By Nick Barnowski –
Entering the third period, it seemed as if the team that scored first would win the game.
As it turned out, that feeling was spot-on.
Pavel Datsyuk fired a shot past Tuukka Rask with three minutes left in the game to give the Detroit Red Wings a 1-0 lead that they would never relinquish, taking Game 1 of their first-round series against the Boston Bruins.
The “Magic Man” pulled off a magnificent move that led to his goal – the only one of the game – by corralling a Johan Franzen pass in the neutral zone by reaching backwards and pulling the puck through his legs. He then skated into the Boston zone and fired a wrist shot that beat Rask on the glove side.
It was the 24th and last shot on goal of the game for the Red Wings, but certainly the most important.
Along with Datsyuk, Jimmy Howard led the way for club, stopping 25 shots en route to his third career playoff shutout. Howard made multiple saves that kept Detroit tied with Boston throughout the game.
The Bruins – Presidents’ Trophy winners and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference – got off to a hot start, utilizing their size and strength to their advantage early on. The Red Wings weathered the physical storm, though, and the first period saw back-and-forth action throughout.
The Wings were unable to convert on their first power-play opportunity, which came at the expense of Brendan Smith, who was boarded from behind by Zdeno Chara.
Both teams kept the pressure up in the second period, as Datsyuk had his first solid scoring chance of the night early into the period. Smith found Datsyuk from the behind the net with a pass that the Russian forward fired just wide. Seconds after, a Justin Abdelkader pass was redirected by Franzen in front of Rask that was pushed aside.
Detroit’s pressure intensified in the middle of the second, as the offense forced Rask, a potential Vezina Trophy winner, to make multiple crucial saves.
In the third, Brad Marchand took advantage of a Smith turnover and barreled in on Howard, but the Red Wing netminder made a nice pad save to begin the period.
The Bruins saw their only power play of the game with 14:43 left in the third and had multiple chances but were not able to put one past Howard.
Moments before Datsyuk’s goal, Milan Lucic’s redirection of a Jarome Iginla shot was turned away by Howard. It was one of Boston’s best scoring chances of the night.
Rask made 23 saves for the Bruins.
Game 2 will take place on Sunday afternoon at the TD Garden in Boston.