RECAP: Uplifted by fans energized from Lions' win, Red Wings cap special day in Detroit with 2-1 victory over Lightning

DETROIT -- An NFC Divisional Round matchup between the Detroit Lions and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Ford Field followed by an Atlantic Division clash between the Red Wings and Lightning at Little Caesars Arena gave Detroit sports fans reasons to flock downtown on Sunday.

And after the dust settled, the Lions’ 31-23 win against the Buccaneers and the Red Wings’ 2-1 victory over the Lightning gave Detroit sports fans reasons to celebrate.

“I coach in pro sports and there are very few times when you hit it like this and engage an entire city,” Red Wings head coach Derek Lalonde said. “I get the fact that it’s been so long for (the Lions). But the way they’ve done it and the energy, how authentic the group is, our building was buzzing to start. They get excited about our games but this Sunday night game, I don’t know if we generated the buzz. It had a little bit to do with the Lions’ win. It was pretty cool. It'll be really neat to watch (the Lions) next weekend.”

Sunday's game in front of a sellout crowd at Little Caesars Arena featured an impressive goaltending duel between Alex Lyon, who made 27 saves for Detroit (24-17-5; 53 points), and Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made 33 saves for Tampa Bay (24-18-5; 53 points).

"That's the goal at the beginning of the year, was to be in the mix for the playoffs and try to go as far as we can," said Daniel Sprong, who scored the goal-ahead goal in the second period for Detroit. "But it's a long season. There's going to be ups and downs. Right now, we're playing some really good hockey and we got to keep rolling like this."

Carrying momentum from Saturday’s road win over the Buffalo Sabres, the Lightning opened the scoring at 8:45 of the first period. Nikita Kucherov sent a cross-slot feed to Victor Hedman in the right faceoff circle, who finished the give-and-go sequence for his ninth goal of the season to make it 1-0.

Lucas Raymond tied it at 1-1 for Detroit, notching his 13th goal of the season with 1:31 remaining in the first period. Vasilevskiy got a piece of Raymond’s shot from the left faceoff circle, but the star Russian netminder spun and tried to make the save but knocked the puck into the net with his blocker. Captain Dylan Larkin and David Perron picked up the assists.

Netting his 12th goal of the season, Sprong gave the Red Wings a 2-1 lead at 8:58 of the second period when he scored on a breakaway off a deflection pass from J.T. Compher at Detroit's blue line.

“I thought about passing it, but Twitter has been ripping me apart for not shooting as much lately,” said Sprong, who has recorded 11 points (five goals, six assists) in 11 games since Dec. 29. "“So I probably took the right decision and shot it.”

Detroit outshot Tampa Bay, 30-10, through 40 minutes.

The Lightning made a late push, but Lyon stopped all 18 shots he faced in the third period, including 10 while the Red Wings were short-handed, to preserve an important divisional win.

“I thought we really locked it down in the third,” said Lyon, who improved to 11-5-1 with a 2.47 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in 17 games this season. “They made a big push, had a couple power plays. But a couple huge blocks by some defensemen and we had some big plays by some forwards on the wall.”

Detroit also finished 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, improving to 42-for-47 on the PK since Dec. 12.

“I loved our energy and approach throughout,” Lalonde said. “You’re always a little flat when you come off those long road trips, especially the type of road trip and some of adversity we had on our road trip. Just really impressed with the guys’ effort tonight. A really good team win.”

NEXT UP: The Red Wings will continue their homestand Tuesday night against the Dallas Stars at Little Caesars Arena.

QUOTABLE

Lalonde on Patrick Kane’s status

“I think he’ll probably get on the ice sometime this week. We’ll have a better feel, probably get a practice in and kind of go from there. But I am hoping to have him before the (2024 NHL All-Star) break. If not, I’m comfortable we’ll have him after the break…He did see a doctor today. He’s done some quality things away from the rink. He just hasn’t skated yet.”

Lalonde on Lyon’s impact throughout the game and in the third period

“Lyon was excellent. Anytime you match a performance from Vasilevskiy, when he was playing like he was tonight, huge on him. We needed him in the third. Obviously with that offense, they’re going to produce a little bit. He stood tall for us.”

Lalonde on Seider’s team-high 25:08 of ice time on Sunday

“We needed him tonight. Benny Chiarot out, a big hole in our lineup and we needed someone to step up against some tough matchups. He did that tonight, good on him.”

Lyon on beating the Lightning

“It’s a very, very dangerous team. I thought we played really well tonight, maybe one of the more complete games we’ve played all season. Really difficult to come off a road trip emotionally and physically, so the way that we responded tonight was awesome. You just can’t let those little snowballs roll downhill, so we kind of nipped it in the bud. We got another big one in two days.”