Bruins Can't Overcome Early Deficit In Loss To Red Wings

DETROIT - The Bruins learned just hours before their Friday night tilt against the Red Wings that they would be without the services of Brett Ritchie for the contest.
"He came in today and wasn't feeling great," said Bruins head coach Bruce Cassidy. "He went through the morning skate - caught us a little off guard, I'm not going to lie. But once he said he wasn't feeling well, the right thing to do was to give him the night off. Hopefully he feels better tomorrow."

Ritchie joins Karson Kuhlman, Joakim Nordstrom, Par Lindholm and Jake DeBrusk as forwards currently missing games for the Bruins. The Bruins options to fill their forward ranks for the upcoming home game against the Flyers could be a call-up or a players return to health.
"If Ritchie can't go on Sunday, [Par] Lindholm and [Joakim] Nordstrom are skating," said Cassidy. "They are in the mix. We'll get a better idea tomorrow when we see them. If they can't go, yes, we will call-up another forward."

Chasing It

After claiming a quick 1-0 lead courtesy of a David Krejci goal, a bad bounce off Bergeron in front of Tuukka Rask evened the game. The Red Wings staked a lead a few mintues later with their first of two power play tallies.
"I think they showed up emotionally, physically," said Torey Krug. "We were a little too late to respond and once we did we started playing better, but just couldn't get over the hump. I think we just fell behind too early."
The Bruins had their chances late in the game, but ultimately fell short at Little Caesars Arena.
"We forced some turnovers and weren't able to take advantage of them," said Cassidy. "By then we end up chasing the game. That is a bad formula in this league, I don't care who you're playing and that's what happens - you chase the game and we never caught it."
Goaltender Tuukka Rask turned aside 28 shorts in the loss.
"It was one of those games, just like nothing was happening for long periods of time," said Rask. "Some chances both sides, goals. But then it picked up a little bit there end of the second. I thought we played better too. Cut the lead down to one and got a push - It's tough when you're chasing it. Especially down by two. We made an effort and just couldn't get a couple goals."
Brad Marchand, who tried to spark the team with a third period fight, noted that these games happen throughout the season.
"It's going to happen," said Marchand. "What's our [record], 11-3-2 or something like that? I'm not worried, but obviously we're not happy with it. We'll regroup and get ready for the next one. You try to stay even keel whether you're playing well or you're playing bad. You roll with the punches, get ready for next game and take what you can learn and move on. You can't get stuck on a game first week of November. We'll regroup and get ready for the next one."

O-Zone Discipline

The Bruins took an uncharatersitic five minor penalties against the Red Wings, including three that came in the offensive zone.
"I don't know in the heat of the game, good calls, bad calls, whatever," said Cassidy. "But we just shouldn't be taking penalties 200-feet from the net. That's just the way it is. They might take one, we took three."
Bruins power play ace Torey Krug noted the discipline as an area for improvement.
"[We] have to be a little smarter and look, those things happen every once in a while," said Krug. "We have to get the kills once we do. They made the same play twice and it ends up in the back of our net."
The Bruins next chance to play a full 60 minutes will come on Sunday, when they host the Philadelphia Flyers at TD Garden.