The Boston Bruins (39-23-8) picked up a 4-2 road win in a crucial matchup against the Detroit Red Wings (38-24-8) on Saturday night at Little Caesars Arena. 

Entering the night, both teams had identical records and occupied both wild card spots in the Eastern Conference. Both teams remain in their spots, but the Bruins are now two points – and two regulation wins – ahead of the Red Wings. 

David Pastrnak (28), Elias Lindholm (13), Nikita Zadorov (2), and Marat Khusnutdinov (14) scored for the Bruins.

Jeremy Swayman made 41 saves on the other end of the ice, including several highlight–reel saves. The win gives him 28 on the season, extending his career-high. 

The win marks the Bruins’ first regulation road win since January 17 in Chicago. 

Charlie McAvoy set the tone with a sizable hit on Alex DeBrincat only 42 seconds in.

The Bruins could not convert on their power play chance in the first period, though the first unit had a chance to capitalize. 

It took the Red Wings 12:20 to record a shot on Jeremy Swayman; they finished the first period with 10 shots. 

Casey Mittelstadt took a penalty with 1:03 to play in the first. The Red Wings scored on the power play, but with no time on the clock. Time expired just a fraction of a second before the puck crossed the line. 

The Bruins found themselves in penalty trouble to start the second period, starting the period shorthanded and taking another penalty only 2:07 after the kill. 

Lucas Raymond scored on the power play to give the Red Wings a 1-0 lead. 

Then the Red Wings found themselves in penalty trouble and gave the Bruins an extended 5-on-3 shortly after their goal. 

David Pastrnak connected on a one-timer from Charlie McAvoy for his 10th power play goal of the season. The goal also marked Pastrnak’s 30th power play point of the season. 

The power play finished 1-for-3 on Saturday. They are now 6-for-43 (14.0%) since the Olympic break. 

The Bruins skated for six minutes in the second period without registering a shot on goal, and finished the middle frame down 21-20 in shots on goal. 

Alex DeBrincat scored the game’s first 5-on-5 goal at the 4:06 mark of the third period. His shot sailed through Mark Kastelic’s legs and beat Jeremy Swayman glove-side. 

Mason Lohrei won a blue line battle and played it up the ice to Morgan Geekie. He skated forward before finding linemate Elias Lindholm across the ice. He connected on the pass to tie the game, scoring his first 5-on-5 goal since the Olympic break. 

Nikita Zadorov collected a pass from Geekie and flew through the neutral zone. As soon as he crossed the blue line, he fired a shot that beat John Gibson and gave the Bruins the lead.

The goal is Zadorov’s second of the season and first since October 16, 2025. 

Marat Khusnutdinov put the cherry on top with an empty net goal with 1:52 remaining. 

David Pastrnak assisted, marking the 500th of his career; he also extended his point streak to nine games (6-8–14) with two points on Saturday. 

The Bruins are off until Tuesday, when they will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs (29-29-13) at the TD Garden. Then they will travel to Buffalo for a nationally televised bout against the Sabres (44-20-6) on Wednesday. 

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