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Detroit Red Wings wrap up Sunday sweep of Tampa Bay with 2-1 victory at LCA

All the blue at Little Caesars Arena Sunday wasn't for the Detroit Red Wings' opponent.

The Detroit Lions' victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field was only about an hour old when, across Woodward Avenue, the Wings hosted the Tampa Bay Lightning in a divisional rivalry. Fans clad in Honolulu Blue added color to the usual red-heavy stands, and the Wings delivered a doubleheader sweep with a 2-1 victory.

Detroit (24-17-5) and Tampa Bay, along with the Toronto Maple Leafs, are neck-and-neck-and-neck in the standings, regularly leapfrogging one another for third place in the Atlantic and the two wild-card spots in the Eastern Conference.

Lucas Raymond scored a tying goal and Daniel Sprong a go-ahead one as the Wings pounded pucks at Andrei Vasilevskiy, racking up 31 in the first two periods alone, while Alex Lyon only saw 10 in that span. He saw 12 in the first eight minutes alone of the third period.

Detroit Red Wings right wing Daniel Sprong (17) handles the puck during the second period against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024.
Detroit Red Wings right wing Daniel Sprong (17) handles the puck during the second period against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024.

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Patrick Kane (lower body) missed a third straight game and Ben Chiarot was unavailable after aggravating an upper-body injury in Friday's game.

That's more like it

The Wings were coming off a loss Friday at Carolina, in which they managed to register just 12 shots on net the entire 60 minutes. The Bolts — who rode their backup goaltender to a victory Saturday afternoon in Buffalo, saving Vasilevskiy for the Wings — had better jump early, as only Daniel Sprong managed to test him the first five minutes. Tampa grabbed a lead midway through the period when Victor Hedman passed the puck to Nikita Kucherov just inside Detroit's zone, and then took up position in the right circle to snap a shot off a pass from Kucherov. The Wings got going, though, and had 12 shots on Vasilevskiy by the end of the period.

Behind you

Raymond scored with 1:31 left in the first period, on a goal similar to the one Klim Kostin scored at Carolina. On Friday, it was Antti Raanta whipping around and throwing himself towards the puck as it slid across the goal line after he flubbed the attempt to catch it. Vasilevskiy likewise got a piece of Raymond's shot but couldn't corral the puck, instead turning around and making a dive for it just as it slid into the net and made for a tie game.

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) blocks a shot during the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024.
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) blocks a shot during the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Sunday, Jan. 21, 2024.

Sprung Sprong

Sprong made it 2-1 midway through the second period when he took a pass from J.T. Compher and strode down the middle and scored his 12th goal of the season. That was at 8:58. At 10:42, officials called the first penalty of the game, sending Austin Watson off for high-sticking Shayne Gostisbehere. Sprong created a 10-second two-man advantage when his attempt at another scoring chance prompted Luke Glendening to haul down Sprong and earn a whistle. During their 3:40 minutes of consecutive power play time, the Wings registered eight shots on net.

Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @helenestjames. Her latest book, “On the Clock: Behind the Scenes with the Detroit Red Wings at the NHL Draft,” is available from  Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Triumph Books. Personalized copies available via her e-mail.

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings sneak past Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-1