DETROIT (AP) — Zach Trotman’s first career NHL goal couldn’t have come at a better time for the surging Boston Bruins.
He scored with 2:08 remaining to lift the Bruins to a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday night. Trotman’s wrist shot got between Petr Mrazek’s glove and jersey, and trickled past the goal line to give Boston its fourth straight win.
“I was just trying to shoot it on his pad and get a rebound and it went in,” said Trotman, who was recalled from Providence of the AHL on March 22. “I was ecstatic. It was surreal. I didn’t believe it at first.”
Carl Soderberg and Loui Eriksson also had goals for the Bruins, who got 35 saves from Tuukka Rask.
Luke Glendening and Stephen Weiss had goals, and Mrazek made 22 saves for Detroit, which fell into a third-place tie with the Bruins in the Atlantic Division after its third straight loss.
The goalie rued the game-winning goal.
“I would love to have the last one back,” Mrazek said. “I thought I had it and it just went through. There was a huge two points on the line and we didn’t get any.”
Boston, which won the season series 3-1-1, will have the tiebreaker if the teams remain even. With four games remaining, the Bruins have a chance to secure home-ice advantage for a first-round Eastern Conference playoff series.
Detroit’s Drew Miller started 48 hours after needing more than 50 stitches to close a pair of deep cuts near his left eye. He was injured when he collided with Mark Stone’s skate during Tuesday’s shootout loss to Ottawa.
Miller, who normally wears a visor, sported a full-face shield Thursday.
Glendening opened the scoring midway through the second when he flicked a rebound over Rask’s right shoulder. Weiss made it 2-0 with a power-play goal 2:52 into the third.
The Bruins answered quickly. Soderberg had a power-play goal of his own 5:05 into the period when he knocked home Reilly Smith’s rebound.
Another rebound off a shot by Smith led to Eriksson’s tying goal less than
two minutes later.
“I thought after they scored that second goal, something clicked and we started playing with great urgency,” Bruins coach Claude Julien said.
His penalty killers also played a big role. Detroit had the man-advantage five times, but got only Weiss’ goal among seven shots.
Boston got a bit of help shortly before Trotman’s winner: Darren Helm broke his stick seconds before the go-ahead goal and left Detroit a man short.
The Red Wings were hoping for a better April after earning just 12 of a possible 30 points in March, but coach Mike Babcock didn’t appear upset.
“We did a lot of good things and in the end Rask kept us from winning the game,” he said. “There’s not a whole lot of moral victories at this time of the year but I thought it was good.”
NOTES: Detroit center Pavel Datsyuk missed his third straight game with a lower-body injury. Fellow forwards Erik Cole and Tomas Jurco were scratched with upper-body injuries. . Boston defensemen Kevan Miller (shoulder) and Dougie Hamilton (undisclosed) did not play. . Red Wings center Riley Sheahan was back in the lineup after missing three games with an upper-body injury. . Trotman played collegiate hockey at Lake Superior State in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. . The Red Wings’ lone win against Boston came in their season opener.
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