Author: George Malik

The Detroit Red Wings dropped a 5-1 decision to the Tampa Bay Lightning despite out-shooting Tampa 40-22 on Saturday night, with Detroit’s Atlantic Division/Wild Card playoff hopes taking a dent as a result.

Tampa’s Brayden Point would score only 2:02 into the 1st period, seemingly taking the wind out of the Wings’ sails, and after the Wings seemingly recovered for the balance of said 1st, Tampa Bay scored 3 goals in 3:52 of 2nd period play, thanks in no small part to the brilliance of Nikita Kucherov.

Andrei Vasilevskiy stopped 39 shots as the Bolts faced 78 shot attempts, too, and while the Wings went 1-for-6 in 11:56 of PP time, Tampa was opportunistic in going 2-for-3 in only 2:31 of PP time.

The Bolts received 1G + 2A (a.k.a. 3-point) performances from both Jake Guentzel and Kucherov, who hit the 600-assist mark, and while they were penalized far more often than the Red Wings, the team bent and did not break thanks to Vasilevskiy’s fantastic goaltending.

Detroit’s only goal came from Lucas Raymond, who scored on a one-timer from Patrick Kane and Moritz Seider to make it 4-1 on a 2nd period power play. Tampa would close things out with one more power play marker, and they hung on for the balance of the 3rd period.

The Red Wings will head to Dallas to play the Stars tomorrow (8 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Victory+/97.1 FM).

As the Tampa Bay Times’ Eduardo A. Encina noted, the Lightning earned what will be an important win down the line against a team that they’ll see again next Saturday at Little Caesars Arena in no small part thanks to Kucherov…

Per the Detroit Red Wings on Twitter:

UPDATE: The #RedWings have assigned Ville Husso to the AHL’s Grand Rapids Griffins. pic.twitter.com/ufnMGixZYi

— Detroit Red Wings (@DetroitRedWings) January 19, 2025

The Detroit Red Wings attempted to sweep Florida as they faced the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night, kicking off a stretch of back-to-back games on Gasparilla Day at Amalie Arena.

Detroit certainly got “pirated” in their own way by the Lightning on Saturday, out-shooting Tampa Bay 40-22 and earning a 6-to-3 power play advantage, but losing 5-1 to the Bolts.

Tampa Bay was incredibly effective in scoring a power play and two even strength goals in only 3:52 of 2nd period time, and between Nikita Kucherov’s brilliance (he hit the 600-assist mark tonight) and Andrei Vasilevskiy frustrating the Wings almost endlessly…

Detroit did register a power play marker to make it 4-1, from Lucas Raymond (via Patrick Kane and Moritz Seider), but the game’s score got no closer, and Taylor Raddysh’s goal 15:06 into the 2nd period gave Tampa 4 second period goals and, ultimately, a 5-1 victory.

Cam Talbot wasn’t really at fault for any of the 5 goals he gave up on 16 shots, and Alex Lyon stopped all 6 shots that he faced in relief; Vasilevskiy stopped 39 of 40 and faced SEVENTY-EIGHT shot attempts, but Tampa blocked 25 and Detroit fired 13 wide.

The other ugly stat: Detroit went 1-for-6 in 11:56 of PP time; Tampa went 2-for-3 in 2:31.

Detroit will fly to Dallas and regroup for tomorrow night’s game (8 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/Victory+/97.1 FM).

The Hockey News’s Adam Proteau argues that the Red Wings “need help” in order to earn a playoff spot, and he’s not talking about earning wins through hard work and determination as the Wings face the toughest remaining schedule in the NHL:

And now that a playoff spot is within reach, Detroit GM Steve Yzerman needs to be a buyer at or before the NHL’s March 7 trade deadline. The Red Wings are projected to have approximately $9.15 million in salary cap space by the deadline, That’s more than enough to address their issues. And those issues include a defense corps that is hardly one of the league’s most imposing groups.

Would Yzerman be willing to spend that cap space on a veteran defenseman rental like Montreal’s David Savard? That’s an intriguing proposition. The Canadiens are aiming to secure a playoff spot for themselves, so Savard may not be available. But, there are other options for the Wings on ‘D’. For example, San Jose’s Mario Ferraro should be on the trade block, and his $3.25-million salary runs through the 2025-26 season, so he’s not a pure rental. However, he would be an upgrade for the Red Wings’ back end, and he can deliver 20 minutes per night at a relatively high level of play.

In any case, the Wings have to capitalize on this hot streak and get themselves over the finish line to make the playoffs for the first time in nine years. They haven’t come this far only to get this far, and it’s now on Yzerman to figure out how to have his group emerge as a playoff team by season’s end.

Detroit can’t squander the opportunity their hot stretch has provided them, and this next stretch of games will tell us whether or not this Wings team is a true contender, or merely a pretender destined for the NHL’s ‘mushy middle’ — not bad enough to land a top draft pick, but not good enough to be a post-season team. In sum, there’s no room for error, and nothing short of a continuation of the Red Wings’ excellent play is going to keep their playoff hopes alive.

The NHL is a zero-sum business, and the Wings now must prove they’re capable of succeeding in this high-stakes stretch. And if they do fall back to earth and lose out on a playoff berth, there could and should be notable changes next summer. 

A playoff spot is theirs for the taking, but failure to make it to the post-season will not reflect well on Yzerman’s blueprint for success. The pressure is on, and the way the Red Wings respond to it will dictate the organization’s short and long-term direction.

Continued; at this point, I wouldn’t be surprised if the GM makes an aggressive move to bolster the team’s defense and center ice positions, and I wouldn’t be surprised if he stands pat. It’s all about the cost of doing business, and what’s available out there.

DetroitRedWings.com’s Jonathan Mills asked Red Wings coach Todd McLellan and Simon Edvinsson about the challenges which lie ahead as the team faces the Tampa Bay Lightning tonight:

“There’s always going to be setbacks,” McLellan said. “There’s no such thing as a perfect group or player, but the challenges they’ve accepted and have tried to apply themselves. I think [on Saturday], we’ll have another big challenge: a very good hockey club on the road. Coming off a little bit of a high for the group, we’ll see how they respond.”

Third in the Atlantic Division, the Lightning improved to 3-1-1 in their last five games after outlasting the Anaheim Ducks in a shootout, 4-3, on Thursday.

Riding a seven-game, 11-point streak, Nikita Kucherov leads Tampa Bay and ranks third in the NHL in scoring with 65 points (20 goals, 45 assists). Brandon Hagel (20 goals, 29 assists) is second on the club with 49 points and Brayden Point is next with 48 points (26 goals, 22 assists).

In 34 games this season, goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has a 19-13-2 record with a 2.40 goals-against average and .913 save percentage with a pair of shutouts.

“They have some skilled players,” Simon Edvinsson said about the Lightning. “They have one of the best players with the puck and a great power play, so we’re going to play as we did last game. We need to win all our duels and just find a way to beat them, so it’s going to be a huge game for us [on Saturday].”

Edvinsson added that he’s excited for another chance to compete against one of his childhood NHL idols Victor Hedman. This season, Hedman has 35 points (seven goals, 28 assists) for Tampa Bay.

“I took some stuff from guys that I really like,” Edvinsson said. “Hedman was one of those guys. Just how smart he is with and without the puck, that’s something that I really want to take to my game as well.”

The Detroit News’s Ted Kulfan asked Red Wings goaltender Alex Lyon about Alex Nedeljkovic’s goal and assist registered in last night’s Pittsburgh Penguins win over Buffalo:

“He’s always been great at playing the puck, that’s been a staple in his game,” Lyon said.

For his part, don’t expect Lyon to go out anytime soon and aggressively try to duplicate what Nedeljkovic and Minnesota’s Filip Gustavsson, who scored earlier in the season, have done in scoring into empty nets.

“It’s not my thing,” Lyon said of handling the puck. “I’m always trying to get better with it. I know he (Nedeljkovic) has wanted to do that for a long time, so I’m just happy for him. And the assist, too. He was pretty hot, one-and-one, that’s good. (But) it’s not really in my toolbox.

“He was talking about it after the game and how he watched Marty Turco and (Martin) Brodeur and those guys, and they were amazing. It’s just something that I have not been drawn to. So, I’m always trying to get better at it, but no, there’s no huge desire to score a goal. But if I did, it would be cool.”

Penguins players, and Lyon himself, noted Nedeljkovic was only a fight away from earning a Gordie Howe hat trick (goal, assist, fight). And Nedeljkovic came close Friday with that, too.

“Kind of the nature of the goaltending position in 2025,” Lyon said.

Continued

After the morning skate ahead of tonight’s game between the Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/FanDuel Sports Sun/97.1 FM), the Lightning posted clips of defenseman Max Crozier and coach Jon Cooper speaking with the media.

Coach Cooper discusses his relationship with Todd McLellan, and he suggests that the Red Wings are going to be a bit of an enigma in terms of playing against them.

The clips aren’t embeddable, but you can click on the links above to watch the NHL.com-formatted videos.

The Red Wings posted a YouTube video of goaltender Alex Lyon and coach McLellan speaking with the media today:

Per Daily Faceoff’s Frank Seravalli:

#NHL players have been notified escrow withholding from checks will be terminated for the remainder of this season starting with Jan. 30 payroll run. Revenue projections indicate amount already withheld will also be returned in full following final season accounting.

Related:…

— Frank Seravalli (@frank_seravalli) January 18, 2025

The 21-19-and-4 Detroit Red Wings will play the 24-16-and-3 Tampa Bay Lightning tonight (7 PM EST start on FanDuel SportsNet Detroit/FanDuel Sports Sun/97.1 FM), and it may be an opportune time to play Tampa Bay.

For the Red Wings, this is the first of a set of back-to-back games, with Detroit traveling to Dallas to play the Stars tomorrow night as well.

I know that not many of you plan on watching the entire game as the Detroit Lions play the Washington Commanders at 8 PM, but I’m just not a football person, so while I want the Lions to win for you and the city’s long-suffering Lions fans, I’m going to be watching the Wings-Bolts game all the way through.

The Bolts won their last game, a 3-2 shootout decision over the Anaheim Ducks, but Tampa is 2-1-and-1 over their last 4 games, and they’re 4-1-and-5 in their past 10 games.

As TampaBayLightning.com’s Benjamin Pierce notes, the Lightning tend to dominate against the Red Wings, at least historically speaking…

Daily Faceoff’s Steven Ellis attempts to handicap each and every one of the NHL’s 32 teams’ trade deadline outlooks, and here’s what he has to say about the Red Wings, after noting the team’s draft picks over the course of the next three seasons:

Detroit Red Wings

2025: 1/2/3/3/5/6/7/7
2026: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7
2027: 1/2/3/4/5/6/7

The playoffs are definitely within reach – but how aggressive will the Red Wings get if they don’t see a path to success? The Wings already have a quality prospect pool with solid options at every position, so they can afford to move picks to get more immediate help. If anything, the Wings need someone who can thrive on the penalty kill and help out a bit offensively, too. Detroit has struggled while down a man and could use some help on the blueline – something they didn’t address adequately enough after shipping out Jake Walman last summer.

Continued; with Erik Gustafsson coming out of hibernation, the Wings’ need for a Shayne Gostisbehere replacement has lessened, but snagging a shut-down defenseman to spare Moritz Seider wouldn’t hurt, and if they can snag a net-crashing power forward, that would help as well.