TAMPA, Fla. — The Detroit Red Wings showed fight, overcoming a deflating start and getting a big goal from a rookie when they most needed it. Two of them, in fact.
Marco Kasper fanned the Wings' hopes of a playoff berth when he scored in overtime Friday at Amalie Arena, settling the winning score against the Tampa Bay Lightning at 4-3.
It was the second goal and third point of the game for the rookie. The two points in the standings for the Red Wings puts them at 37-35-7, tying the Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers with 81 points. With the Montreal Canadiens losing, they stayed at 87 points. The Wings can be eliminated if the Canadiens win Saturday when they play at the Toronto Maple Leafs.
But for at least a night, the Wings stayed alive.
Alex Lyon recovered from giving up an early goal to give his teammates a chance, and goals from Patrick Kane and Tyler Motte even had the Wings playing with a lead for a bit. But a number of defensive lapses left the Wings chasing the game after Gage Goncalves took advantage of being left open to make it 3-2 early in the third period.
There was seven minutes to play when Marco Kasper added a goal, clanking one in behind goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy to tie the game. Kasper scored again on a snap shot at 3:20 of overtime.
Different looks
The Wings went back to having Patrick Kane and Alex DeBrincat on a line with Kasper, which enabled reuniting Lucas Raymond and Dylan Larkin. (Craig Smith started with the line, as Elmer Söderblom was unavailable.) The bigger changes were on the back end, where Moritz Seider and Simon Edvinsson were paired up for the first time since Todd McLellan separated the two about a week after being named coach. Ben Chiarot and Albert Johansson formed the second pairing, and William Lagesson entered the lineup for Jeff Petry to play opposite Justin Holl on the third pair.
Lyon's task
Petr Mrazek was the backup for a second straight night, so he has been available after missing a stretch following ...
