Rookie first-round draft pick Filip Zadina scored 24 seconds into overtime to lift the Red Wings to a 3-2 win over the Bruins in Boston.
Gustav Nyquist and Dennis Cholowski also scored for Detroit, which improved to 6-and-0 in the NHL preseason.
Jonathan Bernier made 21 saves.
The Wings play Friday in Toronto in the first of a home-and-home.
Red Wings forward Evgeny Svechnikov was scheduled to play in Boston on Wednesday night, but was sidelined with an injury and is day-to-day.
Defensemen Trevor Daley, Jonathan Ericsson, Danny DeKeyser and Mike Green are still out with injuries.