Red Wings get rare win against Lightning

DETROIT -- Anthony Mantha had a goal and two assists to help the Detroit Red Wings to their first regulation victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning since 2015, a 6-4 win at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday.

The Lightning were 19-0-1 against the Red Wings since a 2-1 loss at Detroit on Nov. 3, 2015. Tampa Bay won 4-3 in overtime here Tuesday to open the two-game set.
"We want to win games and get points, so it is great to get three points from two games against the Stanley Cup champions," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "I don't think our guys pay too much attention to those streaks from year to year. We haven't been good enough for a while now, so we have poor records against a lot of teams."
Ondrej Palat had a goal and two assists, and Steven Stamkos and Brayden Point each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning (18-5-2), whose nine-game point streak ended (8-0-1). Curtis McElhinney made 17 saves, and Tampa Bay finished its six-game road trip 4-1-1.
"We didn't score on our chances, and they scored on almost every chance they had," Palat said. "I don't think we played that bad, and we are still going home with nine points out of 12 on this road trip."
Jonathan Bernier made 40 saves, and Filip Zadina had two assists for the Red Wings (8-16-4), who had lost four straight.
"There's not much to say about [Bernier]. He's our best player," Detroit defenseman Troy Stecher said. "He gives us a chance to win every night."

The Red Wings scored three times on six first-period shots.
Stecher gave them a 1-0 lead on the rush at 8:31 with his first goal for Detroit. He missed the previous eight games with a lower-body injury.
"Obviously, it felt great to be back out there and even better to get that goal," he said. "It's huge to be able to play with the lead against that team."
Mikhail Sergachev tied it 1-1 at 10:55 with a wrist shot from the left face-off circle, and Dylan Larkin gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead at 12:12 with his second goal in two games.
Stamkos tied it 2-2 at 13:55 with a power-play goal at the side of the net.
"I don't think the score reflected the game, but you will have nights like that during the season," said Stamkos, the Lightning captain. "Give them credit. They came out hungry and their goaltender played very well."
Mantha gave the Red Wings a 3-2 lead at 14:56. The Lightning challenged for goaltender interference but were given a penalty when the call on the ice was upheld.
Luke Glendening made it 4-2 at 33 seconds of the second period, banking in a shot off McElhinney from a sharp angle for Detroit's fourth goal on nine shots.

Robby Fabbri extended the lead to 5-2 at 4:50.
"We gifted them too many chances and they were extremely efficient," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.
Point made it 5-3 at 15:51 of the third period when he scored from the right hash marks off a drop pass from Palat, and Palat pulled Tampa Bay within 5-4 at 17:05.
Vladislav Namestnikov scored into an empty net at 19:40 for the 6-4 final.
"Tuesday, I thought we played well enough to win the game and then we lost in overtime," Blashill said. "Tonight, I didn't think we played a very smart game, but our goaltender was the best player on the ice. That's how the NHL works."
NOTES: The Lightning, who have the fourth-ranked power play in the NHL (28.1 percent), were 1-for-6. The Red Wings, who have the 29th-ranked penalty kill (70.7 percent), killed a 5-on-3 power play for 30 seconds in the second period. … Bernier is 22-27-3 since the start of last season. The other Detroit goalies are 3-38-6.