Bergeron lifts Bruins past Red Wings

BOSTON --Patrice Bergeron scored twice, including the go-ahead goal 6:11 into the third period, and Tuukka Rask made 30 saves to help the Boston Bruins defeat the Detroit Red Wings 3-1 at TD Garden on Saturday.
Bergeron broke a 1-1 tie with a one-timer from the left hash mark after Brad Marchand made a move to the inside and made a cross-ice pass on the rush.

"Yeah, it was more of a better shot than a pass," Marchand said. "He one-timed it in stride and really didn't give the goalie a chance to get over there, so a great shot by Bergeron]."
***[\[WATCH: All Red Wings vs. Bruins highlights\]*
Marchand had a goal and two assists, and Bergeron scored an empty-net goal with 14 seconds left for the Bruins (19-10-5), who have won four in a row and seven of their past nine (7-1-1). Rask is 8-0-1 in his past nine starts.

"I think everyone is contributing," Bergeron said. "We've had some guys go in and out of the lineup. And whoever has been called upon to have more responsibility has done so. It's been great, it's been a fun ride, and we've got to keep that going."
Frans Nielsen scored, and Jimmy Howard made 23 saves for the Red Wings (13-15-7), who lost their second straight, even though they outshot the Bruins 31-26. Detroit is 3-4-2 in December and has scored two goals or fewer five times in that span. It has three wins in its past 15 games (3-7-5).
"We're working on it in practice, we talk about it, we know what we have to do," Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. "Some nights, we're really good scoring, when we get our chances. Tonight though, we didn't have any or that many Grade A chances, but we have had chances, and unfortunately we can't find a way to get the puck behind their goalie."
Marchand made it 1-0 with a 5-on-3 goal at 13:37. David Backes made a slap pass across the slot and Marchand beat Howard with a wrist shot from the bottom of the right circle.
Nielsen tied the game at 1-1 with the Bruins still on the power play 1:01 later with a shot through Rask's legs after Darren Helm stripped the puck from Danton Heinen at the red line.

Goal of the game

Bergeron's goal at 6:11 of the third period.

Save of the game

Rask's save on Zetterberg with 38 seconds left in the third period.

Highlight of the game

Chara stopped a shot in the crease and slid the puck under Rask at 8:42 of the second period.

They said it

"It's hard when you know that these games, for us right now, they're must-win. You've got to find a way to get the points. And that's all it boils down to." -- Red Wings goalie Jimmy Howard on being 10 points behind the Bruins in the Atlantic Division
"I mean you know when you end games like this, you're frustrated 100 percent. We'll be frustrated when we wake up tomorrow morning, but we just have to make sure all that frustration can do for us is burn inside your gut a little bit so that you're even more determined. You can't let it cloud your judgement." -- Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill
"We were just trying to focus on our job and skate and have good gaps, take away obviously as much as we could from that line and keep them on the outside. They get some chances but not the ones that they probably wanted." -- Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara on he and Charlie McAvoy containing Anthony Mantha, Henrik Zetterberg and Gustav Nyquist

Need to know

Nielsen's goal was the Red Wings' seventh shorthanded goal, which leads the NHL. ... Bruins forward David Pastrnak had two assists and has 16 points (five goals, 11 assists) in his past 15 games. ... Bruins forward David Backes played 19:07 several hours after he was with his wife at the hospital following the birth of son, Dawson, at 1:13 a.m. ET.

What's next

Red Wings:At the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+ 2, FS-D, NHL.TV)
Bruins: Host the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday (7 p.m. ET; TVA Sports, NESN, TSN5, NHL.TV)