Despite the Red Wings digging themselves an early hole, coach Jeff Blashill was pleased with how his team fought back and had a chance to tie the game late in the third period.
"I don't like the first and second goal. I think they're preventable," Blashill said. "Certainly, they're a good team. They tax you, they're really, really good in the rush. They do a good job pulling up, hitting late people. They can lean on you. But I thought there were some moments we did good stuff, and moments we weren't good enough. I thought we created enough chances to score more than one. I think we can still do a better job of limiting chances. So it's a game that was there to be had. Especially as the game went along, I thought we got better and better."
Tampa Bay jumped out early, with center Ross Colton finishing an opportunistic goal on a bouncing puck in front of the net. Red Wings goalie Thomas Greiss made an initial save, but fell to the ice. Colton corralled the bouncing puck and threw it into the open net.
The Lightning lead was extended to 2-0 at 7:26 of the first period after Brayden Point buried the eventual game-winner following a crisp pass from Ondrej Palat. Point beat Greiss on the right side after separating himself from the Red Wings defense.
Neither team scored in the second period, with the Lightning taking a 20-15 lead on shots into the final frame.
Adam Erne cut Detroit's deficit in half just four minutes (16:00) into the decisive third period, digging a puck past Tampa Bay goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to make the score 2-1. Frans Nielsen passed the puck in front, where Erne showed patience and maneuvered it around Vasilevskiy. The tally marked Erne's eighth goal of the season, a career-high mark for the former Tampa Bay winger.
