Michael Whitaker
It was a brutal scene at TD Garden, to be frank.
On October 13, the Bruins absolutely dismantled the Red Wings by an 8-2 final score. Boston scored scored seven times in the last two periods to send the Red Wings to one of two humiliating losses on that particular road trip; the other against a fellow Original 6 rival in the Montreal Canadiens.
However, the team insists they’re far different from the team that started 0-7-2 on the year.
“We had a good first period but we got scored on late and then it really went the wrong way,” head coach Jeff Blashill said.. “We’re a totally different team now, in my opinion. It doesn’t mean it can’t happen again but we’ve got a lot of vets back in the lineup and we’ve got way more confidence.”
Of course, the Red Wings are now at the .500 mark with an 11-11-3 record. Non-withstanding, the Red Wings will be looking to break a different streak against the Bruins Saturday afternoon. They haven’t won at TD Garden since 2013. Forward Dylan Larkin, who is having a solid season, acknowledges the team knows of the winless skid against the Bruins but knows what it takes to get it done.
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“You’re aware of it,” Larkin said after practice on Friday. “We never seem to put it together in Boston. There’s been games where we’ve been close but we need to find a way. It’s not something you think about but they’re a good team at home, a good team in general.”
It is reminiscent of a streak the Red Wings recently broke against Philadelphia, getting their first win in the City of Brotherly Love in 2016 after 12 previous unsuccessful tries.
“In Philly’s case, it had gone on over a number of years but we only played them twice (a season),” Blashill said. “We’ve played Boston more and we haven’t done very well in their building. I don’t think it’s really a case of it’s in our head at all. I just think we haven’t played well enough.”
