Some stat lines from this game spelled potential trouble for the Lightning. The Red Wings had gone 17-34 on the power play over their previous 10 games, and the Lightning put them on the power play six times. Also, Tampa Bay ceded most of the possession, allowing 40 shots on net and 77 shot attempts.
But Andrei Vasilevskiy was brilliant in net, denying numerous scoring chances. He finished with 39 saves. The Lightning’s penalty kill met the challenge as well, killing five of those six Red Wings power plays.
And while the Lightning only registered 22 shots and 43 attempts, they used two strong segments to score four of their five goals. The first segment came at the start of the game. The Lightning carried play in the early minutes and grabbed the lead at 2:02. Emil Lilleberg fired a shot from the center point that deflected off the stick of Dylan Larkin. The puck went wide left of the net and ricocheted off the end boards back in front. Cam Talbot was at the top of his crease for the Lilleberg shot. This allowed Brayden Point to cut in behind him. Point stopped the puck and tucked it into an open side of the net…