Red Wings Must Improve To Continue Winning

Apr 16, 2015; Tampa, FL, USA; Detroit Red Wings center Pavel Datsyuk (13) is congratulated by teammates after he scored against the Tampa Bay Lightning during the first period in game one of the first round of the the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs at Amalie Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

The Red Wings are up 1-0 on the Tampa Bay Lightning in a battle against first time playoff starters Petr Mrazek and Ben Bishop.  The Red Wings goaltender willed the Red Wings to victory with a 44 save performance and standing on his head along the way.

A win is a win no matter how you look at it.  But the dark side of this win is that it took a miraculous performance against the best offense in the league to pull it off. Mrazek was incredible but the Wings can’t wait for miracles if they are going to beat the Lightning.

Its All in the Wrist Shot

Other than the notable exception of their goaltender the rest of the Red Wings numbers were just short of awful.  The Wings gave up seven power play opportunities to the Lightning, two of those came after bench minors for too many men on the ice. Even worse the offense mustered only 14 shots.  Sure they scored three goals but it took two incredible goals by Pavel Datysuk and a Datsyukian effort by Luke Glendening to put the puck in the net.

If the Red Wings plan on winning another game in this series they must produce more consistent shots on goal. Anything less will allow Ben Bishop to find his footing and the Tampa bay offense to recapture its momentum.

The Pavs and the Pav not’s

Pavel Datsyuk proved once again why he is still one of the best scorers in the game. Whether it was fresh legs after messing most of the last month of the season or just pure ability, Datsyuk looked like the only Wing (save Luke Glendening) who even wanted to score.  In fact the pair accounted for over a third of the Red Wings 14 shots.  Their five combined shots were the only signs of life for an offense that spent most of its time defending in their own zone.

As good as Pavel is he can’t carry the team, the other forwards will have to step up to have success in-game 2 and beyond.

Red Wings At Tampa Bay Lightning Game Two Information

Start Time: 3:30 pm

TV: NBC