DETROIT -- If there was any doubt about goaltender Tuukka Rask's importance to the Boston Bruins, there is no doubt now.

Rask made 23 saves for his 31st career shutout in the Boston Bruins' 1-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena.

Boston snapped a three-game losing streak and ended Detroit's six-game winning streak.

It was Rask's first game back after missing three with a lower-body injury. The Bruins lost all three games while allowing 14 goals in Rask's absence.

"It is easier to play when Tuukka is in the net, because he keeps everything so calm on the ice," Boston coach Claude Julien said. "That's a huge advantage for the other players."

Even though he was on the ice, there are doubts that Rask is totally healthy.

"I felt great," Rask said. "This isn't going to be a problem going forward. I wasn't sore at all."

Forward Tim Schaller scored for the Bruins (4-4-0).

"I thought that was an outstanding team game," Julien said. "Our guys did a great job of forechecking to take away their speed."

Goalie Jimmy Howard stopped 35 shots for the Red Wings (6-3-0), who lost their first game of the season at home.

"We couldn't really get anything going, no momentum at all," Detroit left winger and captain Henrik Zetterberg said. "Howie (Howard) was good, PK was good. Then I thought the longer the game went, the more battles we won, more chances we got. But we got to be better."

Schaller got the game's only goal with 2:11 left in the second period. His shot from along the goal line in the right corner went in off of Howard's left hip.

"On the goal, I thought I took everything away on the short side and somehow me managed to bank it in -- off the post, off me and in," Howard said.

It was Schaller's first goal of the season.

"He plays hard and he makes things happen," Julien said about Schaller.

The play was the result of a turnover by Red Wings forward Dylan Larkin in the high slot.

Detroit coach Jeff Blashill challenged that the play was offside going into the Detroit zone, but the play was determined to be onside by the NHL Situation Room.

"They were hungrier than us all over the ice, outside of Zetterberg's line," Blashill said. "I thought Zetterberg's line had lots of compete in them, as a result they were the only ones to have any zone time. Maybe a player here and a player there, but as a group they out-competed us. I thought they were hungrier than us. We should have known better than that. In the end it wasn't good enough."

The goal also ended Howard's shutout streak at 156:02. He had last surrendered a goal on Oct. 19.

Howard stopped Bruins center Austin Czarnik on a one-timer from the bottom of the left circle 7:27 into the second period.

Rask made an athletic save on a tip by Detroit left winger Tomas Tatar off a shot by defenseman Jonathan Ericsson at about the eight-minute mark of the middle period.

Howard denied Schaller on a shorthanded breakaway attempt with 8:38 left in the second.

"I thought I had him beat, but it went off the knob of his stick," Schaller said. "When I got back to the bench, I asked Mac (teammate defenseman Adam McQuaid) if that was a great save or luck, and he said that's just luck. I guess fourth-line guys don't get the nice goals, but the greasy ones count the same."

Detroit forward Steve Ott speared Boston defenseman and captain Zdeno Chara in the groin/hip area shortly after the opening face-off but neither referee saw it. Ott and Chara got into a scrum and both received unsportsmanlike conduct minors 43 seconds into the game.

NOTE: Detroit LW Thomas Vanek missed his second game with a lower-body injury. ... Bruins F David Pastrnak served the first game of a two-game suspension because of an illegal check to the head of New York Rangers D Dan Girardi Wednesday night. ... Detroit failed to get a seventh consecutive win. The last time the Red Wings won seven straight was Jan. 12-23, 2012. ... The Bruins sent G Malcolm Subban to their American Hockey League affiliate in Providence. ... It was the first of back-to-back home games for Detroit. The Red Wings host the Florida Panthers Sunday.