Kucherov goal gives Lightning win over Red Wings
DETROIT -- Nikita Kucherov's second goal of the game, with 1:10 left, gave the Tampa Bay Lightning a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday night at Joe Louis Arena.
Captain Steven Stamkos and defenseman Nikita Nesterov also scored for Tampa Bay (10-6-1), which blew a two-goal lead in the third period. Vladislav Namestnikov had two assists and Ben Bishop made 25 saves.
Defenseman Ryan Sproul got his first career goal and had an assist, Frans Nielsen, captain Henrik Zetterberg scored for Detroit (8-8-1). Petr Mrazek stopped 18 shots.
Kucherov one-timed a shot that past Mrazek from the inside edge of the left circle off a loose puck for his eighth goal of the season.
Sproul made it 3-2 with a power-play goal 7:12 into the third period. He beat Bishop with a shot from the right circle.
Zetterberg tied it 3-3 with a power-play goal 9:38 into the third. He put Anthony Mantha's behind the back cross-crease pass into an empty net. It was Zetterberg's third goal.
Nesterov made it 3-1 with a power-play goal 1:29 into the third period. He beat Mrazek with a screened shot from the blue line in the middle of the ice. It was Nesterov's first goal and point of the season.
Stamkos left the game in the middle of the first period after limping off the ice favoring his right leg after a collision with the Red Wings' Gustav Nyquist along the boards. The Lightning said he sustained a lower-body injury and will not return.
The Lightning also lost defenseman Braydon Coburn and center Brian Boyle in the second period.
Coburn limped to the dressing room after taking a shot by Detroit defenseman Alexey Marchenko in the back of the knee with 7:49 left in the middle period and Boyle received a 10-minute misconduct after he got the instigator penalty along with a fighting major from a tussle with the Red Wings Steve Ott with 6:26 left in the second.
Kucherov openend the scoring 3:30 into the game when he took advantage of Mrazek's misplay of the puck behind the net and stuffed it into the empty net from the side. It was Kucherov's seventh goal.
Stamkos made it 2-0 at 6:09 when he put in a rebound. It was his ninth goal.
Nielsen put Detroit on the scoreboard with 1:19 left in the first period. He beat Bishop with a backhand shot from the left circle for his third goal.
NOTES: Detroit sent F Tyler Bertuzzi to their American Hockey League affiliate in Grand Rapids. ... Tampa Bay LW Jonathan Drouin missed his seventh game with a concussion and Tampa Bay D Anton Stralman missed his second game with an upper-body injury ... Red Wings D Niklas Kronwall did not play because he was resting his knees. He has chronic knee issues. He was replaced in the lineup by rookie D Ryan Sproul. ... It was second game in two nights for the Lightning, who beat the New York Islanders 4-0 on Monday in Brooklyn. ... Detroit LW Drew Miller returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch for three games.