Red Wings defeat Lightning, end 6-game skid

DETROIT --Michael Rasmussen had two goals and two assists, and the Detroit Red Wings ended a six-game skid with a 7-4 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday.

Rasmussen set NHL career highs for goals and points in a game playing on a line with Dylan Larkin (two goals, one assist) and David Perron (one goal, two assists). Larkin and Perron usually play alongside Lucas Raymond, but Rasmussen, a center, moved up because Larkin has an injured hand that limited him to six face-offs.
"When you see your teammates battling through something, it just makes you want to play even harder," Rasmussen said. "We all know what guys are dealing with, and we're trying to pick up the slack as much as we can."
Ville Husso made 34 saves for the Red Wings (14-11-7), who were 0-4-2 during the skid. They hadn't won since Dec. 6, a 4-2 victory at Tampa Bay.
"I'm happy with this result, because anyone who saw us in this stretch knows we've been better than 0-4-2," Detroit coach Derek Lalonde said. "We've been tied going into the third three or four times lately without being able to finish it off, but today we did."

Ross Colton and Nikita Kucherov each had a goal and an assist for the Lightning (20-11-1), who lost 4-1 at the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday. Brian Elliott made 24 saves.
Tampa Bay will start its holiday break early; Friday's game at the Buffalo Sabres
has been postponed
due to the severe winter storm expected to impact the area.
"This definitely adds to the frustration, because last night's game was completely unacceptable," Colton said. "We talked about it in the locker room, and we really wanted to come out here with a strong showing, especially with Friday canceled. This is a sour note to end on."
Brayden Point gave the Lightning a 1-0 lead at 1:29 of the first period with a wrist shot from the right face-off circle on a 2-on-1.
Tampa Bay took the first 11 shots of the game, including 1:53 with a 5-on-3 power play, but couldn't extend the lead. It finished 0-for-5 with the man-advantage.
"When you let a two-minute 5-on-3 slide by, it is going to change the game," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "They got some momentum out of it, and I thought we felt sorry for ourselves.
"What is that Ted Lasso says? You have to have the memory of a goldfish."
The Red Wings tied it 1-1 at 15:34 when Olli Maatta scored after a scramble in front.
Alex Killorn gave Tampa Bay a 2-1 lead when he lifted a rebound at 18:38, but Rasmussen tipped a shot past Elliott at 19:32 to tie it 2-2.
Larkin put Detroit in front 3-2 at 11:08 of the second period, but Colton tied it 3-3 at 13:15 after a turnover by Adam Erne.

Elmer Soderblom gave the Red Wings a 4-3 lead at 3:48 of the third period when Elliott's clearing attempt went right to Joe Veleno, who quickly passed to Soderblom for an easy tap-in.
"They were checking hard, just like every team does in that situation, and they got rewarded for a mishap," Lightning forward Pierre-Edouard Bellemare said. "After that, we were chasing a little bit."
Larkin got his second of the game at 9:46, sneaking a sharp-angle shot between Elliott and the post to make it 5-3.
Kucherov cut it to 5-4 at 16:13, but Perron (17:27) and Rasmussen (18:59) each scored an empty-net goal for the 7-4 final.
"This felt like a playoff game, just like [Monday] night in Washington felt like a playoff game (4-3 overtime loss)," said Larkin, the Red Wings captain. "This is a team that has won three straight conference titles and two straight Stanley Cups, and we're a young team, so I'm proud of the way we've played them."
NOTES: Tampa Bay forward Steven Stamkos had an assist and six shots on goal but remains three goals from 500 in his NHL career. … Rasmussen and Detroit defenseman Jake Walman were each plus-3. … The Red Wings honored former coach Jeff Blashill with a video tribute in the first. Blashill is now an assistant for the Lightning.