The Bruins carried much of the play on Sunday, but the Red Wings ended Boston’s winning streak at six games. Jonathan Bernier and Andreas Athanasiou propelled Detroit to an upset 3-1 win on Sunday.
Busy weekend for Rask
Tuukka Rask earned a win as the Bruins beat the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday. Rask didn’t expect to play again on Sunday, but Jaroslav Halak had a setback with an upper-body injury. Sunday ended up being bumpy at times for Rask, including allowing a shaky goal by Brendan Perlini. Sometimes the bumps were literal, such as this puck hitting Rask in the head:
Rask stayed in the game, which is generally a good sign. Moments like those cement it being a long weekend for the veteran goalie, though.
Bernier the difference in Bruins winning streak ending
You could argue that Jonathan Bernier faced a weekend’s worth of work on Sunday. The Bruins generated 26 shots on goal through the first two periods, yet Bernier stood strong for the first 40 minutes. Boston couldn’t beat Bernier until Torey Krug broke through 33 seconds into the third.
[NHL ON NBCSN: Ovechkin’s chase for 700th goal continues Monday]
Bernier was already enjoying sneaky-strong work in February (1-2-0 in previous three games, but with a .935 save percentage), and this ranks as one of his best efforts of 2019-20. He ended up stopping 39 out of 40 shots overall.
Speaking of breaking through, the Red Wings enjoyed serious moments of relief.
That Perlini goal was his first goal with Detroit, and just his third with the Red Wings -- in his 30th game. It’s difficult to believe that a fairly talented player like Perlini (12th pick of 2014) would need that much time to finally score, but it’s been that type of season for Perlini -- and the Red Wings.
Andreas Athanasiou also ended a slump by connecting on the power play, scoring his first goal since Nov. 16. Athanasiou then iced the game with an empty-netter. (Fittingly, he scored two goals on Nov. 16, too.)
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James O’Brien is a writer for Pro Hockey Talk on NBC Sports. Drop him a line at phtblog@nbcsports.com or follow him on Twitter @cyclelikesedins.