The Boston Bruins didn’t do themselves any favors Thursday night in Detroit falling behind the Red Wings 2-0 into the third period. But, once again, they showed fight when they needed it most scoring three unanswered goals for the 3-2 victory at Joe Louis Arena.

Carl Soderberg, Loui Eriksson and Zach Trotman were the goal scorers for the Black and Gold in the third period. Trotman notched his first NHL goal — the game-winner — and was it ever a big one.

Brett Connolly made his B’s debut and played very well. He notched two assists, had one shot and dropped three hits in just under 13 minutes of ice time.

Tuukka Rask was the B’s best player on Thursday as he turned away 35 of 37 shots notching his 33rd victory of the season.

On Boston.com: Bruins’ roller coaster season starting to get smoother

It wasn’t all great news for Boston as Patrice Bergeron left the game for an extended amount of time due to a high stick he received to his mouth. According to reports, Bergeron needed 30 stitches for the repairs, but did return for the third period.

The B’s have now won four in a row and are on a roll heading into their next match up with the Maple Leafs Saturday night. Toronto has fallen to 15th place in the Eastern Conference while sporting a 2-8-0 record in its last 10 games.

Here is your complete Bruins-Maple Leafs Preview:

Gametime: 7:00 PM
Records: Bruins 40-25-13 (93 points)/Maple Leafs 29-43-6 (64 points)
TV/Radio: NESN, 98.5 The Sports Hub
Location: TD Garden

Bruins’ projected lines:

Brad Marchand-Patrice Bergeron-Reilly Smith
Carl Soderberg-David Krejci-Loui Eriksson
Milan Lucic-Ryan Spooner-David Pastrnak
Chris Kelly-Gregory Campbell-Brett Connolly

Zdeno Chara-Adam McQuaid
Dennis Seidenberg-Torey Krug
Matt Bartkowski-Zach Trotman

Tuukka Rask
Niklas Svedberg

Maple Leafs’ projected lines:

James van Riemsdyk-Tyler Bozak-Phil Kessel
Leo Komarov-Nazem Kadri-Joakim Lindstrom
David Booth-Trevor Smith-Joffrey Lupul
Richard Panik-Zach Sill-Casey Bailey

Eric Brewer-Dion Phaneuf
Jake Gardiner-Morgan Rielly
Tim Erixon-T.J. Brennan

Jonathan Bernier
James Reimer

Who to watch for Bruins: Brett Connolly

No one knew when Connolly was going to make his debut for the Bruins, but on Thursday night in Detroit the 22 year-old suited up and made a solid first impression.

In 18 shifts, Connolly fit right in with the Black and Gold. He even notched two assists including a gritty assist on Trotman’s game-winner.

The right-winger was shifted around throughout the game with different linemates, but it didn’t seem to have an effect on him. Although he only had one shot on net, he was looking to shoot the minute he got the puck — something that doesn’t happen often with Boston’s forwards. It was certainly refreshing to see.

Connolly gives the B’s another dimension while he is out there. With his injury behind him, he can now concentrate on helping the team win — and he did that Thursday night.

Who to watch for Maple Leafs: Phil Kessel

It’s well known that Kessel is a pure goal scorer, but struggles in his own end. He has proven that again this season. The right-winger has 24 goals while sporting a team-worst minus-34 rating. That is tough to do, but when you’re the Maple Leafs, it’s possible.

The 27 year-old hasn’t missed a game this season and has just one goal in his last 17 contests. The former Bruin has five assists and a plus-4 rating in his last three games. Based on those stats, one can assume that Kessel is turning a corner, but that would be too generous.

Coming off one of his best seasons in Toronto in 2013-2014 (37-43-80), Kessel has taken a little step back, but it’s not totally his fault. His team has been in disarray all season long and one can argue that they haven’t gotten over their Game 7 collapse against the B’s in 2013.

Kessel will be playing hard Saturday night against his former team and the B’s defense should be aware of his speed and quick release, because he can change an outcome of a game in a flash.

Game Day Edge: Get a better start

The B’s were lucky to escape Detroit Thursday night with a win. Their start to the hockey game was poor and their second period effort wasn’t much better.

Even against a team like the Maple Leafs, the B’s cannot fool around. One prime example of that happened a few weeks ago when Boston was too cute and wound up losing to the Sabres in a shootout.

It’s simple. Play with desperation and purpose. The B’s need to be the team to score first to get the crowd into it and build their game from there during the final home game of the regular season.

Toronto is not a team that Boston should let hang around, especially since they have nothing to play for.