Lightning start fast, extend Red Wings skid to seven games

TAMPA --Alex Killorn had a goal and an assist, and the Tampa Bay Lightning handed the Detroit Red Wings their seventh straight loss, 5-1 at Amalie Arena on Wednesday.

The Lightning (6-1-1), who scored three goals in the first 4:54, have won three straight and are 5-0-0 at home. Blake Coleman had two assists, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 15 saves.
"I just like that tonight we jumped on them early and kind of set the tone for the game after that," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "You talk about the next shift after a goal, and a lot of times you're thinking make sure we have a strong shift, don't give anything up, but if you can start adding offense to that and score multiple goals, it really puts a team on their heels."
Anthony Mantha scored in a third straight game for the Red Wings (2-7-2). Calvin Pickard made 17 saves on 19 shots in relief of Thomas Greiss, who allowed three goals on five shots.
"We left [Greiss] out to dry there," Detroit forward Luke Glendening said. "Turned pucks over and weren't in the right spots. Spot a team like that a couple of goals early and it puts you in a tough spot."
Detroit is 0-5-2 in its past seven games and 0-4-1 on the road overall. This was the first game of a six-game trip.
"I think every guy in here is frustrated with the way we've been playing and sometimes with the effort we've been giving," Glendening said. "As a group we have to take a look in the mirror and ask ourselves what we're doing. I have to do a better job. We all have to do a better job."
The teams play again here Friday to finish a two-game set.
Victor Hedman gave Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead when he cut across from the right face-off circle to the high slot and scored on a wrist shot at 1:34 of the first period. Anthony Cirelli made it 2-0 on the rebound of a shot by Luke Schenn at 3:57.
"I think we've done a good job of building in each game," Cirelli said. "We had a lot of practice days early on and I think we did a good job in tuning up our game in those practices. We have a lot of games coming up here, so it's good to get into a rhythm."

Ryan McDonagh extended the lead to 3-0 at 4:54.
Cooper said he is happy with the way the defensemen are jumping in on the rush and making major contributions on offense. Defensemen Hedman, Schenn and McDonagh factored into the first three goals, and Mikhail Sergachev had an assist on Killorn's goal.
"It's part of our DNA," Cooper said. "When we have the puck we have five guys on offense, and when we don't it's five guys on defense. That's how we look at it. It's a tough league to score in, so you need everyone to contribute."
Greiss was pulled at 5:36. Red Wings coach Jeff Blashill said it was a total team letdown.
"We have to make sure that we play way better than we did tonight," Blashill said. "We can't give up the easy chances that we gave up early. I thought we left Thomas Greiss out to dry."

The Red Wings had four players -- forwards Adam Erne, Robby Fabbri, Adam Erne and Sam Gagner, and defenseman Jon Merrill -- return from NHL COVID-19 protocol. Erne and Fabbri had last played Jan. 16, Gagner and Merrill on Jan. 19.
"They looked like they've been out for two weeks," Blashill said. "That was a concern inserting all four guys back in the lineup. It's hard to get game-ready when you haven't played or practiced at that level in multiple weeks. But on the other side of it, we haven't won in a while, so why wouldn't you put them in?"
Brayden Point made it 4-0 at 7:25 of the second period. Mantha cut it to 4-1 when he scored on a breakaway at 9:49. Killorn made it 5-1 with a redirection of a point shot by Sergachev at 11:32.
NOTES: Each team was 0-for-4 on the power play. … The Lightning are 17-0-1 in their past 18 games against the Red Wings, last losing to them in regulation Nov. 3, 2015, at Joe Louis Arena. … Coleman's second assist was his 100th NHL point (59 goals, 41 assists) in 253 games. … Tampa Bay used 11 forwards and seven defensemen. … Larkin played his 400th NHL game. … Greiss, who signed with Detroit as a free agent Oct. 10, has not won with the Red Wings (0-6-2). … Detroit defenseman Danny DeKeyser did not play. Blashill said he's day to day with a lower-body injury.