimes you just got to get in the dirty areas. When you have a big guy like Braz, it kind of helps.”

JB starts it off. pic.twitter.com/7egNG7KUN7

— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) November 24, 2024

Failure To Fire:

Although the Bruins won the game and had the advantage in shots on goal, there were more than a few instances in which they passed up on quality scoring chances.

David Pastrnak created a turnover in the attacking end, stripping the puck from Detroit defenseman Jeffy Petry. But when he found himself all alone in front of Red Wings goalie Cam Talbot, the Bruins sniper failed to fire a shot.

Buddy.. pic.twitter.com/vznXXufS1X

— Brian DeFelice (@briandefelice_) November 24, 2024

Pastrnak’s production on offense has been inconsistent this season. He still leads the Bruins with 18 points and eight goals, but there have been instances where he’s looked unsure what to do when he’s had the puck on his stick.

His failure to land a single shot on goal a few games ago against Columbus was concerning, to say the least, and coming up empty on such a prime scoring opportunity with the chance to take the lead tonight was nearly just as much.

Bruins Lines:

Geekie – Zacha – Pastrnak

Marchand – E. Lindholm – Brazeau

Frederic – Coyle – Johnson

Beecher – Kastelic – Koepke

Lohrei – McAvoy

Wotherspoon – Carlo

Zadorov – Peeke

Swayman

Korpisalo

Up Next:

After improving to 10-9-3 and 2-0-0 under interim head coach Joe Sacco, the Bruins will prepare to play four games over the next eight days.

They’ll return home on Tuesday for a matchup with the Vancouver Canucks and then immediately hit the road again to pay a visit to the New York Islanders the day before Thanksgiving.

On Black Friday, the Pittsburgh Penguins come to town before the Bruins close out the week by celebrating their centennial anniversary next Sunday against the Montreal Canadiens.

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