Lightning rally, defeat Red Wings in OT after Bertuzzi scores four goals

DETROIT --Tyler Bertuzzi scored four goals, but the Detroit Red Wings lost 7-6 in overtime to the Tampa Bay Lightning at Little Caesars Arena on Thursday.

Ondrej Palat's second goal of the game won it at 2:43 after the Lightning scored three goals in 3:58 late in the third period.
Alex Killorn tied it 6-6 with 2:19 remaining.
"To me, the right team won the game," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.
Bertuzzi, who hadn't played since Jan. 30 due to a back injury that required surgery, became the first Red Wings player to score four goals in a season opener.
"It was great to be back out there and have the fans back in the building," Bertuzzi said. "This is a tough loss. That's a very good team, but we made too many mistakes."

Nikita Kucherov (one goal, three assists) and Victor Hedman (four assists) each scored four points, and Steven Stamkos had two goals and an assist for the Lightning, who responded from a 6-2 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday. Andrei Vasilevskiy made 20 saves.
"We could have easily quit on that game, being down multiple goals numerous times, but we didn't give up and we got rewarded for it," Stamkos said. "I don't know to explain it. That was a weird game."
Alex Nedeljkovic made 41 saves in his Red Wings debut after being acquired in a trade with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 22. Moritz Seider had two assists in his NHL debut.
"Obviously when you've got a three-goal lead in the third period, it is really a gut punch to end up with a loss," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. "I thought we were going to find a way to finish off that game."
Ross Colton made it 6-4 at 13:43 and Kucherov cut it to 6-5 with a power-play goal at 16:25. Killorn tied it at 17:41.
"There's a bit of a winning pedigree in that locker room, and they've shown that fight before," Cooper said. "After what happened on opening night, it was paramount that we come away from this game with points."
Dylan Larkin gave Detroit a 1-0 lead at 14:00 of the first period, and Bertuzzi scored 18 seconds into the second, stickhandling through his legs to split Hedman and Sergachev to make it 2-0.

Bertuzzi's second goal gave the Red Wings a 3-0 lead at 7:52.
Palat converted Hedman's pass for his first goal to make it 3-1 at 8:08.
Larkin was given a match penalty at 11:40 of the second period for a retaliatory punch after a hit from Lightning forward Mathieu Joseph. Joseph was called for roughing, and Tampa Bay defenseman Jan Rutta was also penalized for roughing.
That left Detroit with a 4-on-3 power play, and Bertuzzi finished his second NHL hat trick to make it 4-1 at 12:29.
But Stamkos scored two power-play goals in a 1:12 span (15:19, 16:31) during what was left of Larkin's penalty to cut it to 4-3.

Bertuzzi's fourth of the game gave Detroit a 5-3 lead at 4:35 of the third, and Vladislav Namestnikov made it 6-3 at 7:10.
"It's definitely tough. I thought we battled all the way to the end," Bertuzzi said. "That's a really good hockey team over there. I thought we played pretty good. It was back and forth. It was a good game. Couple of little mistakes that cost us, but overall I thought we worked hard and we played not bad. It was just a tough loss at the end."
NOTES: Toronto Maple Leafs center Auston Matthews is the only other player to score four in a season opener since 1992 (Oct. 12, 2016 against the Ottawa Senators). … Detroit forward Lucas Raymond also made his NHL debut and had an assist in 16:27. Seider played 20:21. … Defenseman Nick Leddy had two assists in his Red Wings debut after being acquired in a trade with the New York Islanders on July 16. … Larkin, who was named Red Wings captain last season, was honored in a COVID-delayed ceremony before the game. Nine former captains attended, dating to the 1973-74 season, when Mickey Redmond and Red Berenson each served as captain. … The Lightning were 3-for-7 on the power play. ... Kucherov has scored 33 points (17 goals, 16 assists) in 26 career games against Detroit, the most goals and points he has against any NHL team.