Robby Fabbri scored twice on the power play in his Red Wings debut as Detroit stunned the visiting Boston Bruins 4-2 Friday night.
Dylan Larkin and Anthony Mantha also scored, and Tyler Bertuzzi had two assists as the Red Wings snapped a four-game losing streak. Detroit entered the contest mired in a 1-11-1 funk.
David Krejci and Torey Krug tallied for the Bruins, who lost a second straight in regulation for the first time this season.
Jonathan Bernier stopped 26 shots for the Red Wings. Tuukka Rask made 28 saves for the Bruins.
Boston began the night with a league-best plus-20 goal differential, compared to a league-worst minus-33 for Detroit. The Bruins boasted the top power play at 31.4 percent against the Red Wings' league-low penalty kill percentage at 66.7.
And yet, Detroit controlled the contest on special teams. Fabbri, acquired from the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday, was the difference-maker.
Fabbri's first marker put the Red Wings up for good, 2-1, at 11:49 of the first period. He struck again at 1:30 of the second period, each of his one-timers assisted by Bertuzzi as Detroit went up 3-1.
But, sparked by a Brad Marchand fight with Detroit's Filip Hronek midway through the second, Boston began battling back. Krug cut the deficit to one thanks to a power-play score with 2:08 remaining in the period.
David Pastrnak earned an assist on Krug's goal to extend his career-high points streak to 14 games. Pastrnak nearly tied the score on a deflection with 1:07 to go in the second, but Bernier robbed him with the glove to maintain the Red Wings' advantage.
Pastrnak again came close in the third when a deflected shot hit off the crossbar on the power play. With Rask pulled late in the period, Mantha put the game away with an empty-netter at 18:32.
Boston struck first on Krejci's snipe through traffic 1:09 into the game. Larkin knotted the score when his wraparound attempt bounced off Rask's pads, into Patrice Bergeron's skate and toward the net 1:32 later.
--Field Level Media
Boston | Detroit | |
David Krejci 2 | Points | Robby Fabbri 2 |
David Krejci 1 | Goals | Robby Fabbri 2 |
David Krejci 1 | Assists | Jonathan Bernier 2 |
Patrice Bergeron 1 | Power Play Goals | Robby Fabbri 2 |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Tuukka Rask .903 | Save Percentage | Jonathan Bernier .929 |
Tuukka Rask 28 | Saves | Jonathan Bernier 26 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Boston | 28 | 2 | 1-4 | 3-5 | 15 | 41 |
Detroit | 32 | 4 | 2-5 | 3-4 | 13 | 39 |