DETROIT _ Sloppy hockey cost the Detroit Red Wings their winning streak.
A poor start and poorer puck management left them to rue a 1-0 loss to the Boston Bruins at Joe Louis Arena, fresh on the heels of six straight victories.
Jimmy Howard made 17 saves just in the second period, which saw the Wings give away the puck eight times. They were bad on faceoffs, too, standing at just 31 percent after two periods.
Howard raced from his net with 1:33 on the clock and the Bruins then took a penalty to give the Wings two extra skaters set up 6-on-4 play with 1:13 left in regulation. Henrik Zetterberg was the only one to get a shot on net in the stretch, leaving the Wings outshot, 36-23.
The game between the Atlantic Division rivals got chippy during the opening shift, when Steve Ott and Zdeno Chara tangled and both sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct. Unfortunately that was as fiery as the first period got; neither side created much in the way of scoring chances, and the period just dragged on after that for 19 minutes. Dylan Larkin looked like he was going to make something happen on a breakaway six minutes in but ended up shooting wide.
Tuukka Rask didn't even have to make a save until past 10 minutes. Howard got help from Darren Helm and Riley Sheahan, both of whom bravely blocked Chara shots.
The Wings earned a power play 2:31 into the second period. That, however, was wasted, as the first unit failed to get set up and then Gustav Nyquist slashed Brad Marchand when he got a breakaway, ending the power play after 56 seconds.
Howard denied a short wrist shot from Austin Czarnik as the Bruins counterattacked. Tomas Tatar deflected a shot right outside the crease only to have Rask come up with a glove save. A second power play wasn't any better than the first _ Howard was the only goalie to have to make a save, when Tim Schaller turned a Mike Green turnover into a breakaway.
A delay of game penalty put the Wings shorthanded for a second time, requiring five saves from Howard.
The Bruins scored at 17:11 when Schaller angled a puck from near the goal line. Howard left too much of an opening between himself and the near post, enabling the puck to get in behind him. The Wings challenged off-sides, but lost. Then Larkin went for crosschecking with 1:29 left, requiring a third penalty kill. In all, the Bruins got 18 shots in the second period, the most the Wings have allowed this season in one period.
The Wings got a third power play midway through the third period, but managed no better than a Helm deflection that Rask easily handled.
