Dec 29, 2023; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Detroit Red Wings left wing Lucas Raymond (23) celebrates his game winning shot during the an overtime period of the game between the Detroit Red Wings and the Nashville Predators at Little Caesars Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brian Bradshaw Sevald-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo
The Detroit Red Wings greeted in the new year by welcoming an old and unpleasant acquaintance.
Detroit Red Wing with consecutive goals, but the Wings kept taking shots until that was resolved. The Bruins, however, played spoiler, winning 5-3 to tie the season series at two games apiece.
The Wings struggled during the end of December, finishing the month with a 3-9-1 record.
The divisional rivals played as if they had been looking forward to seeing one other since their previous meeting on Black Friday in Boston. At every opportunity, there was shoving and shouting; early on, Ben Chiarot took issue to Morgan Geekie’s combat tactics and got into a shoving struggle, which led to a flailing match, which resulted to Chiarot receiving an extra roughing penalty. Later, Alex DeBrincat and Charlie McAvoy clashed, slashing and roughing each other and landing both in the box; J.T. Compher got into it with goaltender Jeremy Swayman during a net-front brawl. Trent Frederic scored for the Bruins in the last minute of the first period, just before colliding with Lyon.
Walman eventually broke through with his fourth attempt on goal, a wrist shot from the left circle that pulled the Wings within a goal at 13:01 of the second period. Chiarot was the next to take a game-changing shot, this time from near the slot but with traffic at Boston’s net. The Bruins challenged goalkeeper interference as Michael Rasmussen battled Brando Carlo by the crease. Losing the challenge allowed the Bruins to kill a penalty, but it was nullified after 1:25 when Daniel Sprong was called for tripping. Lyon finished the period with a spectacular high glove stop on a David Pastrnak attempt.
Helene St. James can be reached at hstjames@freepress.com. Her Twitter handle is @helenestjames. “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” her most recent book, is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Triumph Books. Personalized copies are available through her e-mail.
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