The Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t let the disappointment from their loss in Carolina linger around for long, as they got right back to work on Thursday night and defeated the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 5-1. Led by a hat trick from Cedric Paquette and some solid goaltending from Ben Bishop, the Bolts were able to reclaim top spot in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Bolts will likely be forgiven for dropping a bomb in Carolina on Tuesday night thanks to their performance against the Wings. They made up for the loss against a team chasing Connor McDavid by beating up on a legitimate Eastern Conference contender. The Red Wings are really, really good. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Tampa should be very happy with what they were able to do on Thursday.
Of particular note is the way the Lightning took control of the possession game. Normally when one team jumps out to a big lead, the opposing team storms back and controls the puck thanks to what the analytics community calls ‘score effects’. That didn’t happen. After battling through an evenly played first 40 minutes, the Lightning actually stepped on the gas in the third and closed things out. The following possession chart, courtesy of HockeyStats.ca, helps to illustrate that.
As you can see, it was a solid performance for Tampa Bay.
After being scored on early in their game against the Hurricanes, the Lightning responded tonight with an early goal of their own. Cedric Paquette scored his first of three just 2:03 into the contest. Battling in the slot, Paquette was able to knock his own rebound past Petr Mrazek. It was his first goal in nearly 30 games, and he wasn’t done there.
Darren Helm answered for the Red Wings about 12 minutes into the game when he fired his ninth of the year past Ben Bishop. Able to escape the coverage of Nikita Nesterov, Helm was simply allowed to waltz around the net and into the slot, where he made no mistake.
Detroit probably would have been happy being tied at one after one period on the road. They almost got there, but Paquette scored his second of the game with only 37 seconds left on the clock. Assisted by Jonathan Drouin and Alex Killorn, Paquette wired a major league wrist shot past Mrazek for the 2-1 Lightning lead.
That last minute goal proved to be a backbreaker for the Wings, as the second period was all Lightning. Steven Stamkos scored a power play goal just 4:18 into the stanza, and Paquette completed his first career NHL hat trick with a shorthanded goal at 11:03.
Mark Barberio extended the Lightning lead to 5-1 with his first of the season at 17:39 of the second period, and that’s when the fat lady started singing. Detroit was done like dinner. Ben Bishop made 13 saves in the third period to preserve the lead, while his Lightning fired 17 on goal at the opposite end of the ice. It was a solid way to close out the hockey game.
Tampa head coach Jon Cooper has to be happy with the way his team responded after a slightly embarrassing loss in Carolina. Beating a contender like Detroit is an accomplishment. Hopefully they can take this win and build on it Saturday when the Blue Jackets get to town.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter. 
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