Heading into the final game of a five-game homestand, the Tampa Bay Lightning encountered the definition of a trap game. With the winless Detroit Red Wings in town, it could have been easy for the Bolts to overlook this one with a five-game road trip starting this weekend. This contest wasn’t an easy one for Tampa Bay. There were moments when the Lightning held the edge in puck possession and stretches where Detroit looked like the better team.
In what turned out to be a bit of a goalie duel, it was the Lightning who came out on top in a battle of division rivals thanks to a pair of familiar names.
Lightning captain Steven Stamkos tallied the eventual game-winning goal in the second period, and Andrei Vasilevskiy turned aside 29 out of 30 shots as Tampa Bay (4-1-0) fought for a 3-1 victory over Detroit (0-5-2). The Lightning earned eight out of a possible 10 points in their season-opening homestand while extending one of the worst starts in the Red Wings’ history. Brayden Point also scored while Alex Killorn iced it with an empty net goal. Vasilevskiy earned the win in his fourth start of the season, while Jimmy Howard came out on the losing end for the Wings despite stopping 28 shots.
Despite the Lightning holding the edge in puck possession and shots early on, the Wings gave them some trouble.
The shot counter said 13-7 for the Bolts, which wasn’t surprising given the talent disparity between these two teams. However, Detroit had their share of solid looks in the early going of this one. They kept the Lightning back on their heels, testing Vasilevskiy on a few occasions. At the 5:19 mark, the Lightning earned a power play thanks to a Niklas Kronwall interference penalty, and slowly started building momentum in their favor. Although they didn’t score a goal while up a man, it was the kind of power play where they built up some confidence thanks to multiple quality chances. However, disaster nearly struck when a Victor Hedman turnover led to a 2-on-0, forcing Vasilevskiy to make his best save of the period.
Just 14 seconds after the power play ended, Point broke the ice when he tallied his fourth goal of the season. Crashing the Red Wings’ crease, Point saw a centering pass from Yanni Gourde bounce off his skate and past Howard. There was a bit of back-and-forth between both teams as the period went on, but the Lightning slowly took control. They nearly made it 2-0 when Cedric Paquette missed an open net on a glorious shorthanded chance following a steal by Gourde.
An early issue that has popped up for the Bolts this season is their play in the second period of games.
The middle period of this contest proved to be no exception, as the Red Wings came out with a lot more jump, out-shooting the Bolts 16-6 and earning chances both at even strength and on the power play. Detroit was quicker to the puck and outworked the Lightning in several instances, while Tampa Bay had issues with puck management. The Bolts’ best chance in the early minutes of the second came when Nikita Kucherov forced a turnover and ripped a slap shot that Howard knocked away.
However, the Wings began chipping away and knotted the game up 1-1 thanks to a Luke Glendening goal off a rebound during a scramble in front of Vasilevskiy, who was down on the ice. They nearly took a 2-1 lead when they counterattacked and found themselves on a 2-on-1. Vasilevskiy slid over and made a phenomenal glove save on Frans Nielsen, keeping the game deadlocked.
The Bolts’ penalty kill nearly struck again, but Stamkos finally got his first of the year.
Near the end of a Detroit power play, Mathieu Joseph and Tyler Johnson created a 2-on-1, but Joseph’s pass got blocked. Seconds later, Johnson found Joseph in front for a one-timer that Howard saved. Not too long after that chance, Ryan Callahan, playing his first game of the season, powered his way to the net and backhanded a shot on net that couldn’t beat Howard. So far in 2018-19, it can be said that the Lightning’s strength on the penalty kill comes when they don’t spend much time in their own zone and they’re creating offense.
At the 15:19 mark, Stamkos earned his first goal of the year when he was left alone in the slot. Kucherov made a slick between-the-legs pass that landed right in Stamkos’s wheelhouse. However, it wouldn’t have been possible without Braydon Coburn. Moments before the Stamkos goal, a Detroit shot on net led to a Vasilevskiy save and a big rebound. Darren Helm appeared poised to pounce on the rebound. Fortunately for Vasilevskiy, Coburn knocked it away at the last second, thwarting an open-net opportunity. Although the Lightning held a 2-1 lead, they were not out of the woods against a Detroit team that couldn’t bury their chances through 40 minutes.
The final 20 minutes showcased great chances for both teams, but it took an empty net goal to finish this one off.
During an power play chance in the third period, Stamkos nearly buried his second goal of the night. On a rare power play 3-on-1, Kucherov slipped a perfect pass over to Stamkos, whose blistering shot was kicked away by Howard. Mathieu Joseph nearly notched his first career NHL goal with a slick toe drag move around Luke Witkowski, but Howard came to the rescue again. About halfway through the period, Detroit nearly tied it when Darren Helm collected a pass from Thomas Vanek and stood wide open in front of Vasilevskiy. Unfortunately for the Wings, he mishandled the puck and it trickled out of harm’s way.
Detroit continued to knock on the door in the closing minutes, but despite pulling Howard for an extra skater, they couldn’t cash in. During a wild sequence, Killorn and Joseph nearly closed it out with empty net attempts before Killorn finally gave the Bolts some breathing room by scoring into the yawning cage with 1:07 remaining to make it 3-1.
Tampa Bay begins a five-game road trip against Western Conference opponents this Saturday when head to St. Paul to take on the Minnesota Wild. Puck drops at 8 pm.
Game Notes
-Ryan Callahan returned from shoulder surgery earlier than expected, playing 11:03 on the fourth line with J.T. Miller and Paquette, recording one shot on goal in his first game of the season. Adam Erne was a healthy scratch, while Danick Martel was sent to AHL Syracuse for a conditioning assignment. Cory Conacher was also sent to Syracuse the day before. Slater Koekkeok was the other scratch.
-The Lightning remain the only team in the NHL that hasn’t allowed a power play goal after five games. Their current five-game run without allowing a PPG is the longest such streak to start a season in team history. The penalty killing unit is 23-for-23 up to this point.
-This game saw the end of a seven-game goal drought for Stamkos dating back to last season’s playoffs. His last goal before tonight came in Game 4 of the 2018 Eastern Conference Final. Stamkos now has 11 points in his last eight games against Detroit.
-Kucherov extended his point streak against Detroit to six games. He has 15 points in that span.
-The Lightning have now won 12 straight regular season games against Detroit. Their last loss to the Red Wings was a 2-1 loss on November 3, 2015. They’ve also beaten the Wings 12 straight times at home, with the last loss at Amalie Arena a 6-2 setback on February 17, 2011. Tampa Bay is now 19-4-0 against Detroit in the regular season since the Red Wings shifted to the Eastern Conference before the start of the 2013-14 season.
-The loss marks the first time in Red Wings history they’ve lost the first seven games of a season. Their longest streak to start a season without a win was the first nine games of 1985-86, losing eight of those contests and tying the other.
Three Stars of the Game
1st Star: Andrei Vasilevskiy – Made 29 saves on 30 shots.
2nd Star: Steven Stamkos – Scored his first goal of the year, which turned out to be the game-winner.
3rd Star: Jimmy Howard – Stopped 28 shots in the loss.
