TAMPA, Fla. _ The Detroit Red Wings made it hard on themselves as they sought to overturn a losing streak.
Their rallying attempts fell short after handing the Tampa Bay Lightning six power plays Thursday at Amalie Arena; that's flirting with danger against the best power play in the NHL. The Wings got within a goal with a late power-play goal of their own, but ultimately lost 3-2, extending their losing streak to 0-5-1.
It's the 10th straight loss in the regular season at Tampa Bay.
Frans Nielsen scored twice: short-handed to give the Wings a 1-0 lead in the first period, and again during a late power play. Nikita Kucherov scored on a power play in the first period and Steven Stamkos ripped a one-timer during the Lightning's sixth power play, in the third period. Brayden Point scored on a point-blank shot with 2:56 to play.
The Wings got their third power play of the game with 2:24 to go, and Jimmy Howard was pulled for a 6-on-4 man advantage. Nielsen converted on a rebound.
The Wings fared poorly to start the game on face-offs and ended up spending most of the first 8 minutes in their own zone. It wasn't until past 5 minutes into the game that Andrei Vasilevskiy had to make a save, on Justin Abdelkader. Howard made seven saves the first 9 minutes. The Wings finally gained some momentum when they got a power play at 8:57; they didn't score but Henrik Zetterberg's unit had some good looks and sparked better play.
The Wings faced a second penalty kill at 13:59 of the first period. Nielsen took advantage of a botched pass and raced into Tampa Bay's zone, with Darren Helm tearing up the left side. Nielsen fired a rising shot from the right circle that sank into the far corner for a 1-0 lead at 14:18. It was Nielsen's third goal of the season (he also scored in a shoot-out at Ottawa, but those don't count as individual stats).
The Wings took three penalties in the first period, the third for too many men, an especially egregiously sloppy penalty. The Lightning showed why its power play tops 30 percent when Kucherov fired a shot that changed direction at the last second to make it 1-1.
When Mikhail Sergachev crosschecked Anthony Mantha in the second period, Mantha responded by dropping his gloves and punching the rookie. Both ended up in the box.
The game was the first of the season for Andreas Athanasiou after a contract standoff that ended Friday. He had a glorious chance to score late in the second period when he got the puck right in front of Tampa's net, but Vasilevskiy made the save. That was one of 19 shots the Wings had after two periods, while Howard had made 25 saves.
