In Tampa, Detroit’s David Peron scored with 2:40 left on the game clock to snap a 2-2 tie with the Lightning and help send the Red Wings to a 4-2 win on Monday night.
Lucas Raymond sealed the win with a later empty-net strike for the final.
“We have to keep finding points,” Perron said. “Just prior to scoring my goal, we saw that the (Philadelphia) Flyers tied their game with 10 seconds to go. I was so fired up. We knew we had to find a way. We talked before the face-off, how they covered the open wing. ‘Mo’ got it to the net right away, and I was able to get to the rebound and put it in. It’s going to be a happy flight, something we haven’t had in a while.”
The Red Wings are tied with the Washington Capitals for the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, but the Caps hold two games in hand.
Alex Lyon made 34 saves in the win.
“I’m a big believer in that you have to just take care of your own business,” Lyon said. “I really try hard not to see what’s going on around the League. For me, as a goalie, it’s the best way. Just try to stop the puck and be the best I can for my team.”
The Red Wings moved to 37-30-8, snapping a four-game skid.
The loss ended a nine-game point streak for the Lightning.
Detroit took a 1-0 lead when Patrick Kane scored with just 37 seconds gone in the game, scoring off a backhand shot from the right side.
Anthony Cirelli responded for the Lightning at 8:36 with a shorthanded goal, scoring from above the right circle.
“It’s the little things,” Cirelli said. “Give credit to them, they came out, played hard and capitalized on the chances that they had. We’ll watch some video tomorrow and we’ll be better.”
Cirelli might well have had a hat trick in the period, but two markers were waved off after review.
“That’s why they have video,” Cirelli said. “From the standpoint I saw, I thought it was in under his pad. At the end of the day, it is what it is.”
After a scoreless middle frame, Robby Fabbri pushed the Red Wings back in front at 3:40 of the third.
“Our guys were really battling,” Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. “This was an unbelievably difficult road trip, at [the Carolina Hurricanes], at [the Florida Panthers], at Tampa. We pointed in three of our last four on the road. I was really proud of the group. We’ve had a lot of adversity all year, ups and downs, and we’ve just kept in the fight, kept battling.”
Tampa Bay dropped to 41-26-7.
“We haven’t lost in regulation since the first week in March, and we’re in April,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. “We’ve asked a lot from the guys and they’ve delivered. Unfortunately, [the loss] is to a team that’s chasing us, but when you get down to this time of year, you’re playing everybody in your conference anyway. I can’t sit here and be hard on the guys, they’ve played really well for us.”
Steven Stamkos hit off the power play at 5:59 of the third to tie the game, 2-2.
Andrei Vasilevskiy made 28 saves in the loss.
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