DETROIT, MICHIGAN – DECEMBER 04: Victor Hedman #77 of the Tampa Bay Lightning looks to control the puck in front of Dylan Larkin #71 of the Detroit Red Wings during the second period at Little Caesars Arena on December 04, 2018 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
Despite playing one of their better games of the season, the Red Wings walked away with only one point in a tightly contested overtime loss.
The Wings got on the board first, as Adam Erne scored on the powerplay with a fantastic pass from Filip Zadina, extending the power play streak to five games. Tampa answered back with two unanswered goals in the first, taking the lead.
Although not credited on the scoresheet, Zadina was the reason for the Red Wing’s game tying goal. He set an effective screen right in front of Tampa Bay’s Andrei Vasilevskiy, which allowed Patrick Nemeth’s slapshot to find the net.
Captain Dylan Larkin gave Detroit the lead in dramatic fashion, wristing a shot just left of Vasilevskiy as blood dripped from his face. The goal was Larkin’s first in his past 13, and a nice return after missing the last four games with an injury. Larkin shows again why he’s one of the best Red Wings during this first half–gritting out a goal.
Despite a decent defensive effort in the third, the Red Wings surrendered the lead and headed to overtime. Just two minutes in, Tampa cashed in on a two-on-one situation, scoring the game winner and walking away with both points.
The two teams are set for a rematch in Detroit on Thursday.
Red Wings Goals
Blashill Post Game Conference
Game Notes
- Dylan Larkin returned from injury, but Troy Stecher and Tyler Bertuzzi remain out of the lineup. Stecher is a hopeful for Thursday’s matchup.
- Thomas Greiss secured the most losses for a goaltender in the NHL so far this season, dropping his 12th tonight.
- Anthony Mantha dropped the gloves for the first time in a while when things got chippy in the third period.
- A broken horn presented an entertaining first period, and even inadvertently supported Detroit’s penalty kill on Tampa’s first power play try.
- Tampa Bay has now gone nine games without a regulation loss.