Game 3 Breakdown: Bruins take control early, cruise to win

Bruins goaltender Tuukka Rask has been a dominating presence between the pipes for the Bruins this series. (Photo by Jen Hefner/MiHockey)

 

By Michael Caples –

DETROIT – It wasn’t the start to Detroit portion of the series that the Red Wings were hoping for, that’s for sure.

The Bruins capitalized on two mistakes from the Red Wings in the first period Tuesday, and they ended up cruising to a 3-0 win to regain control of their first-round series.

Dougie Hamilton scored during a power play that was a result of a too-many-men call on the Red Wings just nine minutes into the contest, then Jordan Caron scored on an odd-man rush that resulted from a bad line change from the home team.

Patrice Bergeron added an empty-netter with just under two minutes to go in regulation, as the Red Wings were forced to pull Jimmy Howard at around the 17:00 mark.

Game changing moment

The Bruins may have scored two goals in the first period, but a two-goal spread wasn’t exactly an insurmountable lead. Detroit had a chance to pull within one when they found themselves on a five-on-three power play for 35 seconds halfway through the second period. While they had chances, the Wings couldn’t find the back of the net in either the five-on-three or the five-on-four afterwards. Scoring opportunities continued for the next few minutes, but the zero on the scoreboard seemed a lot bigger after the failed opportunity on the two-man advantage.

Mitten watch

It was a quiet night on the scoresheet for Michigan’s representatives on either side. Justin Abdelkader picked up an early penalty in a scuffle with Jordan Caron – the only time a Michigan name showed up on the game summary scoresheet. Danny DeKeyser played for 24:35 in the contest, while Torey Krug skated for 17:15 and finished +1. Justin Florek was limited to 10:31 worth of ice time, while Luke Glendening played for 12:25.

MVP

How can you pick anybody other than Tuukka Rask. The Bruins’ goaltender, who is likely to win the Vezina Trophy in June, slammed the door on the Red Wings once again. Rask stopped all 23 shots he faced Tuesday night, and while he got a little help from his friends – the posts – he’s one of the biggest reasons why the Bruins are now up 2-1 in this series.

Between the pipes

Like I just noted, the Bruins’ netminder was impenetrable.

Jimmy Howard, meanwhile, gave up two goals – the difference in the contest. While I’m sure he wants the first goal – a shortside snipe from Dougie Hamilton – back, you can’t fault him for the second. The Wings’ netminder stopped the initial try, and nobody was there to keep Jordan Caron from firing in the rebound. From there, Howard stopped 22 shots over the final 40 minutes of play, waiting for his team to give him some help at the other end of the ice.

The opposition

The scoreboard doesn’t really do the game justice – Boston controlled the play for almost the full 60 minutes. Howard kept the Red Wings in the game for as long as he could, but Detroit has now gone two full games without a goal. The Bruins have dominated in all aspects of the game, and showed on Tuesday that playing away from TD Garden doesn’t present any problems.

For the stats guys

The Red Wings were held scoreless on three power-play chances, including 35 seconds worth of five-on-three time. That means they are now 0-9 in the series on the power play, and they are the only team to have played in three postseason games this spring and not score on the man-advantage (Los Angeles has yet to score on the power play, but they are just starting their third game with the Sharks). Meanwhile, the Bruins’ power play is clicking on 37.5 percent of their chances, second in the NHL to only the Flyers.

Next up

Thursday night’s game – the last one before the series shifts back to Boston – will be an 8 p.m. puck drop. If the Wings win, the series is even once again. If they lose, they face the possibility of their season coming to an end in Game 5.