DETROIT—The Red Wings took care of business Saturday night in Detroit, grinding their way to a 2–1 victory over the visiting Boston Bruins. Forward Lucas Raymond—who scored what would prove the game-winner in the form of a power play one-timer less than a minute into the second period summated the game neatly in saying, "A lot of effort, maybe not the prettiest, but it's about getting it done, and we did that tonight with a lot of help from [Cam Talbot]." Talbot made 20 saves on 21 shots to help Detroit secure the victory.
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With the win, the Red Wings clawed their way to within one point of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference (albeit with an extra game played). However, the schedule down the stretch will be a bear. With nine games left, Detroit has just three more games on home ice, and Saturday night's game against the Bruins is the last time it will face a team not currently holding a playoff spot.
Furious Start Sparked by DeBrincat, Watson
With just 43 combined shots on net between the two teams, Saturday's game hardly qualifiers as a thriller, but it did get off to a high octane start courtesy of two early bouts.
First, Detroit's Alex DeBrincat took exception to a hit from behind courtesy of Boston's Andrew Peeke. DeBrincat caught up to Peeke and insisted that the Bruins D-man (listed at six-foot-three, compared to his own five-foot-eight) drop the gloves. To the delight of the Little Caesars Arena crowd, DeBrincat landed a few punches, then wrestled Peeke to the ice, despite the size discrepancy.
Alex DeBrincat (5′8″) and Andrew Peeke (6′3″) drop the mitts early 👊 pic.twitter.com/0Up6ejKaOg
— Sportsnet (@Sportsnet) March 30, 2025
Not quite a minute later, Austin Watson dropped the gloves with Boston's Jakub Lauko. While DeBrincat has dabbled in the rough stuff throughout his time in Detroit and NHL career, that discipline is Watson's specialty, and he showed why in his pummeling of Lauko.
"It was awesome," said Raymond after the game. "I've seen Cat chuck 'em a couple times now, and he's got some fire in home, so obviously huge. It fires us up, gets the crowd into it right away, and Watty stepping up as well is awesome to see. I think that just goes to show how much guys care and how committed guys are to this."
The two fights sent LCA into an early frenzy and not long after, Marco Kasper got the Red Wings into the lead, intercepting a pass, rushing in, then beating Jeremy Swayman with a wrist shot. Detroit would hold that lead for the remaining 54:23 of the night.
