Lightning strike in last minute to beat Red Wings

Photo by: Gregory Shamus/Getty Images

The Lightning got the best of Detroit for a second time this season. Despite a major comeback by the Red Wings, it was at the hands of Nikita Kucherov who scored two goals on the night beating Detroit 4-3 at Joe Louis Arena Tuesday.

Petr Mrazek got his first start in four games in Detroit’s return to home ice. Their path had Jimmy Howard in net trying to end a six-game winning streak that they did against the Flyers. Their two-game streak was put down by Montreal on Friday as they suffered a 5-0 loss to the Canadiens in which Howard took the brunt of all their goals. With the need for new strategy, coach Jeff Blashill decided to go with the Czech with the notion of their rivals.

They suffered a loss to start the season against the Lightning who defeated them 6-4 in Tampa. They got Andrei Vasilevskiy a shutout against the Islanders on the road and hoped to keep their grip on the Red Wings in their second consecutive match.

They started well on the bad luck of Mrazek who went after the puck behind the net. A bounce of the puck from the boards got out of his reach which Kucherov easily got hold of scoring on the open net of Detroit for his seventh. A strong win off the draw for Tampa in the sixth minute allowed them to move the puck near the boards and out to the blue line. A shot from the far end from Viktor Hedman bounced back for a rebound that Lightning captain Steven Stamkos got a piece of scoring his ninth of the year.

The two-goal margin immediately sent a cause for concern on the Red Wings bench who were being outscored 7-0 in their last three and a half periods. Detroit showed improvement on their push for offense but still found themselves fighting to respond while time fell off the clock. In the final minutes of the period, the Lightning messed things up in their end with a loss of control behind the net.

It was there that Luke Glendening got hold of the puck feeding the puck across the front of Ben Bishop where Frans Nielsen set up. He pulled the puck back and delivered a nice backhander to end the shutout and get one on the board. The teams played out the last 79 seconds with the game now active on both sides. Tampa still outshot Detroit 11-9 but was out-hit through twenty minutes.

The second took a different look for both sides as Steven Stamkos didn’t come back to the bench to start the period. It was reported that the Lightning captain suffered a lower-body injury and wouldn’t return. The biggest piece of Tampa’s offense allowed Detroit to become more aggressive and bring better results from their end. They got into trouble six and a half minutes in when Brendan Smith took a penalty giving Tampa their first man advantage of the night.

They made it a short 5 on 3 for the Lightning but handled the serious issue with good defense. The reward came in the shape of outshooting their Atlantic Division rivals, taking the offense to Bishop in order to level the score before the end of the second. Detroit got another boost of energy as they watched their teammate Steve Ott get into it with Brian Boyle. Boyle initiated the fight with the NHL veteran getting shots to the Detroit forward but went off the ice with a fighting major and game misconduct.

The Lightning now down three men left the door open for the Red Wings to counteract with Stamkos and Boyle out for the night. Bishop was hanging on making big stops on the Red Wings with three minutes on the clock. Brayden Coburn returned to the bench after taking a flying puck to the lower body missing out on some ice time but not the remainder of the game. His actions along with the rest of Tampa’s support staff allowed them to hold the one goal margin. Another scuffle ensued at the end of the period with Justin Abdelkader getting into it with Alex Killorn.

He started the third in the penalty box with the Lightning back on the power play for another chance. They cashed in taking a 3-1 lead on a one timer from Nikita Nesterov that just nicked Glendening to direct it into the net for his first. Six minutes went by with Detroit not wanting to sit two goals down for long putting in some aggression. They already outshot Tampa as well as holding them back on getting pucks in the Detroit end.

The Red Wings showed net front presence in the Lightning end with Abdelkader putting a screen on Bishop. It was there that rookie Ryan Sproul delivered a wrist shot that went through the goaltender cleanly notching the first of his NHL career. Detroit thought they were getting a break going up a man but it was a matching of penalties that left things at four on four. It didn’t take long for them to get back on it with the Red Wings playing four on three for 90 seconds.

Detroit took their time setting up the shot, but a drive from Mike Green only saw Bishop stop a high one to the upper-body. He made two more stops on Detroit but a second chance on the play saw Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg find some of the net open up giving him a shot to score his third of the season. With the game tied and half the period to go, it left Detroit in a positive spot that they could just do enough to get ahead.

It was turning into critical moment where one team was going to be out front by the end of the game. Prior to the final minute of the period, the Lightning dug inside the Red Wings zone taking their scoring chances seriously. The puck moved all over the ice until a shot from Kucherov went into the net that made the difference. The Red Wings went all in pulling Mrazek from the net to get six men for the final 60 seconds. It didn’t work out finding a clean shot that led them to a heartbreaking finish.

Bishop breathed a sigh of relief at the end of regulation gaining a victory for his sixth of the season. Bishop made 25 saves for a .893 save percentage. Mrazek had a bad night dealing with very fast plays in front of him that were difficult for the net minder. He made 18 saves but accepted a fifth loss. They won’t be able to take time to review the defeat as they leave once again to meet against the Washington capitals on Friday night.