Red Wings top Bruins, end nine-game losing streak at TD Garden

BOSTON --Jimmy Howard made 38 saves, Gustav Nyquist had a goal and two assists, and the Detroit Red Wings won on the road against the Boston Bruins for the first time in five years, 4-2 at TD Garden on Saturday.

The Red Wings (12-11-3) had lost their past nine regular-season games here since their last win Oct. 14, 2013 (0-7-2).
"It's been a tough place for us to play lately and come up with points, so for us to come in here and get two points in regulation, that's huge for us and it's a big confidence boost," Howard said.
WATCH: [All Red Wings vs. Bruins highlights]
Frans Nielsen put Detroit ahead 3-2 at 11:53 of the third period on a tip from the left circle of a Danny DeKeyser shot from the left point for his first goal of the season. Nielsen had not scored since March 27, a span of 27 games.
"We've been winning lately, so then you don't feel it as much," Nielsen said. "And as long as the team is doing well, you're kind of like 'OK, go out and do my job.' But of course you always want to get that one and hopefully they're going to come a little easier now."
Nyquist scored an empty-net goal at 19:33 for the 4-2 final.
Tyler Bertuzzi and Dylan Larkin also scored for Detroit, which has won its past two games and has at least a point in five of seven (4-2-1).

David Backes and Ryan Donato scored, and Tuukka Rask made 23 saves for the Bruins (14-8-4), who lost at home for the first time in five games.
"I don't think I could describe it in one word, to be honest with you," Boston coach Bruce Cassidy said. "There was some bad and some pushback and then we got ourselves back in the game and then failed to manage the puck in the third."
Backes scored at 19:56 of the first period to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead. He took a backhand shot from the left wall and it deflected off Detroit defenseman Dennis Cholowski's stick into the net.

Bertuzzi tied it 1-1 at 5:45 of the second period. Michael Rasmussen cut across the slot and tipped Mike Green's shot off Bertuzzi's body and into the net.
The Red Wings nearly took the lead when Bertuzzi scored on a rebound at 10:24. But the Bruins challenged the play, and the goal was disallowed because Thomas Vanek interfered with Rask.
Larkin scored a power-play goal at 17:56 to put Detroit ahead 2-1. Justin Abdelkader's shot from the right side of the slot hit the outside of the net and deflected to Larkin for a backhanded flip-in.
The Bruins outshot the Red Wings 20-7 in the third period.
Donato's power-play goal at 5:31 tied it 2-2. David Pastrnak gained the offensive zone and made a move to the middle before passing to Donato for a wrist shot from the high slot that beat Howard high to the stick side.

"I thought [the second-period physicality] kind of woke us up a bit," Boston forward Brad Marchand said of the 10 penalties. "We dominated the third period. It was tough that they got a bounce go their way, we had a few go against us."

They said it

"Yeah, we stayed on top of them all night and I think the biggest thing is we were good in our own zone. We got the puck out on the breakout and we got it deep and just went to work." -- Red Wings forward Tyler Bertuzzi
"We lost some battles along the wall that hurt us in the D-zone as well. But that's going to happen, we've got some young wingers who are learning their way. But there was fire in the group. I don't think we had a lot of luck around their net again tonight. I don't know if whether this is now becoming a thing for us where we can't finish around the net, or it's one of those cycles we're going through." -- Bruins coach Bruce Cassidy

Need to know

Nyquist has five points (two goals, three assists) in a three-game point streak. ... Larkin was 15-for-15 on face-offs. … Bruins forward Colby Cave got his first NHL point, an assist, in his eighth NHL game. … Bruins defenseman Torey Krug has six assists during a five-game point streak. … Pastrnak has five points (two goals, three assists) in his past five games. … Bruins defenseman Brandon Carlo returned after missing nine games with an upper-body injury. He had three shots in 17:39.

What's next

Red Wings: Host the Colorado Avalanche on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; FS-D, ALT, NHL.TV)
Bruins: At the Florida Panthers on Tuesday (7 p.m. ET; SN1, SNE, SNO, SNP, FS-F, NESN, NHL.TV)