Tampa, Fla. — This was significantly better. It was competitive and a type of game the Red Wings want to play.
Now, they’d like to win, which they didn’t do Thursday against the powerful Tampa Bay Lightning in a 3-1 loss at Amalie Arena.
The game wasn't decided until Tampa's Alex Killorn scored an empty net goal at 18 minutes, 53 seconds of the third period, giving Tampa a two-goal lead and providing the necessary cushion.
But this encouraging, a step far away from the ugly losses recently.
“Certainly it was much better than what we talked about the last two days,” said coach Jeff Blashill, referring to the defeats in Boston and Montreal by a combined score of 15-5.