Vatrano Scores 2nd Of Game In OT, Bruins Beat Red Wings 3-2
DETROIT (AP) — The Boston Bruins are steadily gaining ground in their division.
Frank Vatrano scored his second goal of the game at 3:32 of overtime, giving the Bruins a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night.
Vatrano deflected Colin Miller's shot past Petr Mrazek for his third NHL goal.
"Just put my stick down on the ice and it went in," Vatrano said. "It feels great. Really a big win for us."
Miller scored the tying goal with 1:44 left in the third period, and Boston won its sixth straight against the Red Wings.
"Loui (Eriksson) did a nice job of leaving it for me so I could walk into it and I just tried to go back left with it," Miller said.
Mrazek made 19 saves in the loss.
"I didn't see the puck very well," he said of the tying goal. "I didn't see the guy coming for the one-timer, then I saw him on the last second and I just tried to be big in the net and get out of the blue paint. But it was a nice shot by him."
Boston has won four straight games and moved past Detroit in the Atlantic Division with 25 points in 21 games. Detroit also has 25 points but has played one more game.
Vatrano opened the scoring at 7:11 of the first period when his shot from the left point beat Mrazek.
At 2:26 of the second, Pavel Datsyuk eluded Boston defenseman Torey Krug and shot the puck into the top left corner of the net. It was Datsyuk's 300th career goal.
"It's a big milestone for me and I'm happy to help my team with lots of good teammates," Datsyuk said.
He became the sixth player in Detroit history with at least 300 goals, 500 assists and 800 points. The others are Henrik Zetterberg, Sergei Fedorov, Steve Yzerman, Alex Delvecchio and Gordie Howe.
Tomas Tatar gave Detroit a 2-1 lead at 14:53 of the second when he drove to the net and beat former teammate Jonas Gustavsson stick side.
The Red Wings carried much of the play in the second period, outshooting the Bruins 11-4.
"In a lot of ways, it was our best game of the year," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. "We've got to find a way to score the third goal there."
It was Tatar's seventh goal of the season, tying him for second on the team with Gustav Nyquist. Red Wings rookie Dylan Larkin leads the club with eight.
Larkin had scored a goal in four straight games, but his streak came to an end.
Gustavsson, who spent the last three seasons with the Red Wings, made 32 saves to improve to 5-1-0.
"They came out and had a lot of pressure at the net," Gustavsson said. "But what's important is we found a way to come back."
Despite the positive outcome, Bruins coach Claude Julien wasn't too thrilled.
"The first two periods it was really frustrating watching our team play," Julien said. "Our young guys came through tonight and we found a way to win, but we've got to be better."
NOTES: Landon Ferraro, claimed by the Bruins on waivers Sunday, played against his former team for the first time. Ferraro was drafted by the Red Wings in the second round in 2009, 32nd overall. Ferraro assisted on Boston's goal in the first period, his second straight game with an assist. ... Boston's Chris Kelly missed his 10th straight game with a broken left leg and David Pastrnak missed his 11th game with an injured foot. ... The Bruins have scored a goal in the first period in 14 of their last 16 games.
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