The Detroit Red Wings finally broke through against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena.
Their offense broke through with three goals in three minutes in the 2nd period en route to a 5-1 victory over the Lightning, their first regular season road win against their division rivals since February of 2011.
“Having success against them certainly feels good,” coach Jeff Blashill said. “They’re the defending champions. But at the end, for me, it’s about playing the right away and how the process of it went and I thought our process was pretty good.”
Forward Michael Rasmussen, recently recalled from the team taxi squad, was among the five goal scorers on the afternoon; it was his second goal of the season
“We played well from the start,” Rasmussen said. “Everyone played well. We clogged up the neutral zone pretty good and stuck to our system.
“We can play with whoever as long as we are playing our game, as long as everyone is working hard. It was a good win.”
Goaltender Thomas Greiss picked up his 3rd win as a Red Wing, making 27 saves. None, however, were bigger than his key save on Lightning captain Steven Stamkos. Greiss robbed Stamkos with a sliding stick save on a 3-on-1 rush, preserving what was then a 1-0 Red Wings lead.
“There was a little luck here and there,” Greiss said. “It hits the shaft and goes out and then we go down the other way and it goes in. If it had been 1-1, it’s a totally different game.”
“He was really sharp,” Blashill said of Greiss. “He did a great job fighting through traffic. From start to finish, it was maybe his best game in a long time, maybe one of the best of the year.”
The Red Wings will return home for a two-game series against the Nashville Predators that begins on Tuesday at Little Caesars Arena.
– – Quotes via Helene St. James of The Detroit Free Press Link – –
