Mrazek, Red Wings shut out Lightning 4-0 at Joe Louis Arena

Photo by Jen Hefner/MiHockey
Photo by Jen Hefner/MiHockey

 

By @SKubus

DETROIT – Detroit head coach Mike Babcock wanted a better defensive effort after allowing 11 goals in the past two games, and he got one Saturday afternoon.

In fact, the Red Wings shut out the NHL’s highest-scoring team–Tampa Bay entered Saturday’s game with 244 goals for–by a 4-0 final in what may be a first-round playoff preview. Joakim Andersson, Justin Abdelkader, Gustav Nyquist and Luke Glendening all found twine for Detroit, while Petr Mrazek became the first goalie to shut out the potent Lightning since the legendary Martin Brodeur did so Dec. 14, 2013.

“We knew they were number one in NHL in scoring goals, but we did a great job boxing out in our zone and we slowed them down in the neutral zone, so that was huge,” Mrazek said.

The Red Wings’ bench boss was pleased with Mrazek’s performance and plans to use him Sunday against the Islanders instead of Jimmy Howard.

“I thought he was real solid today,” Babcock said. “We didn’t give him a ton of work, but he was real good with the puck. That helps our D. And then he was solid when he needed to be. He didn’t have much work today, so that gives him an opportunity to go tomorrow because he didn’t have much work today and that gives Howie an opportunity to work with (goaltending coach) Jim Bedard and freshen up.”

Glendening said he’s not surprised by Mrazek, as the two have been teammates dating back to their days in Grand Rapids.

“I played with him in Grand Rapids and you guys have seen what he can do here this year, so obviously a real solid goalie and he’s just kind of got that swagger to him that’s hard to develop in your game.”

But while Mrazek was a stabilizing force between the pipes, it was the overall defensive effort in front of him–a polar opposite of the defensive game on display in Thursday’s 6-4 loss to San Jose–that led to victory for Detroit.

“I thought our guys executed well, played tight, didn’t give up a bunch,” Babcock said. “They didn’t give up a bunch either, early, and we were able to find a way to get some goals, we had some puck luck and score some goals and leave the building feeling good about yourself tonight, which is positive.”

The Red Wings came out looking like the polar opposite of their Thursday-night selves, buzzing in the Tampa Bay zone with scoring chances galore, but the opening 20 minutes ultimately proved to be fruitless.

That would change in the second stanza, however, as Detroit scored three unanswered goals for a commanding 3-0 lead.

At 5:25 of the middle frame, Andersson redirected a Kyle Quincey backhand floater down through Bishop’s legs to open the scoring. Abdelkader then capitalized on a Lightning turnover, took the puck in for a breakaway from the blue line in and roofed his 23rd of the season over Bishop’s blocker at 7:19 to give Detroit a two-goal cushion.

And exactly two minutes later, Nyquist scored his 24th of the season in bizarre fashion. Nyquist raced for a loose puck to the right of Bishop against a Lightning defenseman, and as he poked the puck with one hand, the puck seemingly handcuffed Bishop, bounced off the top of his shoulder and in.

At 18:21 of the third period, Glendening potted his 11th of the season, breaking up a Victor Hedman point shot to score an empty-netter from his own blue line and secure the victory.

 

While it may have been a statement game against what may be the Red Wings’ first-round playoff opponent, Babcock said it’s just about gathering points at this stage to ensure they do in fact make the postseason.

“Obviously it’s a situation that, we just need to win games so we can get in the playoffs. We’ll worry about who we play after we’re there.”

Detroit continues their busy end-of-season schedule–the Red Wings have no more than one day off between games for the rest of the season–Sunday for the second of a back-to-back against the New York Islanders.

“That’s a step in the right direction,” Glendening said. “We’ve scored a lot of goals in the recent games, but we’ve been losing, so to post a shutout today for our team is big.”