Detroit, MI (SportsNetwork.com) - Zach Trotman's first NHL goal capped a furious Boston comeback as the Bruins gained ground in the playoff race with a 3-2 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday.
Carl Soderberg tallied a goal and an assist and Loui Eriksson also lit the lamp for the Bruins, who moved into a tie with the Red Wings for third place in the Atlantic Division with 93 points. Detroit, however, has a game in hand.
"I was just ecstatic. I couldn't believe it at first," Trotman said of his deciding marker. "You dream about that moment for a long time."
Tuukka Rask made 35 saves in Boston's fourth straight win.
Stephen Weiss supplied a goal and a helper, Luke Glendening scored and Petr Mrazek gave up three goals on 25 shots for the Red Wings, who were without forwards Pavel Datsyuk, Erik Cole and Tomas Jurco in the team's third loss in a row.
"I would've liked to had that last one back," said Mrazek. "We have zero points. That's the way we didn't want it today and that's how it is."
Less than three minutes into the final stanza, Weiss made it a 2-0 game by whacking a loose puck in the crease on the man advantage, but Boston quickly took control of the game.
Soderberg countered with a power-play goal of his own, lifting a shot over a diving Mrazek less than three minutes later, and Eriksson tied the game at 7:19 by tapping the puck into an open net after Reilly Smith drew Mrazek out of the crease.
Trotman skated into the right circle and fired a shot on net that squeaked through Mrazek's pads with 2:08 remaining. The Red Wings pulled Mrazek but were unable to force overtime due to a bench minor.
After a scoreless first period, Mrazek came up big on the penalty kill as he stopped Eriksson, who swept in from the left circle and had his backhander denied in tight five minutes into the middle stanza.
Glendening opened the scoring 9:19 into the second as he deflected Danny DeKeyser's blast from the point wide. The puck caromed off the end boards and Glendening was there to backhand it into the net.
Game Notes
Boston has won its last four games against the Detroit ... Bruins forward Brett Connolly played for the first time since he was acquired from Tampa Bay at the trade deadline and finished with two assists ... Smith notched his 100th career point with a pair of assists.
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