The Tampa Bay Lightning took down the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 on Saturday night. Even though the Red Wings outshot the Lightning a lopsided 40 to 22, a strong night by the Lightning’s top line and goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy between the pipes allowed them to flip the script.
Reigning Art Ross Trophy winner Nikita Kucherov recorded three points in the winning effort, one of which was his 600th career assist. He’s the second player in team history to reach the mark – Victor Hedman became the first on Thursday night.
The Lightning opened the scoring with a goal by Brayden Point (27) – the lone goal of the first period. They then put up three more unanswered goals within the first four minutes of the second period. Jake Guentzel (23) scored on the power play and then Kucherov (21) and Mitchell Chaffee (8) each found the back of the net.
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The Red Wings got on the board for the first and only time when Lucas Raymond (19) snapped one past Vasilevskiy on the power play. Raymond’s goal represented his 50th point of the season. He’s the first on the Red Wings to reach the mark in 2024-25.
Lightning defenseman Darren Raddysh (2) wrapped up scoring with a power-play goal in the later minutes of the second period. The third period went scoreless to follow up the five-goal second frame.
Vasilevskiy saved 39 of 40 on the night (.975 save percentage) and picked up his 15th career win against the Red Wings. Red Wings goalie Cam Talbot saved just 11 of 16 before being lifted for Alex Lyon in the third period. He saved all six shots on goal that he faced.
The Lightning depart for a four-game road trip that will start north of the border. They will take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Monday. Puck drop is set for 7:30 p.m. EST. The Red Wings continue their road trip on Sunday when they head to Dallas to take on the Stars. Puck drop is set for 8 p.m. EST/7 p.m. CST.
The Lightning and Red Wings will meet again in Detroit for a rematch next Saturday at 7 p.m. EST.
