National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Boston 4, Detroit 2
When: 3:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 26, 2014
Where: TD Banknorth Garden, Boston, Massachusetts
Referees: Steve Kozari, Dean Morton
Linesmen: Lonnie Cameron, Brian Murphy
Attendance: 17565


Bruins 4, Red Wings 2: Captain Zdeno Chara put Boston ahead to stay in the waning seconds of the second period as the host Bruins wrapped up their Eastern Conference first-round series in five games.

Milan Lucic scored one goal and set up another, Loui Eriksson added a power-play tally and Jarome Iginla sealed it with an empty-netter. Boston won four straight games following a 1-0 loss in the series opener to advance to a second-round matchup against bitter rival Montreal.

Defenseman Torey Krug collected a pair of assists while Vezina Trophy finalist Tuukka Rask turned aside 31 shots and also picked up an assist in the clincher for the Presidents' Trophy winners. The Bruins posted a 1-2-1 mark during the regular season against the Canadiens, who finished 17 points behind Boston in the Atlantic Division before sweeping Tampa Bay in their first-round series.

Pavel Datsyuk and captain Henrik Zetterberg each had a goal and an assist for eighth-seeded Detroit, which went 3-1-0 against the Bruins during the regular season but was outscored 14-5 in the final four games. Jonas Gustavsson, making his second career playoff start in place of flu-ridden Jimmy Howard, made 29 saves in defeat.

Trailing 1-0 after Eriksson's first-period tally, Detroit started to apply sustained pressure midway through the second period and it paid off when Datsyuk lofted a rebound of Zetterberg's shot over Rask with 5:19 left in the session. The Red Wings had another late power play before Johan Franzen and defenseman Brendan Smith were penalized 22 seconds apart, leading to Chara's blistering one-timer with 3.8 seconds left in the period for a 2-1 edge.

Moments after Gustavsson made a huge stop of Carl Soderberg's point-blank shot, Boston made it a two-goal cushion at 4:27 of the third. Krug intercepted a clearing attempt inside the blue line, skated down the left side and crossed a pass to an unguarded Lucic, who stuffed the puck under the pad of Gustavsson. Zetterberg gave Detroit life when he scored from a sharp angle after Rask denied Justin Abdelkader in close with 3:52 to play.

GAME NOTEBOOK: The Bruins finished 6-of-16 on the power play in the series, getting four tallies - Chara (2), Dougie Hamilton and Krug - from their defensemen, while Detroit wound up 2-for-20 with the extra skater. ... Zetterberg, who returned to the lineup in Game 4 after missing 2 1/2 months following back surgery, notched his 115th and 116th points in 125 postseason games. ... Eriksson became the 10th different Boston player to score (on the team's first 11 goals) in the series with his fifth career postseason goal and first since 2008 as a member of the Dallas Stars. ... Red Wings C Gustav Nyquist, who led the team with 28 goals during the season, failed to register a point in the series.
Top Game Performances
 
Detroit   Boston
Pavel Datsyuk 2 Points Milan Lucic 2
Pavel Datsyuk 1 Goals Milan Lucic 1
Pavel Datsyuk 1 Assists Torey Krug 2
Pavel Datsyuk 1 Power Play Goals Zdeno Chara 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jonas Gustavsson .906 Save Percentage Tuukka Rask .939
Jonas Gustavsson 29 Saves Tuukka Rask 31
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Detroit 33 2 1-7 4-6 12 29
Boston 33 4 2-6 6-7 14 34
Upcoming Games
  • Boston will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Bruins have a W/L % of .618 after a win and .741 after a loss.
  • Detroit will play their next game at home against Boston. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .474 after a win and .477 after a loss.