In Detroit, Andreas Athanasiou struck twice in the third period after the Boston Bruins had pulled even at 1-1 on Sunday afternoon.
Those two strikes were enough for the Red Wings to end the latest skid in a 3-1 victory.
“This is obviously a good test for us,” Athanasiou said. “This shows everyone in the room that if we compete, we can beat anyone.”
Jonathan Bernier made 39 saves in the win.
Torey Krughad the only goal for the Bruins.
“I thought we skated really well, and we had a lot of chances, but we didn’t put them away,” Krug said. “We didn’t take advantage on our power play (0-for-4) and they got a goal on theirs, and that was the difference.”
Bernier has been one of the lonely bright spots for the Red Wings.
“When you have a goalie playing like that, he does two things for the team,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. “First, he gives you a lot of confidence, but the big thing is he keeps you in a lot of games without losing your momentum.”
Brendan Perlini opened the scoring with a second period goal for Detroit.
Bernier was helped by his defense blocking shots throughout the match.
“It was certainly a point of emphasis tonight. It is always important to block shots, but especially against a team that shoots the puck from the point like Boston does,” Blashill said. “We were really committed to blocking shots early in the season, and then we had a stretch where we got away from it for a while. We need to be ultra-committed to doing that every night.”
[WATCH: All Bruins vs. Red Wings highlights]
Tuukka Rask made 17 saves in the loss.
“It’s a tough loss for sure, it felt like the puck was right around the net a lot, but we were never in the right spot,” David Pastrnak said. “We needed the power play to be better.”
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