The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Detroit Red Wings 4-1 on Tuesday but lost Ben Bishop in the process.
The Lightning goaltender stopped all four shots he faced before he left the game near the 12-minute mark of the first period after making a pad save with his right leg on a shot by Red Wings defenseman Nick Jensen. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 22 saves in relief to earn his seventh win of the season.
Lightning head coach Jon Cooper did not know the severity of Bishop’s injury after the game.
The Red Wings also suffered an injury in their crease, as netminder Jimmy Howard went down with an injury with 12:41 remaining in the second period after Jensen and Erik Condra made contact with him during a scramble in front of the Detroit net.
For the Lightning, who had won two of their previous 11 contests, their performance on Tuesday was the sort of game that they’d been looking for.
Despite being without Ryan Callahan (lower-body injury), Nikita Kucherov (lower-body) and Ondrej Palat (undisclosed) again, the team’s forwards rolled from the start, outshooting the Red Wings 31-27 on the night. They received goals from Brian Boyle, Jonathan Drouin, Brayden Point and Vladislav Namestnikov. Vasilevskiy carried a shutout into the third period but it was snapped by Anthony Mantha with just 11 seconds left in regulation.
The Lightning’s penalty kill, which had struggled of late, was a perfect five-for-five and the Lightning converted on two of six opportunities with the man advantage.
Here’s a closer look at this game played out on Tuesday:
First Period
The Lightning got off to a quick start and opened the scoring when Brian Boyle redirected an Anton Stralman slap shot past Howard at 7:02 of the period. Drouin also earned an assist on the play to extend his point streak to three games.
After making four saves to open the game, Bishop went down with an injury and left the ice on his own accord in noticeable pain. He was replaced by Vasilevskiy who stepped in and stopped three more Red Wings shots in a period where the Lightning lead the shooting, 13-7.
The teams exchanged power play opportunities just past the midpoint of the frame but were unsuccessful because of their respective penalty killing units. J.T. Brown and Andreas Athanasiou fought with just under three minutes left in the period and each received five-minute majors. Brown being called for an additional two-minute minor which gave the Red Wings a late-period power play. The Lightning penalty killers, however, shut down the Red Wings with the man advantage.
Second Period
The middle frame belonged to the Lightning as they tallied three goals and outshot the Red Wings 12-11. Detroit lost Howard early in the period after a scramble in front of their own net. He writhed in pain in the crease before leaving the game and being replaced by Petr Mrazek.
The Lightning power play struck for the first time in the game, as Jonathan Drouin fired a slap shot past Mrazek for his eighth goal of the year at 7:41 of the period. Alex Killorn and Tyler Johnson each received assists on the goal.
The Lightning extended their lead to three goals when they converted on their second straight power play after Brayden Point potted a goal on a rebound off of a Johnson slap shot. It was his first goal since Nov. 17 — a span of 15 games — despite playing well during the span. Victor Hedman also received an assist on the tally, extending his point streak to four games.
The Lightning made it a four-goal game as Namestnikov netted a goal after Killorn fed him the puck during a two on one play with just 33 seconds left in the period. Point also earned an assist on the play, as he helped clear the puck to Killorn out of the Lightning’s own end to set up the sequence leading up to the goal.
Third Period
The Lightning were unable to find the back of the net during a four-minute power play after Drew Miller was called for a high-sticking penalty at the 11-second mark of the period. The Lightning were outshot by the Red Wings 8-7 in the final frame and had their shutout snapped with 11 seconds left in the contest when Mantha found the back of the net. Jensen and Henrik Zetterberg received assists on the play — Jensen’s first career point in his NHL debut.
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Scoring Summary
FIRST PERIOD
TB-Brian Boyle (7) assisted by Anton Stralman and Jonathan Drouin
SECOND PERIOD
TB-Jonathan Drouin (8) assisted by Alex Killorn and Tyler Johnson (PP)
TB-Brayden Point (3) assisted by Tyler Johnson and Victor Hedman (PP)
TB-Vladislav Namestnikov (4) assisted by Alex Killorn and Brayden Point
THIRD PERIOD
DET-Anthony Mantha (5) assisted by Nick Jensen and Henrik Zetterberg
THW Three Stars
First: Jonathan Drouin (one goal, one assist)
Second: Brayden Point (one goal, one assist)
Third: Brian Boyle (one goal)
What’s Up Next
St. Louis Blues at Tampa Bay Lightning
Thursday, Dec. 22, 2016
Amalie Arena – 7:30 P.M. EST
Broadcast Channels – Fox Sports Sun, FS-MW
