Zacha ripped home a nifty feed from David Pastrnak at 2:15 of overtime and Boston improved to 5-2 under coach Joe Sacco.
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Nikita Zadorov, however, had the biggest impact.
Zacha ripped home a nifty feed from David Pastrnak at 2:15 of overtime to give the Bruins a 3-2 win over the Red Wings Tuesday night at TD Garden.
Zadorov’s prints were all over the victory that boosted Boston to 13-11-3.
Zadorov scored his first home goal as a Bruin, but more importantly, he set a tone of physicality with some bruising body checks.
“I thought he was engaged in the game tonight,” said coach Joe Sacco. “He was physical, and he was just defending hard. When he was on the ice, the opposition knew.”
Joonas Korpisalo made 25 saves, none bigger than his acrobatic blocker swat on Red Wing center Michael Rasmussen with Detroit holding that 2-1 lead.
“Crazy bounce,” said Korpisalo. “I was a little bit too late. Tried to scramble over, but I couldn’t really get there so I just threw my blocker out there. Just instincts. There’s no time to think. Bounces happen, and you’ve got to be ready for that. So yeah, I’m happy it hit my blocker this time.”
It was a quiet opening 20 minutes both on the ice and in the stands. A quick peek at the quagmire on the Charlestown bridge explained the empty seats and lack of energy in the building early.
Moments after the Bruins killed the penalty, Zadorov got into a tussle with Ben Chiarot after the pair raced to the end boards in an icing chase.
The dust-up ended quickly — fortunately for Chiarot as Zadorov had him pinned to the ice. Both were sent off with double roughing minors that leaked into the third.
The OT win was Boston’s fifth in seven games under Sacco.
Zadorov said the difference has been palpable.
“I think we’re playing with the passion. I think we’re playing with pride. I think we’re playing for each other,” he said. “I thought we were disconnected before. That’s what wasn’t working. I don’t think we fixed much Xs and Os. I think it’s the same system, same game plans. We’re just doing that this time.”