{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
Tampa Bay 4, Detroit 1
When: 7:30 PM ET, Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Referees: Francois St. Laurent, Justin St. Pierre
Linesmen: Darren Gibbs, Bryan Pancich
Attendance: 19092

TAMPA, Fla. -- Both teams exited with question marks after losing their starting goalies early to injuries, but the Tampa Bay Lightning also got an emphatic win Tuesday.

The Lightning beat the Detroit Red Wings for the third time this season, breaking out of a slump with a 4-1 victory Tuesday at Amalie Arena.

"We had to play with desperation, and I thought we did that," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "There's a lot we can build off this, no question. Really proud of the effort the guys gave tonight."

The Lightning (16-14-3) won for only the third time in 12 games, getting two power-play goals and successfully killing off five power plays by Detroit, which lost for the fifth time in six games.

Tampa Bay's Andrei Vasilevskiy, who stepped in for Ben Bishop (lower-body injury) only eight minutes into the game, stopped the first 22 shots he faced before losing the shutout on a goal by Anthony Mantha with 10.5 seconds left.

"I've been in this situation before. It's very important to catch the first couple of shots and you'll get warm and get some confidence," Vasilesvkiy said. "That's what I tried to do."

Detroit (14-15-4) lost its starting goalie, Jimmy Howard, early in the second period with what looked to be a right leg injury. Petr Mrazek took over and gave up three goals on 15 shots. No updates were given on either goalie's status or the severity of their injuries.

"I take complete blame on that one," said defenseman Nick Jensen, who got tangled with Lightning forward Erik Condra and landed on Howard. "I kind of panicked, tried to tie the guy up, got hooked around him. I wish it hadn't happened. I said I'm sorry. It's completely my fault, but it's hockey."

Detroit never found a rhythm one night after their game at Carolina was delayed and eventually postponed because of a problem with the ice-freezing machine in Raleigh.

"It's not fun losing," Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg said. "Guys are showing their emotions. We have to find a way to develop that into winning battles, executing, and if we do that, we'll be better."

The Lightning dominated the second period, taking a 1-0 lead and extending it to 4-0 thanks in part to two goals in the final three minutes.

Two Detroit penalties in a span of 27 seconds gave the Lightning an extended five-on-three, but they needed only seven seconds before Jonathan Drouin -- who drew a tripping penalty to start the initial power play -- scored for his eighth goal and a 2-0 lead with 12:19 left in the second.

The Lightning killed off the rests of the Wings' power play, a major step forward after allowing 14 power-play goals in 11 games coming in. Detroit's power play, ranked 29th out of 30 teams, went 0-for-5 in the first two periods.

Tampa Bay added another power-play goal with 2:56 left in the second as rookie Brayden Point flicked in a rebound off a Tyler Johnson shot for his third goal of the season. The Lightning converted a two-on-one breakaway with 33 seconds left in the period, with Alex Killorn passing to Vladislav Namestnikov for his fourth goal of the season.

Tampa Bay took a 1-0 lead on a goal by Brian Boyle, who got his stick on a long shot by defenseman Anton Stralman to redirect it past Howard with 12:58 remaining in the opening period.

Bishop skated off the ice under his own power after making a kick save with his right leg with 7:46 left in the opening period. He was replaced by Vasilevskiy with Tampa Bay leading 1-0.

Early in the second period, Howard injured his right leg stopping a shot with 14:21 left and was not putting weight on his leg as he was helped off the ice.

NOTES: The Lightning continue to play short-handed, going again without RW Ryan Callahan (lower-body injury), RW Nikita Kucherov (lower body) and LW Ondrej Palat (undisclosed) in addition to C Steven Stamkos, who is 16 games into a four-month absence with a knee injury. C Cedric Paquette returned after missing one game with an upper-body injury. ... The Red Wings had three healthy scratches, D Brian Lashoff, D Mike Green and RW Tomas Jurco; while Tampa Bay had one healthy scratch, D Nikita Nesterov.
Top Game Performances
 
Detroit   Tampa Bay
Anthony Mantha 1 Points Jonathan Drouin 2
Anthony Mantha 1 Goals Jonathan Drouin 1
Nick Jensen 1 Assists Tyler Johnson 2
N/A Power Play Goals Jonathan Drouin 1
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Jimmy Howard .938 Save Percentage Ben Bishop 1.000
Jimmy Howard 15 Saves Andrei Vasilevskiy 22
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Detroit 27 1 0-5 4-6 19 28
Tampa Bay 31 4 2-6 5-5 17 23
Upcoming Games
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game at home against St. Louis. The Lightning have a W/L % of .438 after a win and .529 after a loss.
  • Detroit will play their next game on the road against Florida. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .571 after a win and .333 after a loss.