2024 Stanley Cup Finals: Lighting vs. Red Wings

Game 1: Lightning Defeat Red Wings 5-2 In Stanley Cup Finals Opener

Tampa Bay Lightning take early series lead with Game 1 victory.

The Tampa Bay Lightning took an early 1-0 lead in the 2024 Stanley Cup Finals with a 5-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 1.

Brayden Point opened the scoring for the Lightning just 2:14 into the game, and Nikita Kucherov made it 2-0 with a power-play goal later in the period. The Red Wings got on the board with a goal from Dylan Larkin, but the Lightning responded with goals from Steven Stamkos and Ondrej Palat to take a 4-1 lead.

The Red Wings cut the lead to 4-2 with a goal from David Perron in the third period, but Kucherov sealed the victory with an empty-net goal with just over a minute remaining.

Andrei Vasilevskiy made 25 saves for the Lightning, while Ville Husso made 28 saves for the Red Wings.