The Bruins’ bad start was too much for their strong finish to overcome.
In a messy, disjointed game, Boston fell behind early and lost the second game of their home-and-home with the Red Wings, 5-4, on Tuesday at Little Caesers Arena.
Boston (15-13) hosts former coach Jim Montgomery and the St. Louis Blues at TD Garden on Thursday
The Bruins fell behind 3-0 and trailed 5-3 late as Jeremy Swayman struggled in his first December game after a terrific November. He allowed five goals on 23 shots before giving way to Joonas Korpisalo.
Still, Alex Steeves’ second goal of the game brought Boston within one at 5-4 with 11.2 seconds left, but they never got another shot off.
Jonathan Aspirot scored his first NHL goal for the Bruins and Marat Khustnudinov also scored in the third period.
The Bruins finished the game with a roomy bench. Nikita Zadorov and Mark Kastelic each left after receiving misconduct penalties, while Michael Callahan was sidelined with an injury.