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Detroit Red Wings lose season finale to Tampa Bay Lightning, 5-0: Game thread replay

ryan ford, detroit free press
·2 min read

Detroit Red Wings (35-36-10, 80 points) vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (45-30-6, 96 points)

When: 7 p.m. Thursday.

Where: Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida.

TV: Bally Sports Detroit Extra.

Radio: WWJ-AM 950 (Red Wings radio affiliates).

• Box score

FINISHING STRONG: Red Wings' Andrew Copp: 'If you don't have pride, you may as well get out of here'

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) makes a save during the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023.
Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy (88) makes a save during the second period against the Detroit Red Wings at Little Caesars Arena in Detroit on Saturday, Feb. 25, 2023.

Game notes: It’s Game 82 for the Wings and they’ll be looking to end the season with a bang. Season finales haven’t gone so well for Detroit lately, with the Wings going 2-5 in their past seven (and both of those wins, in 2017 and 2022, came against the New Jersey Devils). Still, the Wings have a chance to set a milestone tonight; a win would give them their first season series win over the Bolts since the 2011-12 season, when the Wings and Lightning played just one game a season. Detroit beat Tampa Bay 4-2 on Dec. 6 and 7-4 on Dec. 21, but couldn’t get one past Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy in a 3-0 loss on Feb. 25. One player who should be happy to see the Bolts: Michael Rasmussen, who has three goals and two assists against them this season.

After this one, it’s about a month of waiting for the NHL draft lottery, which is set for May 8 in Toronto. The Wings are guaranteed a shot at moving up to No. 1 — teams can move up a maximum of 10 spots in the lottery — and could finish as low as eighth, which would bring 6% chances of the No. 1 slot. It would also bring 6.4% odds of the No. 2 pick, which promises a pretty solid consolation prize: Michigan freshman Adam Fantilli, who won the Hobey Baker Award as college hockey’s top player last week. For the Wings to move “up,” they’ll need a loss tonight and a win by Washington, which faces New Jersey at 7 p.m. Likewise, the Wings could drop as far as 11th, with a win over Tampa Bay and losses by Vancouver (at Arizona, gulp) and St. Louis (at playoff-bound Dallas).

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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Red Wings lose finale to Lightning, 5-0: Game thread replay