Datsyuk, Mrazek lead Red Wings to Game 1 win
By Nick Barnowski –
The Magic Man brought his whole set of tricks to Tampa Thursday night, but he wasn’t the only one who impressed for Detroit.
Pavel Datysuk found the back of the net twice and Petr Mrazek stopped 44 shots to help lead the Red Wings to a 3-2 win in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference playoff matchup with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Despite being out-shot on the road 46-14, the Wings managed to grab a victory against a team that had the best home record in the NHL during the regular season.
Forward Luke Glendening scored the game-winning goal while shorthanded at 5:50 of the third period to secure the win.
Mrazek, who stopped 44 of 46 shots in his first career playoff start, commanded Detroit’s defense. Mrazek made 12 saves on the penalty kill, which came up huge for the Wings as they held the Lighting to zero goals on seven power play attempts.
The Lighting got off to a quick start, nearly scoring on a 2-on-1 just 20 seconds into the game. Offense then came sparingly – Tampa Bay only had four shots on goal 12 minutes in, while Detroit recorded zero in the game’s first seven minutes.
Detroit’s first shot found the back of the net, though, as Datsyuk scored his 40th career playoff goal at 9:03 of the first.
After a Kyle Quincey hit in the neutral zone caused a turnover, the Wings gained possession of the puck in the Lightning end. Darren Helm found Quincey at the point, and the Wings’ defenseman put a shot on net that Datsyuk deflected past Bishop.
Just a few minutes later, Brian Boyle blocked Marek Zidlicky’s shot from the point and raced in alone on Mrazek. The 6-7 Lightning forward beat the Wings goalie to tie the score at one.
An Anton Stralman goaltender interference penalty at the end of the first period carried over to the second, and the Wings capitalized.
Datsyuk scored his second of the game only eight seconds into the second to give the Wings a 2-1 lead. Detroit lost the faceoff, but Helm chased the puck down in the Tampa Bay zone and found the magician in the slot. Datsyuk deked around a Lightning defenseman and beat Bishop on the glove side.
The goal gave Datsyuk his sixth career multi-point playoff game. At the time of the goal, the Wings had scored twice on four shots.
Glendening – a major component to the success of the Detroit PK – tallied his second career playoff goal in spectacular fashion.
The former Michigan Wolverine raced after the puck after clearing the zone on the penalty kill, pulled a spin-o-rama, and slid the puck through Bishop’s five-hole on the backhand. The goal gave the Wings a 3-1 lead.
Tampa cut the lead to one at 8:26 of the third after Nikita Nesterov sniped one past Mrazek, but it wasn’t enough.
Detroit and Tampa Bay will meet in Game 2 on Saturday at Amalie Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 3 p.m.