Lightning defeat Red Wings, move into tie for second in Central

DETROIT --The Tampa Bay Lightning moved into a tie for second place in the Discover Central Division with a 2-1 win against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday.

The Lightning and Florida Panthers each have 73 points, two behind the first-place Carolina Hurricanes, who have played one fewer game than Tampa Bay and two fewer than Florida. All three have clinched a Stanley Cup Playoff berth with one spot remaining in the eight-team division.
Blake Coleman had a goal and an assist for the Lightning (35-14-3), who won five straight games before losing 1-0 in a shootout to the Red Wings on Saturday.
"We know we have what it takes to win championships in this room," Coleman said. "We're not the exact same team as last year, but the guys that were here know what it takes and can pull from that experience."

Christopher Gibson, in his second start of the season, made 22 saves for his first NHL win since a 4-1 victory for the New York Islanders against the Pittsburgh Penguins on March 20, 2018.
"This has been a long time coming, so it is exciting, for sure," Gibson said. "The guys played great in front of me, so all the credit goes to them."
Filip Zadina scored, and Jonathan Bernier made 40 saves for the Red Wings (18-27-9), who have scored three goals in their past five games and have gone 10 straight games without a power-play goal (0-for-21).
"We've had too many games like this, where the goaltending is good, but we don't score," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. "Tonight, [Bernier] was very good, but the power play didn't score when we needed them to get us something."
After being shut out Saturday, the Lightning needed 16 seconds to take a 1-0 lead when Coleman scored off a pass from Barclay Goodrow. It was Coleman's third goal in four games and fifth in the past six.
"We turned the puck over really early, and then we chased [Goodrow] behind the net and left [Coleman] wide open in front," Blashill said. "We can't make that kind of mistake."
Mikhail Sergachev put the Lightning up 2-0 at 1:09 of the second period, sliding a point shot through traffic for his third goal of the season and first in 27 games.
Zadina cut it to 2-1 at 13:37, finishing off a 4-on-2 break by slapping home Vladislav Namestnikov's pass. It was the first goal allowed by Tampa Bay in 164:45, dating to the third period of a 7-4 win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Tuesday.

The Lightning are 25-0-0 when leading entering the third period.
"That's a stat that shows the growth of our team," Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. "To win consistently, you have to learn how to close out games, and we've been finding ways to do it."
The Lightning took three penalties in a 1:50 span of the third period but killed a 3:50 power play that included 2:00 at 5-on-3.
"We definitely didn't draw it up to take three consecutive penalties, but that kill was championship hockey," Coleman said. "That's how you have to close out games."
The Red Wings had five shots on goal on the power play, but only one during the two-man advantage.
"That's a very good team, but we had the game in our hands with that long 5-on-3," Bernier said. "We just didn't take advantage."
NOTES:Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. … Tampa Bay is the only NHL team without a loss after entering the third period with the lead. The two teams in NHL history to conclude a regular season without a loss when leading after two periods won the Stanley Cup (Pittsburgh Penguins, 39-0-0, 2015-16; Chicago Blackhawks, 25-0-0, 2014-15). … The Lightning won the season series 5-2-1. The Red Wings were 3-4-1. … Detroit forward Michael Rasmussen played his 100th NHL game. … Detroit held Tampa Bay to six shots on goal in the third period after allowing 36 in the first two.