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In my pregame I was hoping to see continued success on the power play. That didn’t happen. However, 5 goals on 18 shots happened. Bernier let in 2 early, and then stood on his head until the third. 14 minutes into the third period, Detroit was being outshot 36 to 19 (eventually 44-23). Tampa scored twice in the final 5 minutes and it was a tight contest.

Where there was some stinginess in the Detroit end, there was generosity from Tampa Bay’s McElhinney. Posting a humble .773 save %, Detroit got a much needed gift. That doesn’t take away from some really nice plays. More defensive contribution as Stecher potted his first of the season after returning from IR. Larkin took a beautiful tip on a slick pass from Hronek with Mantha grabbing an assist. Mantha then drove hard to the net and was rewarded. Winning a foot race and benefitting from some overzealous defensive play. Glendening got on the board with a beautiful bank shot. What impressed me the most was Zadina’s assist on this. He caused the turnover that got the puck to Rasmussen, and his rebound went to Glenny. Zadina is working hard and it’s fantastic to see. Fabbri had a nice bit of delay, drag and snipe after a Bolts turnover at Detroit’s blue line.

TB never quit. With three minutes left and 41 shots, they got within 1. This is the mark of a championship team. They took over the game and kept pressing. A Namestnikov EN goal gave Detroit the cushion they needed to win with 34 seconds to go. It took 6 goals because Detroit was so badly outplayed in the third period. A win is a win, but there’s no formula for success here. This was a gift, one that was much needed.

Halfway through the season, we’re seeing scoring. 9 goals in 2 games against TB (getting 3 of 4 points) is almost unheard of. Again, this wasn’t a structure win, it was a tale of two goalies. One hot, one less than hot (but with a great personality). Let me know if anything stood out to you. This could well be a Karma type win. Detroit outplayed Chicago a couple times and lost. It happens. Tampa is still a dangerous team and a top contender. Nothing has changed. Vasilevsky needed a night off. I’m sure he would have rather come in. A good feeling in the room with Detroit’s first regulation win over Tampa in, well, forever. Just sit back and enjoy it.

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