DETROIT _ Failure to convert on the power play left the Detroit Red Wings with a familiar outcome against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
The Wings left Little Caesars Arena on Sunday on the short end of a 5-2 final, losing for the 10th straight time in the regular season to the Lightning.
After a heated first period that saw two fights, Gustav Nyquist used his 14th goal to edge Detroit within 2-1. The Wings were stymied through two 5-on-3s and 6:45 minutes total of power play time through two periods, which saw them with a 26-13 edge in shots (eight of them during power plays).
Justin Abdelkader used a turnover early in the third period to score and again push the Wings within a goal, but the Wings couldn't find a way to extend what had been a four-game winning streak.
The first five minutes saw the Wings play mostly in their own zone, forcing five saves from Petr Mrazek. The Wings struggled to gain the offensive zone, and when they did, didn't generate any quality scoring chances. About seven minutes in, Mrazek denied Nikita Kucherov on a breakaway, and then Frans Nielsen dove to stop Stamkos' shot on the rebound, which otherwise would have found an empty net.
Dan Girardi made it 1-0 at 8:56 of the first period on a tip-in. Bad puck management by the Wings led to a 2-0 deficit at 14:11 of the first period, when Niklas Kronwall couldn't corral the puck by the left goal post and instead Tyler Johnson knocked the puck in (Johnson has points in eight of his last nine regular-season games against Detroit). Hard to fault Mrazek on either goal. Yanni Gourde made it 3-1 with 59.2 seconds to go in the second period. Kucherov scored off a faceoff at 13:42 of the third period on a lightning-fast release. Gourde scored again on a rebound at 16:05.
With 3:25 to go in the first period, Dylan Larkin and Brayden Point got into it during a heated battle along the boards. Both kept throwing punches as two officials pried them apart. Tomas Tatar got into it with Gourde with 1:37 to play, with Tatar taking the brunt of the punches.
After being outshot, 6-0, to start the first period, the Wings ended up outshooting Tampa, 12-9, in the first period. Tatar and Andreas Athanasiou were on a rush with no defender in front of them, and Tatar should've either taken a better shot or better yet, passed to Athanasiou given the hot streak he's been on. Louis Domingue made a great stop on Mike Green during a power play. Nyquist scored 3:10 into the second period when Tyler Bertuzzi chipped the puck ahead to him, and Nyquist slid in and sent the puck in off the crossbar.
During a Wings power play late in the second period, Girardi got hit in the back of the neck by Martin Frk's slap shot. Girardi dropped to the ice and didn't move for several minutes. There were loud cheers from the crowd when Girardi was able to get up. He looked woozy as he was helped off by teammates.
