The Bruins limp into Detroit to face a similarly desperate Red Wings squad.
Just the Facts
- The Time: 8pm EST
- The Place: Little Caesar’s Arena, Detroit, Michigan
- Place to Watch: ABC, ESPN+
- Place to Listen: 98.5 The Sports hub
- An Opposing Viewpoint: Winging It In Motown
Know Your Enemy
- The Detroit Red Wings are 33-33-6, which is good for 72 points, and 12th in the Eastern Conference.
- Lucas Raymond leads the Wings in points with 72 in 72 games. I think this young man has at long last come into his own.
- Alex DeBrincat is the chief scoring threat for the Red Wings with 33 goals in 72 games.
- This will be the a true special teams battle between a stoppable force and a movable object. Detroits PK is the very dirt worst in the league, and Boston’s power play is 29th.
- The Wings have been going with Lyon and Talbot as their current tandem, though neither have been great. Talbot has a .900 SV% in 35 starts, and Mrazek has a .891 SV% in 38 starts.
Game Preview
The Bruins and the Red Wings have something in common right now; they lose. Badly.
Boston and Detroit are limping into this one with losing streaks; Boston’s is now pretty well-documented as a team completely incapable of scoring unless Pastrnak or Geekie get involved, and Detroit is a team that has the horses to score goals, but their defense and goaltending are so putrid outside of individual efforts that it may just bring them to elimination.
As a result, both squads are well out of a playoff spot. Detroit a little less so by virtue of the Eastern Wildcard once again being a disaster area of squads lining up to get demolished, but they are still, somewhat in the mix; if only because teams around them are just as bad as they are.
As for what to expect? Well…hard to say, really. Both teams need a win to keep their fans from open revolt, and neither one seems particularly poised to do that.
Detroit has been getting off to horrific starts lately, and Boston needs something, anything to make the next 9 games worth it beyond the high first round pick, so maybe denying a divisional foe the opportunity to advance might give you that.
If there’s anything that I can hope for, it’s maybe a Fabian Lysell goal. The Wings are bad enough to probably surrender that. Maybe a couple of Pastrnak goals for fun.
Other than that…just another 60 minutes of post-deadline 2024-25 Bruins hockey, and we’ve got 540 minutes of regulation hockey at bare minimum to get through. Any bright spots in this abyss of depressing play, or maybe even a win, is a gulp of air before getting sucked back underwater.
After all, it’s the doldrums that are more dangerous than any storm.
See you at 8! Let’s go get a win here, boys!