Sports: Tampa Bay shoots out Detroit's lights

Tampa Bay shoots out Detroit's lights

The Lightning outshoots the Wings 20-0 in the first period, racks up a 3-0 win.

By DAMIAN CRISTODERO

TAMPA -- It was in the front seats of the team bus Friday night that Vinny Lecavalier told coach Steve Ludzik the Lightning was going to beat the Red Wings.

A bold statement, considering Tampa Bay was on the way to the airport in Atlanta after a four-game road trip in which it gained just one point on an overtime loss.

But the captain was confident. And he was right as the Lightning beat Detroit 3-0 in front of an announced crowd of 20,718, the largest to see a hockey game at the Ice Palace.

And get this, Tampa Bay outshot the Red Wings 20-0 -- that's right, 20-0 -- in the first period. So what if the final edge was just 32-26? According the Elias Sports Bureau, it was the first time Detroit was held without a shot in a period since at least 1960.

Lecavalier gave that "aw shucks" look when asked about his prediction.

"I didn't do it like Mark Messier," he said of the Rangers captain who predicted a Game 6 victory in the 1994 Eastern Conference final. "I just told him we had to win. It's the Red Wings, 20,000 fans. We just had to win."

Lecavalier contributed two of Tampa Bay's three first-period goals; Todd Warriner got the third. Dan Cloutier made 26 saves to get his first shutout in his 95th game, and the franchise's first against Detroit, which Tampa Bay had never held to fewer than two goals in 21 meetings. And Mike Johnson had a career-high three assists.

Not even the return of Steve Yzerman, who missed 23 games because of arthroscopic knee surgery, could help the Red Wings.

"The first period decided the game," Yzerman said. "After that, we couldn't get a goal and get back into it."

They couldn't get a goal because Cloutier stood on his head when it was called for, and the defense was solid. It didn't panic when the Red Wings attacked, it clogged the slot and made the crisp first pass that helped the Lightning clear the zone.

That kind of first-period execution was absent during the road trip. In fact, Tampa Bay was outshot in the period in those four games 66-25.

"We knew if we didn't come ready to play against Detroit, we would be hammered," Ludzik said.

"The difference was that we played for 60 minutes," said Lecavalier, who leads the team with 13 goals and 25 points. "And we didn't wait for them to come after us. We went after them."

So much so that 9 minutes, 36 seconds of the first period was spent in the Red Wings zone. Tampa Bay was one off its team record for shots in a period.

The Lightning also tied a team record for fewest shots allowed in a period, and set a team record for fewest shots allowed in a period at home.

Cloutier could have taken a nap for all the work he got.

"It seems like that if you're a person watching the game," he said. "But in those situations, you have to focus extra hard. Even if you're not getting any shots, you have to keep your eye on the puck."

Detroit finally broke through 30 seconds into the second period, when Larry Murphy flipped a shot on goal, then got a shot off the rebound.

That little flurry set the tone for the rest of the game as Detroit outshot the Lightning 26-12 in the final two periods. It even appeared to score with 1:49 left in the second, but after a video review, it was ruled Kris Draper kicked the puck.

Tampa Bay's final crisis came with 4:27 left when Detroit began a five-on-three advantage for 1:49.

"That was our chance to get back in the game," Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman said. "I thought about taking the goalie out (to get a three-man advantage). But then I thought, if they ever got one (a goal), it ruins the two-man advantage."

The Lightning took care of that.

"For us to beat those guys, we had to bite, grab on," Ludzik said, "and as much as they shook, don't let go."

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UP NEXT: Lightning at Flyers, 7 p.m. Wednesday, Sunshine.