Detroit Red Wings say ‘we’re just a little fragile’
Detroit Red Wings Dylan Larkin, J.T. Compher and Todd McLellan, Nov. 28, 2025 in Detroit.
The defensive coverage very much needs work, but at least the Detroit Red Wings came out with with energy against a divisional neighbor that had been devouring opponents.
The Wings benefited from secondary scoring as they took on the Tampa Bay Lightning on Friday, Nov. 28, something that has been hard to come by this season.. But the Lightning feasted on contributions from their stars, handing the Wings a 6-3 loss.
The Wings (13-11-1) have lost three straight games. They head to Boston to take on the Atlantic Division rival Bruins on Saturday (7 p.m., FanDuel Sports Network Detroit) as part of a home-and-home, with the Bruins coming to Detroit on Tuesday.
The Lightning arrived at Little Caesars Arena having won five straight, outscoring opponents, 20-6, during that stretch. The Wings came in having lost, 6-3, at home on Wednesday.
Andrei Vasilevskiy too much in second
The Bolts won the race to three against the Wings and then made it four behind the second period ended. The Wings went on a power play midway through the third period, but Andrei Vasilevskiy made a couple big saves. The Lightning went back up by two when Jake Guentzel scored with at 12:37 on a line drive up the middle, with Nikita Kucherov picking up an assist. That made it three straight starts John Gibson has surrendered five goals. He was out of the net when Brandon Hagel scored the final goal with 2:47 to play.
J.T. Compher scored seconds after Patrick Kane just missed wide right. Simon Edvinsson, back after a three-game illness, carried the puck up ice and rimmed it around to the other side. Rasmussen won the battle for the puck over Gage Concalves and set up Compher for the 1-0 lead at 11:29 of the first period. That was Rasmussen’s second big standout moment, having earlier finished a big check on J.J. Moser.
Darren Raddysh scored while Alex DeBrincat was serving a penalty, turning a setup by Kucherov into a 1-1 game at 17:07 on a shot trough traffic. Put that one on the penalty killers, none of whom was within a stick length of Kucherov, who is only one of the best players in the world. It was a good period from Gibson, who made 10 saves.
A struggling defensive pair
The opening minute of the second period was less stellar. Third-pair defense pair Albert Johansson and Jacob Bernard-Docker were chasing the puck deep up the middle inside Detroit’s zone and whiffed, leaving Gage Goncalves open to snap the puck into the net at 34 seconds.
It was a tough afternoon for that pairing. A couple minutes later, it was Bernard-Docker trying to defend Yanni Gourde, but he got several whacks at the puck across the crease and made it 3-1, at 3:01.
Rasmussen came through with his third goal of the season during a scramble in front of the net, with Compher drawing the assist. Gourde picked up his second of the period on a blast from the point. Zemgus Girgensons was in the crease, but there was no review, as it appeared he’d been knocked in there by Nate Danileson. The Wings got that one back when Dylan Larkin scored with 1:34 to play in the period, left uncovered to walk into the left circle and rip the puck.
Contact Helene St. James at hstjames@freepress.com.
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