Detroit – The Red Wings’ surge up the standings hit a roadblock Saturday named Andrei Vasilevskiy.
The Tampa Bay goalie played up to this usual All-World status Saturday leading the Lightning past the Red Wings 3-0.
Vasilevskiy made 45 saves (the Wings outshot Tampa 45-18), was absolutely brilliant during stretches, and slowed down the red-hot Red Wings (28-22-8).
“We put a lot of shots at him, it’s the story of the game, we just couldn’t get one by him,” Red Wings captain Dylan Larkin said. “We had grade A’s (chances) and we played a pretty good hockey game against a good team. But he was their answer.”
Larkin felt the Wings could have done a better job getting in Vasilevskiy’s vision, and capitalized on the power play (the Wings didn’t convert on four opportunities). But the bottom line, give ample credit to Vasilevskiy, arguably the best goaltender currently in the NHL.
“After the game, when you think about it, you think of a world-class goalie like that, the best in the world, and when you see that (kind of performance), it’s not what you want to see as the other team, when he’s hot like that and pucks are hitting him,” Larkin said. “You knew, you could just tell, he was the difference maker.”
The Wings have won seven of their last nine games (7-2-0), as they head to Ottawa for consecutive games Monday and Tuesday.
Brayden Point, Nikita Kucherov and Alex Killorn (empty net) scored for Tampa (37-17-4).
Wings coach Derek Lalonde has seen plenty of those type of Vasilevskiy performances while a member of Tampa’s coaching staff the last four seasons. Tampa was coming off a messy 6-5 overtime loss to Buffalo, and Lalonde had an inkling Vasilevskiy, in particular, was going to be ready against the Wings.
“As a team they come off poor losses and they dig in, but no one digs in more than Vasy after a poor performance, he takes it personal,” Lalonde said. “He was just remarkable. Obviously it feels like we deserved a much better fate, but with that said, they don’t need much for offense. I don’t think is a ‘feel sorry for ourselves’ loss because we dominated most of the game. It was a game in which the goalie played well and we weren’t able to finish, but then again, they hit some posts too which could have extended the lead more.”
Kucherov ignited the first Tampa goal, feeding a streaking Point down the middle of the ice, with Point finishing the breakaway with his 35th goal at 9:04 of the first period.
Kucherov’s goal, his 22nd, was particularly crushing. After Vasilevskiy was sensational for most of the second period, including a Wings’ power play late in the period, Kucherov threw a puck on net that deflected off a stick and trickled through goaltender Ville Husso with only seven seconds remaining, giving Tampa a 2-0 lead.
“That was a little bit of a backbreaker,” Lalonde said. “Just the fact in that period we had a push and had maybe four or five ‘how did that not go in’ moments and they center the puck and it goes off a stick and goes in five-hole. But that’s why they win and they’re a real good team and they don’t need a lot. Under pressure, they weren’t rattled.
“It’s a sign of a team that’s won a lot of hockey games.”
BOX SCORE: Lightning 3, Red Wings 0
The Wings lost Michael Rasmussen in the first period with a lower-body injury. Rasmussen took a Zach Bogosian slap shot flush in the left leg, near the knee, and struggled to skate off the ice and directly into the locker room.
Lalonde said Rasmussen was being evaluated after the game and there wasn’t any definitive news.
“Just got a puck on the kneecap,” Lalonde said. “He’ back there with doctors right now. We’ll know more before we take off for Ottawa.”
ted.kulfan@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @tkulfan