Going into Saturday night's game against the Detroit Red Wings on the road, the Boston Bruins were looking to pick up two points in the tightly contested Eastern Conference playoff race. Given the road woes that Marco Sturm's group has had, it was easier said than done.
Tied 1-1 through 40 minutes, the Bruins fell behind 2-1 early in the third period on an Alex DeBrincat strike. It felt like a game, set, match, given the Black and Gold's road struggles. Instead, thanks to some questionable goals that went against Red Wings goalie John Gibson, Boston was able to pull off a third-period rally for a huge 4-2 win in regulation.
Goals from Elias Lindholm and Nikita Zadorov, of all people, gave Boston a 3-2 lead three minutes apart. Both goals were very weak, and Gibson should have stopped. Instead, those opened the door for a Marat Khusnutdinov empty-net goal with just two minutes left to seal the victory. After the game, Sturm wasn't shy in pointing to the reason for the two-goal win in the Motor City.
Bruins coach Marco Sturm doesn't beat around the bush with Jeremy Swayman praise
There is no doubt who the first star was after the game. That was Jeremy Swayman, who made 41 saves, with 21 coming in the third period. He was under siege the entire period, and simply put, he outplayed Gibson. There is no denying that.
“That was the best I’ve seen (Swayman) play since I’ve been around,” Sturm said. “He was unbelievable -- he won the game for us.”
Yes, he did. He stood on top of his head in the final 20 minutes, and it got to a point where he had Detroit's best players shaking their heads with some of the saves he made. He made nearly a half dozen big-time glove saves. It didn't go lost on Detroit coach Todd McLellan either.
“I liked our game -- I think if we play that game over again and get some puck luck, we might score a few more times,” McLellan said. “But you also have to tip your cap to the goaltender for playing a great game.”
Boston created some separation in the standings thanks to Swayman, but there is a lot of work that needs to be done with a difficult schedule coming up. For one night, the Bruins had a much-needed road victory.