The Red Wings are finally headed home and they'll be a happy bunch for several reasons.

They've been away for eight days — four games — capping off a road-heavy part of the schedule the last several weeks. The Wings were also in the midst of a five-game losing streak and lost six of seven games.

But the Wings are returning home with some momentum, after defeating Tampa Bay, 2-0, on Saturday.

Goaltender Daniil Tarasov was excellent, stopping 30 shots, and Lucas Raymond and Michael Brandsegg-Nygard (empty net) scored goals as the Wings (8-10-3, 19 points) earned a needed victory.

The loss was Tampa's (13-5-2) first at home all season in nine games.

Here is a recap of the game:

— First period: The Lightning outshot the Wings 10-4 and had the better scoring chances. Tarasov had to be alert, stopping Conor Geekie on a short drive after a Wings' turnover and got some help from Andreas Englund, who swiped away a puck in the crease that got through Tarasov on John Carlson's shot. The Wings' best opportunity was Michael Rasmussen driving from the wing and testing goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy.

— Second period: Raymond scored the lone goal of the period, his eighth. William Wallinder found Raymond near the blue line with an outlet pass. Raymond deftly knocked the puck from his skate to his stick, and found himself all alone down the slot, Raymond beating Vasilevskiy at 13:12. Raymond has 16 points in his last 13 games. As in the first period, it was Tarasov who had to turn away the more difficult scoring chances. Early on, Tarasov stopped Brandon Hagel after a Moritz Seider turnover. Tarasov turned aside a Nikita Kucherov one-timer, and got help from Ben Chiarot, who blocked Jake Guentzel's tap-in attempt at the post.

— Third period: The Wings killed two Tampa power plays, the only two by either team in the game. Vasilevskiy denied Carter Mazur on a drive to the net after a Tampa giveaway, the Wings' best chance. The Wings were outstanding defensively, not letting Kucherov get any room and doing an excellent job on the forecheck. Brandsegg-Nygard scored his fourth goal, into an empty net, with Raymond earning an assist.

— Tarasov gets the start: After sitting the last two games Tarasov was back in net, giving John Gibson a breather. Gibson allowed eight goals in the two losses, maintaining what has been a ragged start to the season, with a 4-7-1 record, 3.58 goals-against average and .862 save percentage. Tarasov came into the game 2-3-2, 2.10 GAA (ranked 5th in NHL) and .919 (8th). Tarasov earned his second shutout of the season, nine games, and likely could be getting the majority of playing time for the near future.

— Rasmussen back in: After being a healthy scratch Thursday against Florida, Rasmussen returned to the lineup replacing Mason Appleton, who just re-entered the lineup two games ago. Rasmussen played 8:09 on 12 shifts.

— Wallinder hurt: The Wings could be missing Wallinder, who left the game in the third period with a knee injury, after a knee-on-knee collision with Tampa's Jeffrey Viel. Wallinder played 16:46 and assisted on Raymond's goal.

— Ailing stars: Tampa's usual start-studded roster was missing a few of its regulars, particularly up the middle. Centers Brayden Point and Anthony Cirelli were both out of the lineup with injuries, along with defenseman Erik Cernak.

— Next: The Wings host Boston on Wednesday at Little Caesars Arena.

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