RECAP: Red Wings’ 2-1 victory over Bruins ‘something to build off’

DETROIT -- Every game carries significant implications this late into the season, especially with the race for the Eastern Conference’s second Wild-Card spot looking like it will come down to the wire.

So, if the Detroit Red Wings are to push on and earn a Stanley Cup Playoffs berth, they’ll need more nights like Saturday’s 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins at Little Caesars Arena.

“The games are just getting tighter and tighter towards,” Lucas Raymond said. “You got to be able to lock games down and not just rely on offense. I think today was a good example of that. It’s a big win in a lot of different areas and something to build off coming into the next game.”

Goalie Cam Talbot made 20 saves for the Red Wings (34-33-6; 74 points), who moved within one point of the Montreal Canadiens for the second Wild-Card spot at the time of publishing on DetroitRedWings.com. Netminder Jeremy Swayman also finished with 20 saves, as the Bruins (30-25-9; 69 points) saw their winless streak reach eight straight games.

“I think it started with the confidence [Talbot] gave the rest of the group,” Detroit head coach Todd McLellan said. “He wasn’t bombarded, but when he had to make a real good save -- like that one at the end -- he made it, so that made everybody feel good. And I think the players in front of him were a lot more responsible going south than they were the other night.”

Getting Hockeytown faithful fired up early, Alex DeBrincat and Andrew Peeke dropped the gloves just 1:06 into the first period. Less than two minutes later, Austin Watson landed a few big blows on Jakub Lauko at center ice.

“I’ve seen [DeBrincat] chuck em a couple times now, and he’s got some fire in him,” Raymond said. “Obviously huge -- it fires us up and gets the crowd into it right away -- and then [Watson] stepping as well was awesome. That just goes to show how much guys care and how committed guys are to this. It for sure gave us a boost to start the game.”

The Red Wings ignited the Little Caesars Arena crowd even more by kicking off the scoring at 5:37 of the first period. After intercepting Mason Lohrei’s intended pass to David Pastrnak in the netural zone, Marco Kasper showed off his speed by charging into the left face-off circle before firing a snapshot past Swayman to give Detroit a 1-0 lead.

Kasper, who leads NHL rookies with 13 goals since Jan. 10, has recorded 30 points (15 goals, 15 assists) this season, moving into a tie for fourth-most points by an Austrian player in his inaugural campaign. Leading that list is Michael Grabner (34-18--52 in 2010-11), Thomas Vanek (25-23--48 in 2005-06) and Marco Rossi (21-19--40 in 2023-24).

“He scored a lot on the wing with [captain Dylan Larkin] and [Raymond] when everything was going well,” McLellan said about Kasper. “Now he’s starting to score driving a line through the middle. I thought he and his line tonight, over and above the goal, did a real good job against their most dangerous line.”

Fabian Lysell got a breakaway opportunity with 1:32 left in the opening frame, but Talbot made a great save to keep Detroit’s one-goal lead into the first intermission.

The Red Wings then jumped ahead by a pair 53 seconds into the second period, as Lucas Raymond unloaded a one-timer from the left face-off circle for a power-play goal to make it 2-0. Raymond, who was assisted by Moritz Seider and Patrick Kane, has lit the lamp in back-to-back games, bringing his season total to 26 goals.

Raymond’s goal also gave him an NHL-career high 73 points. And with the primary assist, Seider reached the 40-point mark for the fourth straight season to begin his tenure with the Red Wings (seven goals, 33 assists in 73 games).

Morgan Geekie answered right back for Boston with his own power-play goal, tipping home a pass from Pastrnak to cut the deficit to 2-1 at 2:12 of the second period.

Raymond’s goal proved to be the game-winner. With Swayman pulled late in the third period, Talbot made an incredible glove save on Casey Mittelstadt’s shot from up close in the game’s final seconds to help the Red Wings seal what the 37-year-old netminder described as “a big, emotional win.”

“We have to go on the road now to play a team that’s playing extremely well,” Talbot said. “Just staying on an even keel and playing within ourselves and our game. When we play our game, that’s when we’re successful. When we get away from it, that’s when we’re not. If we continue to play our game and play like that, I like our chances down the stretch.”

NEXT UP: The Red Wings will face the red-hot St. Louis Blues at Enterprise Center on Tuesday night.

POSTGAME QUOTES

McLellan on if he worries about a goalie, who doesn’t have a busy night, going into a late 6-on-5 situation

“Yes and no. I think it depends on what the night feels like, but [Talbot] was locked in pretty good right from the beginning. The group felt confident in him.”

Raymond on grinding out a win on Saturday

“A lot of effort, maybe not the prettiest but it’s about getting it done. We did that tonight with a lot of help from [Talbot], so a big one for us for sure.”

Talbot on his huge save late in the third period

“I was just trying to stay calm, patient and give myself both my edges and no matter where it bounced, I was going to try to throw whatever I could in front of it. Just kind of reached around a big crowd, found it last second and was able to just eat it. It feels good to make that stop, but we locked it down for the last 30 minutes there and didn’t give up a ton. I give our guys a ton of credit for the way we played and learning to win those tight hockey games is huge. We were able to do that tonight.”