DETROIT - The Boston Bruins took a couple punches, then hit back hard and put the Detroit Red Wings on the brink of elimination.
Jarome Iginla scored with 6:28 left in overtime on a redirected shot that went off an opponent, lifting the Bruins to a 3-2 victory over Detroit on Thursday night in Game 4 of their first-round series to finish off a comeback from a two-goal deficit.
“It was a bit ugly at times, but then we got our stuff together,” Tuukka Rask said after stopping 35 shots.
The Presidents’ Trophy winners and defending Eastern Conference champions can advance with a victoty against Detroit at home on Saturday.
“It’s not over yet,” said Detroit defenseman Danny De-Keyser, who appeared to be the last person to touch the puck on the game-winning goal. “We’ve just got to keep playing hard.”
If the Red Wings extend the best-of-seven series by winning at Boston, they will host Game 6 on Monday night.
Early in Game 4, a return to Joe Louis Arena appeared likely.
Detroit took a 2-0 lead in the second period after Pavel Datsyuk and Niklas Kronwall each had a goal and an assist.
Torey Krug scored midway through the second period to pull the Bruins within a goal. Milan Lucic tied it at 2 early in the third period.
“I thought they got better as the game went on,” Red Wings Coach Mike Babcock said. “I thought we had a real good push at the start, but they stuck with it and as the game went on, we had more holes in us defensively.”
Detroit’s Jonas Gustavsson made 37 saves in a surprise start Thursday night, filling in for Jimmy Howard, who was out with the flu.
“Last second, he just couldn’t go,” Babcock said.
Iginla was credited with the winning goal, but seemed to get some help putting the puck in the net.
Boston’sDougie Hamilton sent a shot toward the net that Iginla deflected and the puck looked like it went off DeKeyser’s left leg before going in the net.
“It’s a playoff goal,” Gustavsson said after appearing in his first postseason game after playing in 141 games over five regular seasons. “That’s how you win games.”
Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg played for the first time since having back surgery two months ago. Zetterberg gave the crowd a jolt, leading to fired-up fans roaring when he was on the ice for his first shift, and seemed to also give his team a boost early in the game.
“It was fun to be back,” he said. “It would be a lot more fun to have a ‘W.’ ”
Later in the game, Zetterberg looked like a player who was still trying to get into game shape as he struggled to skate with world-class players.
“We knew that would probably be the case,” Babcock acknowledged.
The Red Wings got off to a strong start after falling behind 2-0 after the opening period of the previous two games and losing both by a combined score of 7-1.
Kronwall’s slap shot on a power play 11 minutes into the game put Detroit up 1-0, ending its 0-for-10 drought with an extra skater in the series.
Datsyuk scored for the first time since he had the game-winner in Game 1, shooting into an open net from the right side after Kronwall lightly tapped the puck to him.
WESTERN CONFERENCE WILD 2, AVALANCHE 1
ST. PAUL, Minn. - Charlie Coyle scored his third goal of the series for Minnesota, and the Wild dominated the Colorado Avalanche for the second consecutive game on their way to a victory Thursday night that evened the firstround matchup at 2-2.
The Wild outshot the Avalanche a stunning 32-12, establishing a franchise record for fewest allowed by Minnesota. Colorado has been outshot 78-34 in the last two games, with Ryan O’Reilly scoring the only goal.
Jared Spurgeon used a slap shot to get a puck past Colorado’s Semyon Varlamov just 3:47 into the game, much quicker than the 65:08 the Wild needed to score the last time.
Game 5 is Saturday night in Denver.
At a glance - All times Central
x-if necessary
WEDNESDAY’S GAMES
Columbus 4, Pittsburgh 3, OT
Series tied 2-2
Dallas 4, Anaheim 2
Series tied 2-2
Chicago 4, St. Louis 3, OT
Series tied 2-2
THURSDAY’S GAMES
Boston 3, Detroit 2, OT
Boston leads series 2-1
Minnesota 2, Colorado 1
Series tied 2-2
San Jose at Los Angeles, (n)
San Jose leads series 3-0
TODAY’S GAMES
NY Rangers at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.
NY Rangers lead series 2-1
Chicago at St. Louis, 7 p.m.
Series tied 2-2
Dallas at Anaheim, 9:30 p.m.
Series tied 2-2
SATURDAY’S GAMES
Detroit at Boston, 2 p.m.
Columbus at Pittsburgh, 6 p.m.
Minnesota at Colorado, 8:30 p.m.
x-Los Angeles at San Jose, 9 p.m.
SUNDAY’S GAMES
Philadelphia at NY Rangers, 11 a.m.
St. Louis at Chicago, 2 p.m.
Anaheim at Dallas, 7 p.m.
Sports, Pages 21 on 04/25/2014