Bruins score four in first period, defeat Red Wings

BOSTON --David Krejci and Brad Marchand each scored two goals, and the Boston Bruins defeated the Detroit Red Wings 6-1 at TD Garden on Wednesday.
Krejci also had an assist to finish with a season-high three points. Drew Stafford and David Pastrnak each had a goal and an assist, and Zdeno Chara had two assists for the Bruins (35-26-6), who are 9-3-0 under coach Bruce Cassidy and haven't lost two in a row since he took over on Feb. 7.

The Bruins lost 4-2 at the Ottawa Senators on Monday.
WATCH: All Red Wings vs. Bruins highlights
"We've talked about trying not to let those things bother you, bad shifts, bad periods," Cassidy said. "Now it's easier said than done, but if you start building that in that we're not going to harp on what happened yesterday, we're going to learn from it."
Tuukka Rask made 26 saves for the Bruins, who are four points behind the Ottawa Senators for second place and four ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs for third place in the Atlantic Division. The Senators and Maple Leafs each have two games in hand.

Goaltender Jared Coreau started for the Red Wings (25-29-11) for the first time since Feb. 12 and allowed three goals on eight shots in his fifth straight loss. Peter Mrazek entered the game 13:32 into the first period and made 18 saves for Detroit, which lost its fourth straight (0-3-1).
"It wasn't on the goalie at all," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "I needed to slow the game down a bit. Once Pete went in, I thought Pete was playing good. I didn't think it was fair to put Jared back in at that point. But Jared had nothing to do with it. It was unfortunate for him. I told him that when we pulled him."
Krejci scored on a breakaway at 11:07 for a 1-0 Boston lead, and Marchand made it 2-0 at 12:08.

Stafford found a loose puck in the slot and beat Coreau with a wrist shot at 13:32 for a 3-0 lead, and the Red Wings sent in Mrazek.
It was Stafford's first goal for Boston since he was acquired in a trade with the Winnipeg Jets on March 1 for a conditional sixth-round pick in the 2018 NHL Draft.
Krejci's second goal came after he stripped Detroit forward Dylan Larkin in the slot with 14.9 seconds remaining to give Boston 4-0 lead.

Marchand scored at 16:55 of the second period for a 5-0 lead before Niklas Kronwall scored for the Red Wings at 17:35 to make it 5-1.
Pastrnak scored 34 seconds into the third period to give the Bruins a 6-1 lead.

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Goal of the game

Marchand knocked the puck away from Red Wings forward Anthony Mantha near the Boston blue line and skated into the zone. Colin Miller hit Marchand in stride and Marchand beat Mrazek through the five-hole on a breakaway.

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Save of the game

After an end-to-end rush, Red Wings forward Andreas Athanasiou tried to beat Rask with a backhand shot in tight at 13:47 of the second period, but Rask kept the puck out with his left pad.

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Highlight of the game

Pastrnak beat Mrazek from the high slot with a wrist shot that broke the forward's stick. Pastrnak celebrated by throwing it into the stands.

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Unsung performance of the game

On a night when the Bruins scored six goals the defense corps could have been overlooked. But their defensemen helped hold the Red Wings without a shot on net for 11:50 until Frans Nielsen's shot 1:07 into the second period. The Bruins defensemen blocked nine shots, led by Chara's three, and they were key in killing all three power plays.

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They said it

"I thought he was great. He was making plays, good on the puck, strong on the forecheck. So he was a good thing for our line." -- David Krejci on having Drew Stafford on left wing with David Pastrnak on right wing

"It's no excuse whatsoever. There is no way you can look at that game and say, 'Well, the younger guys, you know, whatever.' It starts with the older guys, it starts with myself. I need to be a lot better than that. It really is as simple as that." -- Detroit defenseman Niklas Kronwall

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Need to know

The Bruins have won six of their past seven home games (6-1-0). ... Pastrnak has a career-high seven-game point streak, with nine points (two goals, seven assists) in that span. ... Marchand has 70 points, the first Bruins player to reach that total since Marc Savard had 88 in 2008-09. ... The Red Wings called up goaltender Jimmy Howard from Grand Rapids of the American Hockey League on Wednesday. ... Bruins forward Tim Schaller sustained a lower-body injury in the first period.

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What's next

Red Wings: Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday (7:30 p.m. ET; NHL Network, SN, FS-D, CSN-CH, NHL.TV)
Bruins: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday (1 p.m. ET; NHL Network, SN360, NESN, CSN-PH, NHL.TV)