Detroit Red Wings unplug Tampa Bay Lightning attack in 2-0 shutout
Portrait of Helene St. JamesHelene St. James
Detroit Free Press
For the second straight Saturday, the Detroit Red Wings’ challenge was to dent netminder Andrei Vasilevskiy.
This time, at least, the Wings were on home ice, hosting the Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena. And unlike the first meeting of the season between the Atlantic Division rivals, this night all the Wings needed was one goal — and 28 saves from Cam Talbot — which was enough to secure a 2-0 victory.
Marco Kasper scored the game-winning goal and Michael Rasmussen added one for insurance with 27.3 seconds on the clock.
Detroit Red Wings goaltender Cam Talbot (39) makes a save against against Tampa Bay Lightning during the second period at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Jan. 25, 2025.
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Kasper scored in the second period, and the Wings used a power play late in that same period to build momentum. A scrum broke out at the end of the second period, when Brandon Hagel and Lucas Raymond got into it and Victor Hedman tried to get involved before being pulled away by Dylan Larkin; after officials were done sorting things out, the Wings opened the third with a power play — but even though they started on fresh ice, the best they managed was one backhand attempt by Andrew Copp. A third power play, near the midpoint of the third period, wasn’t much better.
Top-six winger Patrick Kane missed a second straight game because of an upper-body injury.
Missed opportunities
Jake Guentzel gave a demonstration in overpassing in the first period when he had a near-open net to shoot at in the first period only to pass the puck to his right, to Anthony Cirelli, even though he didn’t have a good angle for a shot. Larkin was unable to convert on a nifty back-door setup by Lucas Raymond, denied on the doorstep by Vasilevskiy. Nikita Kucherov seemed poised to solve Talbot, but instead sent a backhand shot wide right. The Wings outshot the Bolts, 13-7, in the first period.
Sit & score
Kasper was called for hooking at 7:19 of the second period, leaving the Wings on the penalty kill. Simon Edvinsson visibly winced after blocking an attempt by Hedman. Larkin was called for high-sticking Guentzel, but officials also nailed Guentzel for embellishment, so those penalties offset one another at 8:28. With a minute of Kasper being out of the penalty box, the rookie scored his seventh goal of the season. J.T. Compher had the puck up high and fired a shot on net that Kasper quickly redirected into Tampa’s net for a 1-0 lead, at 9:55.
Building momentum
The Wings got their shot at a man advantage at 11:11 of the second period, when Compher drew a penalty from Emil Lilleberg. It was a good stretch for the Wings, with Larkin snapping a couple shots at Vasilevskiy. Vladimir Tarasenko, promoted to the first unit during Kane’s absence, directed a shot from the right circle. Larkin also chased down Zemgus Girgensons when he rushed up ice on breakaway, with Larkin using his stick to poke away the puck and negate a potential scoring opportunity for the opponent.
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