The Detroit Red Wings rang out 2023 by hosting an auld acquaintance – an old and troublesome one.
The Boston Bruins doused the festive vibes on New Year’s Eve at Little Caesars Arena with consecutive goals, but the Wings kept taking shots until that was straightened out. But the Bruins ultimately played party spoilers, winning 5-3 to cap the season series at two games apiece.
The end of December was a tough stretch for the Wings, who finished the month on an 3-9-1 crawl.
WINGING IN THE NEW YEAR: Red Wings saw highs and lows in 2023, must stick with the plan in 2024
Charlie Coyle made it 3-2 at 3:52 of the third period, scoring from the slot. The Wings (17-16-4) went on their fifth power play at 11:12, they had seven shots total during man advantages. Goalie Alex Lyon was pulled with a little more than two minutes to play, Jake DeBrusk scored into the empty net, with 2:01 to play; there was 1:22 left when J.T. Compher converted on Detroit’s sixth power play. Boston’s Pavel Zacha scored another empty net goal with 23.9 seconds remaining.
Defensemen Jake Walman and Ben Chiarot scored in the second period.
The Wings are off to California for a week, returning to LCA on Jan. 11 against the Edmonton Oilers.
Welcome to the party, pal
The divisional rivals played like they had been waiting to see one another since last meeting Black Friday in Boston. There was shoving and shouting at every opportunity; early on, Ben Chiarot took offense to Morgan Geekie’s battle tactics and got into a shoving match that lead to a flailing match that led to Chiarot getting dinged for an extra roughing penalty. Later, it was Alex DeBrincat and Charlie McAvoy going at each other, slashing and roughing, landing both in the box; J.T. Compher got into it with goalie Jeremy Swayman during a net-front battle. The Bruins scored in the final minute of the first period, with Trent Frederic finding the net just before colliding with Lyon.
Two many
Lyon, who just returned Dec. 27 after being out four games with an upper-body injury, needed attention from the trainer after colliding with Frederic, but was able to stay in the game. Lyon didn’t look in form, though, when Frederic scored again at 4:25 of the second period; Frederic just flung the puck at the net, and Lyon saw it coming, but wasn’t able to get in front of it. At the other end the Wings had no easy time; when Walman tried a slap shot, Swayman caught the puck and denied a rebound attempt.
Take a shot
Walman ultimately broke through with his fourth shot on net, firing a wrist shot from the left circle to pull the Wings within a goal at 13:01 of the second period. Chiarot was next up to take a shot that made a difference; from near the slot, but with traffic at Boston’s net. The Bruins challenged goaltender interference as Michael Rasmussen had battled Brando Carlo by the crease. Losing the challenge left the Bruins to kill a penalty, but it was nullified after 1:25 when Daniel Sprong was nabbed for tripping. Lyon capped the period with a nifty high glove save on on a David Pastrnak shot.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.
Read more on the Detroit Red Wings and sign up for our Red Wings newsletter.
