RECAP: Red Wings 'just kept at it,' rally to beat Bruins, 5-4

DETROIT -- There’s just no quit in these Detroit Red Wings.

The Red Wings rallied from an early two-goal deficit and held off a late comeback attempt, handing the Eastern Conference-leading Boston Bruins their first regulation loss of the season, 5-4, at Little Caesars Arena on Saturday night.

Goalie Ville Husso made 26 saves for Detroit, which improved to 7-4-1 (15 points) overall and snapped Boston’s season-opening 10-game point streak. With the loss, the Bruins also moved to 9-1-1 (19 points).

“The belief never wavers, and I think that’s important,” J.T. Compher said. “Not just to stay in games, but get rewarded for playing 60 minutes full and not giving up on games. It was a really good effort.”

Boston opened the scoring at 5:21 of the first period, capitalizing on a loose puck after Husso failed to cover a rebound. The Bruins doubled their early lead, 2-0, at 9:28.

“Obviously, we’d like to have a better start,” Compher said. “That’s an area we want to work on so we’re not always playing from behind.”

The Red Wings ended a four-game power-play drought at 16:20 when David Perron sent a no-look pass to Lucas Raymond, who fired a wrister under the glove of Boston netminder Linus Ullmark to cut Detroit’s deficit in half, 2-1. Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin also recorded an assist on Raymond’s fourth goal of the season.

Jake Walman tied the game, 2-2, at 9:59 of the second period, smoking home a slapshot just as a power play was expiring. Moritz Seider and Daniel Sprong each tallied an assist on Walman's first career NHL man-advantage goal.

The Bruins found the back of the net at 13:41, taking a 3-2 lead into the second intermission.

At 6:50 of the third period, Larkin finished a feed from Raymond on the rush to tie the game, 3-3.

"I think the guys just kept at it," Detroit head coach Derek Lalonde said. "Obviously the third goal was big."

Alex DeBrincat had the secondary assist on Larkin's fifth goal of the season, which also marked the 184th tally of his NHL career to pass Sid Abel for sole possession of 19th place on the Red Wings' all-time list. 

"Not a lot of guys have the juice left in their legs at the end of a long shift to do what he did," Compher said about Larkin. "It speaks to how in shape and competitive he is. For our captain to step up there and get a big goal, you feel it on the bench and in the room.”

Taking their first lead of the night at 8:56, the Red Wings made it 4-3 when Perron scored a five-hole goal after whiffing on his initial attempt in the left face-off circle. The 35-year-old forward was assisted by Compher and Jeff Petry.

Less than two minutes later, Andrew Copp scored into an open net to make it 5-3 at 10:34. Compher and Perron teamed up for the assists on the eventual game-winner.

The Bruins scored on the power play with 5:49 remaining for the 5-4 final.

“It’s big for sure,” Perron said about Saturday’s come-from-behind victory. “Now we head into New York and can start changing the narrative of the last few games here for us. We got to show we can do it every night.”

NEXT UP: Detroit will hit the road for an Original Six clash on Tuesday night, battling the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.

QUOTABLE

Lalonde on bouncing back from last Saturday’s loss at Boston

“I thought we were good throughout and got what we deserved. Probably felt a little, I don’t want to say the word unfair, but to be trailing after 40 minutes, I thought we had a really good 40 minutes. Then to just keep at it and obviously, to trail that team in the third and find a way to win in regulation was good. Just solid throughout. Good win. Turns into a pretty good week.”

Lalonde on what he thought the turning point was on Saturday

"I don't know if there was a turning point. I just thought our guys just stayed on it. The message after the second was just to 'keep your nose in it and you'll get rewarded.' And they certainly did tonight."

Perron on what this victory means to his club

“It’s nice to give the Bruins a loss, but I think we need to keep building and playing the right way. I felt like our third period was definitely our best. I thought our first two (periods) weren’t bad either, but honestly we just got to keep pushing. It’s one win.”

Perron on the Red Wings' compete level

“I think we were just ready from the get-go as far as the compete level. We didn’t get the bounce early. Got down two (goals), that’s maybe the only weak area. After that, I thought the building really got going. That really helped us to be able to come through.”