
Sunday, 4 a.m.
Just like that, the Tampa Bay Lightning is heading in the wrong direction.
The Bolts lost for the third time in four games Saturday night, losing a 2-0 game to Detroit. It was a nightmare road trip, one in which the team’s record on the road (11-13-2) and in the division (3-9).
Yeah, the team is tired. Yeah it’s frustrated.
On the other hand, too many games have ended up pointless. The Bolts are now tied with Columbus for the wild card spot, one point ahead of Ottawa.
“The goalie made some spectacular saves,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We had two 6x4s (open nets). It was shocking — the whole building was shocked — it didn’t go in the net. Let’s call it what it is. We did more than enough to win the game. It’s tough for our guys to swallow. Sometimes you think … maybe fatigue. It’s our 14th game in 24 days. The lion’s share of them was on the road. The guys are gaming this out. The outcome is not what we’re looking for.
“We gave ourselves a chance to win that gme. We couldn’t finish.”
The Red Wings took a 1-0 lead in the second period on Marco Kasper’s tap-in goal. That was the only scoring until Michael Rasmussen’s empty-netter with 28 seconds left.
Detroit goaltender Cam Talbot stopped all 28 Lightning shots. One week earlier, he had given up five goals to the Bolts in a loss.
The Lightning return home to Amalie Arena for a Tuesday night game against Chicago at 7 p.m.