Hot Bruins defeat Red Wings
BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins hit the NHL's holiday break with their fourth win in six days, a 3-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday.
Patrice Bergeron scored twice and Brad Marchand scored one goal and set up Bergeron's winner 6:11 into the third, and Tuukka Rask made 30 saves in Boston's fourth win in six games.
Bergeron scored an empty-net goal in the closing seconds for his 10th goal of the season. David Backes notched his second assist on the goal, which Bergeron scored as he was dragged to the ice.
The Red Wings haven't won at TD Garden since an April 14, 2014, playoff game and haven't won in the building in the regular season since Oct. 14, 2013.
The Bruins moved to 8-2-1 in December (two of those wins over Detroit) and are 13-3-1 in their last 17 games.
Rask, who had a slow start to his season, has gone 8-0-1 in his last nine starts. He came in with a 1.50 goals-against average over eight starts and that went lower.
Marchand, scoring his 15th, took a pass from Backes with the Bruins (19-10-5) having a two-man advantage in the first period. But the Wings (13-15-7) came back before the end of the second power play on a shorthanded goal by Frans Nielsen (his ninth) to tie the game.
It was the seventh shorthanded goal of the season for the Red Wings, who came into the game tied for the league lead in that department.
Jimmy Howard played well in dropping to 5-5-2 lifetime against the Bruins, making 22 saves in the loss.
NOTES: Bruins Fs Ryan Spooner and Riley Nash, who missed Thursday night's game due to illness, returned. ... Boston RW David Backes, who missed Friday's practice for the birth of a son, played and had two assists. ... The Bruins are 12-1-1 in their last 14 games against the Red Wings. ... This was the 300th game between the Original Six teams in Boston, the 598th overall ... Detroit RW Luke Glendening is expected to miss several weeks with an upper body injury and was replaced by the recalled Tyler Bertuzzi. ... The Red Wings return from the holiday break at New Jersey Wednesday, while the Bruins host the Ottawa Senators the same night.