On paper, the Boston Bruins’ offense was supposed to be anemic against the Detroit Red Wings, especially with Patrice Bergeron and Milan Lucic on the shelf. That wasn’t the case on Monday night; Boston instead dominated Detroit 5-2.
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As CSNNE.com’s Joe Haggerty points out, the Bruins scored three goals in the first period to take a 3-1 lead against Detroit while firing a season-high 19 shots on goal in one period.
First time Bruins have scored 3 first period goals this season & a season high in shot (19) in a period. Milan & Patrice who? #BruinsTalk
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) December 30, 2014
The overall effort seems especially high in the early stages:
Where has this team been? Chris Kelly wins a battle with Brendan Smith for loose puck behind net, feeds Carl Soderberg in front. 3-1 Bruins
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) December 30, 2014
Here’s video of the goals from the opening frame:
Detroit got back into it at times, yet Boston played a masterful game overall. The Bruins generated a season-high 45 shots on goal overall while limiting the Red Wings to 30 of their own.
Loui Eriksson continued his strong play of late with two assists. Carl Soderberg topped all point producers with a goal and two assists. Brad Marchand didn’t score a point, but he caused problems pretty regularly without his partner-in-crime Bergeron.
The Bruins have a long way to go to resemble the team many expected to top the Eastern Conference - or at least their division - but they at least looked hungry again tonight.
Claude Julien:"We need to make a decision here if we want to be in the playoffs, and play that way. We did that tonight" #BruinsTalk
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) December 30, 2014
