Detroit converted on a power play in the closing seconds of the first period to go in front. From the left circle, Dylan Larkin fired a wrist shot on net that trickled through Christopher Gibson's equipment and over the line.
In the second, Valtteri Filppula, Michael Rasmussen and Marc Staal all scored goals less than three minutes apart late in the period to give the Red Wings a commanding 4-0 lead.
Filppula struck first, one-timing home a feed from Luke Glendening to double Detroit's lead at 16:05 of the period. Just 29 seconds later, a lively bounce off the boards behind Gibson evaded his attempt to cover and fell right to Rasmussen, who made it a three-goal lead. Marc Staal capped the run, getting a shot from the point through traffic and past Gibson with just over a minute remaining in the middle frame.
The Bolts got one back early in the third, with Victor Hedman scoring his seventh goal of the season. Off a no-look feed from Steven Stamkos, Hedman wired a shot from the top of the slot past Greiss to cut the deficit to three.
That would be as close as the Bolts would come, however, as Darren Helm scored into an empty net at 14:19 of the third after an early pull of Gibson.
There were a pair of debuts for the Lightning on Sunday, with Ben Thomas and Gibson both drawing into the lineup for the first time.
Thomas, Tampa Bay's fourth round selection in the 2014 Draft, made his NHL debut after playing 285 career games for the Crunch over the span of six season. Gibson, meanwhile, made his first appearance for the Bolts after playing the first 14 NHL games of his career with the Islanders between 2016 and 2019.
Thomas skated with Mikhail Sergachev in his debut and logged 14:23 of ice time. Gibson was saddled with the loss after making 13 saves on 17 shots.
The Bolts now depart on a four-game road trip that will take them to Columbus and Nashville. The trip begins on Tuesday at Nationwide Arena against the Blue Jackets.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
DET | 19:47 Dylan Larking (7) - Adam Erne, Filip Hronek - PPG
2nd Period
DET | 16:05 Valtteri Filppula (3) - Luke Glendening, Vladislav Namestnikov
DET | 16:34 Michael Rasmussen (2) - Christian Djoos, Anthony Mantha
DET | 18:58 Marc Staal (3) - Unassisted
3rd Period
TBL | 4:12 Victor Hedman (7) - Steven Stamkos, Cal Foote
DET | 14:19 Darren Helm (2) - Luke Glendening, Vladislav Namestnikov - ENG
