Detroit (9-2-3) at Tampa Bay (5-5-4), 7:30 p.m. EST
TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- Despite a stellar record, the Detroit
Red Wings are not happy with their play.
Following a deflating loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins - the team
they bounced in the Stanley Cup Finals last season - the Red
Wings hope to generate some sparks when they visit the
struggling Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday.
Detroit was the victim of a thunderous comeback, coughing up a
three-goal lead in the third period in its 7-6 overtime loss to
the Penguins on Tuesday.
Goaltender Chris Osgood surrendered a hat trick to Pittsburgh's
Jordan Staal in the third period and the game-winner to Ruslan
Fedotenko in the extra session.
"It's uncharacteristic, the way we've been playing without the
puck in our own zone," Osgood told the Detroit Free Press.
"We're just cycling around in our own end. If we continue this
all year, we're not going to go anywhere in the playoffs.
"But let's put it in perspective and let's not overreact to the
situation. We're playing teams that are gunning for us every
night, and we're not even playing good defensively. Are we
going to play like this in April? No, I 100 percent guarantee
that. When you look back on these games, it'll probably be a
good thing for us. They taught us a lesson, slapped us down a
bit."
The Lightning have endured struggles of their own. Their latest
shortcoming came in a 4-0 loss to the Florida Panthers on
Wednesday.
Tampa Bay, which finished a road trip 1-3-1, managed just 24
shots, allowed two power-play goals to the league's worst team
with the man advantage and lost for the fourth time in five
games.
Captain Vincent Lecavalier is mired in a five-game goalless
streak and has just two assists in that span. The Lightning
have scored six goals in their last four contests.