The top dogs in the Atlantic Division came to town Tuesday night, but it was the Bruins who showed the most snarl and snap.
Pavel Zacha, Fraser Minten, and Mark Kastelic scored goals, and David Pastrnak continued his climb up the franchise’s all-time points list as the Bruins topped the Red Wings, 3-0, at TD Garden.
Jeremy Swayman made 24 saves to post his first shutout of the season, one game after his partner, Joonas Korpisalo, blanked the Penguins, 1-0.
Pastrnak picked up an assist on Minten’s goal, giving the gifted right winger 889 points and leaping Bobby Orr for seventh on the Boston list.
The Bruins improved to 25-19-2 with their fourth straight win while the Red Wings saw their four-game streak snapped in falling to 28-16-4.
With the Red Wings in town, the Bruins loaded up on the Red Bull, dominating play for the first 10 minutes against a team that played Monday night while the local outfit took the day after back-to-back wins over the weekend.
Boston was feisty even before puck drop as Pastrnak and Alex DeBrincat, the leading scorers for each team, jostled for position, prompting admonishment from the linesmen.
Boston landed the first handful of quality chances, including a Morgan Geekie goalmouth feed to Minten, who got wiped out as he tried to swipe it past Cam Talbot.
The Bruins avoided a mini disaster when Pastrnak took an inadvertent stick to the chops as the winger belted defenseman Albert Johansson behind the Detroit net.
Zacha just missed on a one-timer set up by Charlie McAvoy as Talbot slid over just in time. Zacha had another prime chance off a dish from Casey Mittelstadt, but again Talbot was up for it.
Elias Lindholm spilled DeBrincat in the neutral zone, giving Detroit the first power play and a chance to tilt the ice.
The white-hot Swayman shined during the kill, robbing both J.T. Compher and Axel Sandin-Pellikka with flashy glove saves.
The Bruins were buoyed by the kill with Viktor Arvidsson landing three quality shots on an ensuing shift, only to be blockaded by Talbot to keep it scoreless after the first period.
Swayman and Talbot continued to sparkle across the middle 20 minutes, with the tenders trading nifty saves.
The Bruins earned their first power play early in the second when Ben Chiarot took down Kastelic as the big Bruins forward drove toward the net.
The Bruins’ power-play, sterling most of the season but coming off an 0-for-6 showing against the Penguins Sunday, looked more connected but couldn’t break through against Talbot.
Geekie had the best chance when his sizzling one-timer ricocheted off the crossbar and into the protective netting.
Arvidsson (spin-o-rama through the slot), Kastelic (backhander from the slot), and Geekie (wicked slapper from the right dot) all had solid chances but couldn’t dent Talbot.
Pavel Zacha (No. 18) celebrates with his teammates after his 14th goal of the season helped the Bruins break through against Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot for a 1-0 lead in the second period.Barry Chin/Globe Staff
The Bruins finally lit the lamp when Zacha ripped one from the slot high over Talbot’s glove. The goal was set up by Mason Lohrei as the lanky defender used his reach to keep the puck in the zone and get to Zacha, who nailed his 14th goal of the season.
The Wings had a few chances to pull even, but Swayman was seeing — and deflecting — everything through 40 minutes.
Jim McBride can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @globejimmcbride.
