Red Wings win at home in 6-4 win over Tampa

DETROIT, MI - OCTOBER 14: Daniel Sprong #88 of the Detroit Red Wings scores a goal on Jonas Johansson #31 of the Tampa Bay Lightning as Calvin de Haan #44 defends in the first period of the home opener at Little Caesars Arena on October 14, 2023 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Dave Reginek/NHLI via Getty Images)

 

The Detroit Red Wings put on a show to defeat the Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena Saturday night. The new squad came through, with Alex DeBrincat scoring two on the night in a 6-4 victory. The Farmington Hills native, getting to play for the team he grew up watching, lifted them high on opening night.

Detroit did well to keep up with the Devils in their 4-3 defeat Thursday, with seven players getting points in the opening game of the season. The new faces of Detroit made their mark and went in against the Lightning at home. With a new group of players covering half of the roster and two getting to play for their hometown, the Red Wings were prepared to put on a good show in front of their fans. Tampa hadn’t played since their win over Nashville on home ice. Jumping right into a road trip was a good test for them to see if their defense could keep Detroit quiet.

The Red Wings were the first to score on a screenshot from DeBrincat that got behind Jonas Johansson five minutes in. Daniel Sprong got behind him, finding the puck to get it across the line for his second of the season. Just a short time later, Lucas Raymond delivered a big hit to Michael Eyssimont, sending him into the Red Wings bench. Christian Fischer smashed into Calvin de Haan behind the Tampa net just before play was stopped, sending the Detroit fans into a frenzy.

The Lightning tied it at the 12-minute mark, but it appeared that Steven Stamkos got the puck in with his glove. Video evidence determined so, negating the Lightning captain of a goal. Johansson faced a two-man rush from the Red Wings midway into the period but managed to lock down the net. His team turned around to level the score, with Victor Headman sending Stamkos a corner shot into the net for his first.

Tampa took the lead three minutes later on a well-executed pass from Hedman to Brandon Hagel, who went on Ville Husso solo for his second. DeBrincat leveled it back to two-all on his second of the night unassisted. A chance to jump ahead arrived for Detroit, with the game’s first penalty going to Tampa. Having two of three minutes to work with, the Red Wings had their chances but couldn’t get one from it. The period finished at full strength, with Detroit outshooting the Lightning 14-10.

As the second got underway, Detroit had control of the offensive zone. Raymond got himself onto the scoring chart, firing one through the legs of Conor Sheary and into the back of the net two minutes in. At the seven-minute mark, Detroit had six shots on goal, with a few of them close to doubling the margin. At the halfway point, the Red Wings were still taking their scoring chances at Johansson, but the Tampa netminder kept the net clear.

It gave time for Stamkos to get an opportunity with the puck, firing a shot through Husso to notch his second and level the score once more. With 4:37 left, Detroit regained the lead on  Mortiz Seider's shot that J.T. Compher got a reach for, notching his first as a Red Wing. Detroit made it to 31 shots at the end of 40 minutes, where they outshot Tampa 17-8.

Tampa played the remaining half of their power play into the third period, but struggled to find a clean scoring chance. Detroit showed patience through the first five minutes and saw their captain Dylan Larkin take charge of an offensive push. He got the pass cleanly to DeBrincat, who scored his third of the season and second of the night for a 5-3 lead. A scuffle occurred shortly after, handing Tampa their second man advantage of the night.

Hedman got his team within a goal with a shot through traffic for his first, ending the power play. With eight minutes to go, Detroit tried to find another goal to put things out of reach for their opponent. Two minutes remained, and Tampa took Johansson out for the sixth attacker, trying to force overtime. Detroit got lucky to clear out the puck and had one left before the horn could sound.

They killed 44 seconds before coach Jon Cooper called a timeout for Tampa. A faceoff occurred in the Red Wings zone, but they managed to clear it and score a goal before the horn went off. Credit went to Seider for his first going in with four-tenths of a second left in regulation.

“From the very start, the fans brought us into the fight, and it’s nice to have a good game and get a win, and hopefully keep doing this,” said DeBrincat with Bally Sports reporter Trevor Thompson. When asked about playing for his favorite team the 25-year-old spoke of dreams coming true. “It’s so much better being here,” he said. “Being able to experience this with my family and friends in the crowd is awesome.”