DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings are suddenly money in the shootout. And they are steadily inching their way back in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Thomas Vanek and Frans Nielsen scored in the skills competition tiebreaker to offset a goal by Brad Marchand and give the Red Wings a 6-5 victory over the Boston Bruins on Wednesday.

Detroit, which won three games in a row for the first time since October, improved to 6-0 in the shootout this season, rallying from 4-1 and 5-4 deficits for the victory. The Wings also moved to within four points of a playoff spot.

Last season, the Wings were 27th overall in the NHL in shootout, going 2-5.

"We've got confidence because we've done a good job on them," said Detroit coach Jeff Blashill, who said acquiring two proven shootout veterans in the offseason has made a significant difference.

"When you add Vanek, when you add Nielsen, they're really good in shootouts."

Nielsen is 44 for 86 lifetime in the shootout. That's tied with Arizona's Radim Vrbata for the all-time lead in career shootout goals. Nielsen's 19 shootout-deciding goals are an NHL record. Vanek is 4 for 4 this season. He's the only player this season to take at least four shots and still be 100 percent.

Gus Nyquist redirected Dylan Larkin's cross-crease feed past Boston goalie Tuukka Rask with 3:04 left in regulation to send the game to overtime as Detroit rallied from a 4-1 first-period deficit for the win.

"We collapsed," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "That was pretty obvious. We didn't get the save when we needed it, we made some mistakes that gave them chances. A lot of things went wrong tonight after we took that lead.

"That's why I'm at a loss for words right now."

Early on, the Bruins looked to be on their way to a solid victory.

Only 44 seconds after the opening faceoff and on only their second shot, Boston forward Frank Vatrano pounded his own rebound past Detroit goalie Jared Coreau to open the scoring.

The Bruins made it 2-0 at 2:27 of the opening period when Brandon Carlo scored a shorthanded goal. Just past the midway mark of the opening frame, Vatrano scored his second of the night during a Boston power play. He rifled a low wrist shot home to chase Coreau, who gave way to Petr Mrazek after surrendering three goals on eight shots.

"An opponent we're chasing too, so obviously not the start we wanted," Nyquist said of Detroit's dreadful beginning. "It's not (Coreau's) fault at all. We were real bad at the start.

Larkin got Detroit on the board late in the first period when he snapped a wrist shot past Rask on the stick side. The joy was short-lived because Patrice Bergeron upped the Bruins advantage to 4-1 in the final minute of the period with Boston's second power-play goal.

Detroit defenseman Xavier Ouellet drove a point shot past a screened Rask to pull Detroit to within 4-2 at 4:21 of the second period. Six seconds from the halfway mark of the period, Andreas Athanasiou converted a feed from Vanek for his career-high 10th goal of the season and fifth in seven games. The assist extended Vanek's point streak to seven contests.

Tomas Tatar tied the score 4-4 at 14:46 of the second period, slipping a backhander through Rask's pads on a breakaway. But only 17 seconds later, Adam McQuaid's point shot deflected off the stick of Detroit defenseman Jonathan Ericsson and bounced past Mrazek to restore Boston's lead. It was McQuaid's first goal in 70 games.

The Bruins, who have played an Eastern Conference-high 48 games, lost three of their last four.

"In the first period, we were playing really well on both ends, but we just stopped playing," Bergeron said. "They got a couple goals and put us on our heels and we didn't respond."

NOTES: Detroit (53 percent) and Boston (52.9 percent) are 1-2 in the Eastern Conference and 3-4 in the NHL in faceoff proficiency. ... A first-period assist by Bruins F Ryan Spooner was his 100th NHL point. ... Detroit expects F Darren Helm (shoulder) could be ready to return to action by this weekend. Helm has missed 28 games since being injured Nov. 15. ... The Wings wore their white road jerseys for the game, with the Bruins donning their black home uniforms. ... Bruins D Torey Krug played for Detroit coach Jeff Blashill on the 2008-09 USHL Clark Cup champion Indiana Ice. ... Detroit scratches were D Ryan Sproul, C Steve Ott and RW Tomas Jurco. ... Boston scratches were D Colin Miller, D Kevan Miller and RW Jimmy Hayes.