Detroit Red Wings Petr Mrazek Robs Tampa Bay 3-2
By Joe Chapp
This game had the making of a true dud, the Detroit Red Wings didn’t play their best game, in fact it was an awful performance. The goalie controversy that surrounded the game in the media was put to rest tonight.
Petr Mrazek had a 44 save performance and allowed two goals on 46 shots.
The Red Wings were confident in the young net minder, but no one expected him to steal the first game on the road against the league’s best team at home.
That’s insane.
Detroit didn’t look good, Stamkos and Coburn had more shots at one point than Detroit had has a team. They looked slow, and obviously there’s a lot to work on.
So what can we take out of this game?
What To Take Out Of This Game:
Ben Bishop – Ben Bishop on limited shots, didn’t look sharp the Wings got a deflection off him, but the one goal that might haunt Ben Bishop is the Glendening goal it was a soft backhand that somehow made it through.
The Red Wings should look to come at Ben Bishop Saturday, because if tonight was any indication he’s clearly not used to the playoffs before tonight’s game he only had one playoff start and that was in the AHL.
Mrazek on the other hand led his Griffins to the AHL Calder Cup, before tonight both goalies have yet to start a game in the NHL.
Pavel Datsyuk – There’s little Datsyuk didn’t do tonight, he was a pest defensively and chimed in on two Red Wings goals. Babcock said “I loved the way Pav, Z and Helms played, but we have to be better.”
Mike Babcock – Babcock pulled the right strings, from going with a goalie who never played in an NHL game to putting Glendening and Miller against the Tyler Johnson line, but Babcock wasn’t thrilled with the way we win ” We have to win the battles on the boards and getting the puck out” and he went on to say “Our forwards weren’t good enough, we didn’t have enough from our forwards and put the defense on their heals”
Stats:
Shots On Goal:
Detroit – 14
Tampa Bay – 46
Power Plays:
Detroit – 1/3
Tampa Bay – 0/6
Takeaways:
Detroit – 7
Tampa Bay – 6
What to expect for game two?
Detroit truly got lucky, they reversed the luck of previous Red Wings teams tonight because they actually had the hot goalie who stopped everything unlike in years past against Edmonton, Nashville and Anaheim.
If there’s anything the Red Wings can get better with, it’s playing their game at the level they know they can play at. Detroit coming into the series was cold, but when the playoffs start – often it doesn’t matter what happened in the past month it’s how you enter the playoffs.
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Talking to people who played in the NHL and in the Stanley Cup Playoffs here in Detroit, they’ll tell you it’s about the mindset.
Tampa Bay has speed, skill and flash however Detroit has the experience. What’s going to be truly interesting is how does Tampa Bay come back from this game, do they get aggressive? How does Bishop come back from a game he nearly 4.5 shots per period against, but gave up three goals?
Often in the playoffs it’s who comes in playing the game they’re capable of, tonight Tampa Bay did and Detroit didn’t.
Yet, Detroit came away victorious.
Look for Detroit to play a lot better in-game two, but what you should watch out for is how Tampa Bay responds.