Red Wings fall to Lightning in season opener

By @MichaelCaples –

The Red Wings’ biggest free-agent acquisitions delivered in their first game with their new club, but it wasn’t enough for Detroit.

In their 2016-17 season opener on Thursday night, the Wings fell to rival Tampa Bay by a final score of 6-4.

New forwards Thomas Vanek and Frans Nielsen scored Detroit’s first three goals of the season, but Detroit squandered 2-0 and 3-1 leads after allowing the Lightning to find the scoresheet four different times in the third period.

“Lots of self-inflicted wounds,” Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill told NHL.com after the game. “You can’t give up easy opportunities. You score three and that game should go to overtime at the least.”

Danny DeKeyser scored a goal on a strange bounce to round out the scoring for the Wings, while Petr Mrazek stopped 30 of the 35 shots sent his way.

The Wings scored on one of their two power-play advantages in the contest; Tampa Bay scored on three of six.

Jonathan Drouin, Cedric Paquette, Brian Boyle, Tyler Johnson, Alex Killorn and Valtteri Filppula all scored for the Lightning, while Ben Bishop made 28 saves.

Vanek scored the Wings’ first two goals of the season, finding the back of the net twice in the first period. His first came on the first power-play opportunity of the 2016-17 campaign for Detroit, when he knocked in a rebound just above the Lightning’s crease at the 3:12 mark of the first.

Five minutes later, he capitalized on a play jumpstarted by Gustav Nyquist; the Wings’ No. 14 stripped the puck from Nikita Nesterov and Vanek was the beneficiary.

After a power-play goal from Drouin, Nielsen scored his first goal in the Winged Wheel jersey to regain a two-goal lead when he got his stick on a loose puck in front of the Tampa goal.

Paquette’s goal on a bad-angle shot that bounced in off Mrazek pulled the Lightning within one heading into the third period.

From there, it was all Lightning.

Boyle scored his first of the season three minutes into the final frame to tie the game at 3-3, and then power-play goals from Johnson and Killorn gave Tampa Bay control of the contest.

DeKeyser’s goal – a dump-in that hit a stanchion in the glass and headed to the Lightning goal with enough speed to fool Bishop – made it a 5-4 game, but former Detroit forward Filppula ended the comeback with an empty-net goal.