Lightning beat Red Wings, 6-3, behind pair of goals from Yanni Gourde

Perhaps it was the early start time, but for the first two periods the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings decided that defense was optional. If it wasn’t for the play of Andrei Vasilevskiy and John Gibson there would have been even more than the seven goals the two teams combined to score. The Lightning emerged from those forty minutes with the 4-3 lead, and not only held off a surge from the home team, but added a couple of goals to win their sixth game in a row by a final of 6-3.

For most of their recent run of success it’s been defense that has powered the Lightning. For Friday’s game, it was the offense, especially from unexpected sources, and opportunistic defense that provided the win. Vasilevskiy, who finished with 33 saves, was especially sharp in the first period as he turned aside several golden chances by the Red Wings. J.T. Compher finally solved the goaltender to give Detroit a lead midway through the period.

The Lightning bounced back on the power play (of all things). It wasn’t fancy as Darren Raddysh ripped a 100 MPH shot on net and past John Gibson. It was the Bolts only power play of the game and they made the most of it. Goals from Gage Goncalves (!) and Yanni Gourde within the first three minutes of the second period gave them a little cushion, but Detroit wasn’t going away easily.

Michael Rasmussen scored 12 seconds after Gourde’s goal to make it a one-goal game. Gourde crashed the net three minutes late to regain the two-goal lead. This time it lasted more than two minutes before Dylan Larkin snuck one past Vasilevskiy.

The goal came with less than two minutes to go in the period and gave Detroit a bit of momentum heading into the final period. The Lightning would be challenged early in the period as the Red Wings pushed for the equalizer. The Bolts bent, but didn’t break. Then they survived a short-handed situation. While they didn’t generate a ton of shots in the final period (just 11 attempts), they made them count. Jake Guentzel put them up two goals with under eight minutes to go by doing what he does – getting in front of the net and tipping a puck home.

Brandon Hagel ended any thought of a comeback with an empty net goal, and the Lightning picked up a big win against a division rival. Nikita Kucherov ended up with two assists while Raddysh ended up with a three-point night.

Coach Cooper characterized it as a complete team win, and that pretty much summed it up. Vasilevskiy carried them in the first period, the Gourde line provided the offense in the second, and the entire team did what they needed to do in the third to pick up the win.

The Goals

Darren Raddysh [3] (Nikita Kucherov, Jake Guentzel) Power Play, 1-1

“RADDYSH!!! THE BIG BOMB!!!” 💣

Raddy ties the game at one with the one timer!
#TBLvsDET

🎧: boltsaud.io/live
📻: 102.5 The Bone

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— Lightning Audio Network (@boltsradio.bsky.social) November 28, 2025 at 12:47 PM

Gage Goncalves [2] (Oliver Bjorkstrand, Nick Paul) 2-1 Lightning

“GAGE GONCALVES!!! WHAT A PLAY, WHAT A GOAL!!!”

Gonzo muscles 💪 his way into a scoring opportunity!
#TBLvsDET

🎧: boltsaud.io/live
📻: 102.5 The Bone

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