Garnet Hathaway scored with 6:06 remaining in regulation as the Boston Bruins overcame an early two-goal deficit to down the visiting Detroit Red Wings 3-2 on Saturday afternoon, becoming the fastest team to 50 wins in NHL history.
Hathaway’s first goal as a Bruin capped a strong overall performance by Boston’s fourth line, as he drove hard to the net and buried the rebound of an A.J. Greer shot that popped out to the left crease.
Hampus Lindholm and Patrice Bergeron also scored for Boston, which bounced back from a Thursday loss that broke a 10-game win streak.
Linus Ullmark made 29 saves, including 15 in the third period.
The Bruins reached 50 wins in 64 games, bettering the mark of 66 shared by the 1995-96 Red Wings and 2018-19 Tampa Bay Lightning.
Boston had a 38-31 shots advantage that was vaulted by an 18-2 second period. Another 25 attempts were blocked by the Detroit defense.
The Bruins’ dominant second was highlighted by two goals in 1:28.
Andrew Copp and Alex Chiasson scored for the Red Wings, who fell to 1-6-1 in their last eight games.
Magnus Hellberg stopped 35 Boston shots.
The Red Wings scored a shorthanded goal and a power-play goal in the opening five minutes of a game for only the second time in franchise history.
At the 1:36 mark, Copp grabbed a loose puck at Detroit’s defensive blue line and rushed up the right wing to let a shorthanded wrist shot go from the top of the right circle.
Chiasson made it 2-0 on the power play at 4:32, redirecting David Perron’s pass at the top of the crease. Dylan Larkin started a tic-tac-toe sequence with Perron, leading to the Boston University product’s first goal as a Red Wing after he was signed out of the American Hockey League last week.
Detroit had a 13-5 shots advantage in the opening 10:02.
At 12:43 of the second period, Boston’s 26th shot was the first to find the back of the net. Charlie Coyle slipped the puck up to the high slot, where Lindholm sent a wrister through traffic, off the post and in.
The visitors looked to take a 3-1 lead less than a minute later as Dylan Larkin scored but not before committing a penalty on the same shift. The swing led to Boston tying the game when Bergeron redirected Jake DeBrusk’s shot from the left side.
The score remained tied halfway through the third after Ullmark made a huge glove stop on Chiasson’s point-blank shot.
–Field Level Media
