After 65 minutes of scoreless hockey in the series opener, it took the Bolts just 16 seconds to find the back of the net on Sunday. On the first shift of the game, Barclay Goodrow intercepted a pass behind the Detroit net and set up Blake Coleman for a shot from the slot that Jonathan Bernier couldn't keep out.
In the second period, the third line converted once again on their opening shift of the period as Tampa Bay doubled the lead. The trio of Coleman, Goodrow and Yanni Gourde kept the Red Wings hemmed in their own zone off the opening faceoff and capped the shift by cycling the puck to Mikhail Sergachev at the point for a shot that beat Bernier through traffic.
The Red Wings answered at the 13:37 mark of the second with Filip Zadina beating Christopher Gibson on the rush. It was a save by Bernier on Mathieu Joseph that sprung Detroit up the ice, with the stop leading to a 4-on-2 rush the other way. Zadina used a give-and-go with Vladislav Namestnikov on his left to open space before snapping his shot past Gibson from inside the circle.
It took some heroic work from the Lightning's penalty kill in the third to keep Detroit from equalizing. With Tyler Johnson already in the box, Alex Killorn and Goodrow took back-to-back penalty calls giving the Red Wings a full two-minute 5-on-3 power play late in the period. Tampa Bay did an excellent job keeping Detroit from getting any dangerous looks on the opportunity and managed to protect the lead through to the final horn.
Andrei Vasilevskiy was a healthy scratch for the second-straight day as the Bolts work to get him some rest before the playoffs. Gibson made his second start of the season in goal for Tampa Bay and stopped 23 shots to record his first win since March of 2018.
The win moves Tampa Bay into a tie for second in the Central Division standings with Florida. The Botls are now also two points back of Carolina in the top spot, although the Hurricanes have a game in hand.
Scoring Summary
1st Period
TBL | 0:16 Blake Coleman (13) - Barclay Goodrow
2nd Period
TBL | 1:09 Mikhail Sergachev (3) - Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman
DET | 13:37 Filip Zadina (6) - Vladislav Namestnikov, Adam Erne
3rd Period
No scoring
