#LGRW Final: Red Wings defeat Lightning in high-scoring thriller, 6-4

DETROIT -- Temperatures reached 70 degrees in southeastern Michigan on Thursday and the Detroit Red Wings brought that heat inside Little Caesars Arena, scoring three first-period goals en route to a 6-4 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.

The two clubs combined for five goals in 6:25 of first-period action and Red Wings goalie Jonathan Bernier made 40 saves to help Detroit earn its first regulation win over Tampa Bay since November 3, 2015.
With the win, the Red Wings improved to 8-16-4 this season while the Lightning fell to 18-5-2 as they wrapped up a six-game road trip.

Wings defenseman Troy Stecher opened the scoring 8:31 into the first when he sprinted up the ice to join the rush, took a pass from Filip Zadina and fired a knuckling wrist shot that beat Tampa Bay goalie Curtis McElhinney top shelf to give Detroit a 1-0 lead.
Stecher, who returned from injury for the first time in nine games, scored his first goal of the season and his first as a member of the Red Wings. Sam Gagner also earned a helper on the goal, earning his 300th NHL assist.
"It felt good, obviously," Stecher said after the win. "I haven't really contributed offensively the way I wanted to this year, but to come back from injury and get one right away felt good. Anytime you can play with a lead, you're going to play with a lot more confidence, and I thought we did that as a group."
Just 2:24 later, the Lightning matched the Red Wings' blueliner goal with one of their own as Mikhail Sergachev found himself wide open in the left face-off circle and unleashed a shot over Bernier's glove to tie the game, 1-1, with 9:05 left in the period.
Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin answered, though, scoring his second goal in as many games as he took a pass from Filip Hronek on the doorstep and buried a one-time shot past McElhinney to re-take the lead, 2-1, at 12:12 of the first. Anthony Mantha also earned an assist on the goal, which was Larkin's sixth tally of the season and seventh in his last seven games against the Lightning.

At 13:36, Red Wings forward Bobby Ryan went to the box for roughing and Tampa Bay's power play took advantage 19 seconds later as Lightning captain Steven Stamkos finished a tape-to-tape pass from Alex Killorn in front of the net to tie the game once again, 2-2.
The first-period scoring frenzy continued 1:01 later as Mantha made a great hustle play to beat Lightning defenseman Jan Rutta to the puck just in front of the net and fired a shot on McElhinney.
The Tampa Bay goalie made the save initially, but Mantha and Rutta crashed into McElhinney and the puck slid into the net. Lightning coach Jon Cooper challenged for goalie interference but the goal was upheld after official review.

The unassisted goal gave the Red Wings a 3-2 lead at the first intermission, marking the first time Detroit scored three first-period goals since December 31, 2018 and the first time the Wings scored three in the first against the Lightning since 1999.
The Red Wings picked up where they left off in the second period with two more quick goals, first with Luke Glendening jumping off the bench, joining the rush and burying his own rebound 33 seconds into the frame to give Detroit a 4-2 lead.

Then, Wings forward Robby Fabbri got into the offensive act, stickhandling into the zone and firing a wicked top-shelf wrist shot past McElhinney. Fabbri's goal gave Detroit a 5-2 lead 4:50 into the second and forced Cooper to call a timeout to slow down Detroit's momentum.

Tampa Bay had a five-on-three power play for 30 seconds after penalties to Fabbri and Hronek midway through the second period, but Bernier was up to the task, collecting three saves on the five-on-three and making a highlight-reel pad save on Killorn to maintain the Wings' 5-2 lead.

The Lightning's frustrations boiled over toward the end of the second as Barclay Goodrow initiated a fight with Adam Erne, punching the Red Wings forward in the jaw. Erne went down hard and was taken to the Detroit dressing room, but he was able to return in the third period.
Tampa Bay had four power plays in the second period and Detroit killed them all, taking a three-goal lead into the second intermission.
The Lightning pulled McElhinney with just over four minutes remaining in regulation and Tampa Bay made it interesting as Brayden Point and Ondrej Palat added a pair of six-on-five goals in 1:05 to make it a 5-4 game with 2:55 to go.
But Red Wings forward Vladislav Namestnikov scored an empty-net goal on a generous feed from Mantha with 20 seconds remaining to put the game away for Detroit.

Mantha finished with three points, Zadina and Hronek each had multi-point games and defenseman Jon Merrill, who welcomed his fourth child into the world on March 5, earned a plus-four rating to help Detroit earn three points in its two-game series against the Lightning.
"It was good to get three of four points against, obviously, a team as good as they are," Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said. "I think our guys competed hard. They're a good hockey team. Good for us to find a way to win."
The Wings will look to continue their momentum Sunday evening as they continue their six-game homestand, hosting the Carolina Hurricanes at Little Caesars Arena at 5 p.m.