One day after being held scoreless despite 62 shots, the Lightning scored on their first attempt Sunday afternoon in Detroit.
Blake Coleman’s goal 16 seconds into the game set the tone for a much different contest — and a different outcome. The Lightning have been a great team when playing with a lead, and Sunday’s 2-1 win over the Red Wings at Little Ceasars Arena was no different.
Mikhail Sergachev added to the lead 1:09 into the second period, sending a wrist shot from the left point through a Coleman screen (the puck going between his legs) and past Detroit goaltender Jonathan Bernier.
That provided third-string goaltender Christopher Gibson a cushion that he’d need to get to his first Lightning win and first NHL victory in more than three years.
Tampa Bay improved to 25-0-0 when leading after two periods.
The Lightning continued to tighten up their defense Sunday. They’ve allowed just two goals in their last three games.
With the win, their fifth in their last six games, the Lightning (35-14-3, 73 points) tied the Florida Panthers for second place in the Central Division, two points behind the division-leading Carolina Hurricanes. Tampa Bay has four games remaining on its regular-season schedule, including the final two at Florida.
With an eye on the postseason, Lightning coach Jon Cooper gave starting goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy both of the weekend’s back-to-back games off. Backup Curtis McElhinney logged a shutout in Saturday’s 1-0 shootout loss, and Gibson made 22 saves Sunday to record his first win since March 20, 2018 with the Islanders against Pittsburgh.
Vasilevskiy, expected to start the Lightning’s next game Wednesday at home against Dallas, will have five days off between starts.
Sunday was Gibson’s second start with the Lightning. He allowed four goals on 17 shots against the Red Wings on April 4.
A day after playing most of the game in Detroit’s zone but failing to score, Tampa Bay wasted no time finding the back of the net. On the Lightning’s first shift, Barclay Goodrow won a puck battle behind the net and fed Coleman in front for a one-timer that beat Bernier.
The Lightning dominated the first period and most of the second after Sergachev’s score put them up 2-0. But a failed 2-on-1 break led to a 4-on-2 rush the other way that led to a Filp Zadina score with 6:23 left in the period.
Ross Colton fed Mathieu Joseph on the odd-man rush, but Bernier stopped Joseph and the Red Wings were quickly going the other way. Zadina led the rush and kicked the puck out to Vladislav Namestnikov, who returned the puck to Zadina near the left hash, from where he beat Gibson blocker side.
The Lightning killed all four Detroit power plays, including a 5-on-3 penalty for 2:08 in the third when three Tampa Bay players went to the box in quick succession.
