There’s the Lightning we all know and love. Tampa Bay shook off their awful Game 1 performance to lay a beating on the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday. But can the Lightning keep pace considering their regular season struggles on the road? Tampa Bay faces a savvy lineup of veterans at Detroit for the next two games of this blockbuster Eastern Conference playoff matchup.
The race to the Stanley Cup in the East is heating up. Take a peek at our complete previews for the Rangers vs. Penguins and Capitals vs. Islanders.
[sc:NHLArticles ]Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Detroit Red Wings Preview
Series Scores & Schedule
Game 1 — April 16, 7:30 PM ET, Detroit Red Wings 3, Tampa Bay Lightning 2
Game 2 — April 18, 3:00 PM ET, Detroit Red Wings 1, Tampa Bay Lightning 5
Game 3 — April 21, 7:00 PM ET, Tampa Bay Lightning (-125) at Detroit Red Wings (+105); total 5.5 – view all NHL lines
Game 4 — April 23, 7:00 PM ET, Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings
Game 5 — April 25, Time TBD, Detroit Red Wings at Tampa Bay Lightning
Game 6 — April 27, Time TBD, Tampa Bay Lightning at Detroit Red Wings
Game 7 — April 29, Time TBD, Detroit Red Wings at Tampa Bay Lightning
Betting on the Tampa Bay Lightning
Tyler Johnson scored two goals, one on a power play in the first period, to help Tampa Bay even the series against the Red Wings. Alex Killorn, Andrej Sustr and Valtteri Flippula joined the scoring party as the NHL’s best offense trounced Detroit 5-1.
[sc:NHL240 ]Steven Stamkos didn’t score, but he did assist on a pair of goals for his first two points in the playoffs. The Tampa Bay captain may not be contained for much longer. He’s scored two goals on five shots over two regular season games at Joe Louis Arena. Stamkos has been a better goal-scorer away from home. He’s converting 17.5 percent of his shots on goal on the road compared to 14.9 at home.
Considering the Lightning have plenty of options to net goals (10 other players finished the regular season with 10 or more goals), Stamkos may be able to sneak one past Detroit’s defense to score his first goal in this year’s playoffs. Including the regular season, the Lightning are averaging 3.2 goals per game in six games against the Red Wings.
The Lightning wouldn’t be in position to take the series lead if not for netminder Ben Bishop. Facing a better offensive performance from Detroit in Game 2, Bishop finished with 23 saves and allowed just one goal. He allowed a total of seven goals in splitting his two regular season starts at Detroit.
But Tampa Bay’s struggles on the road are concerning. The Lightning’s 18-16-7 regular season road record is the worst among the East’s playoff teams. Tampa Bay has lost four of its last six away from home.
Betting on the Detroit Red Wings
Tampa Bay has only been shut out once in the regular season. It came at Joe Louis Arena with Petr Mrazek between the pipes of a 4-0 win on March 28. Mrazek’s next outing against the Lightning was also excellent, turning away 44 of 46 shots in a 3-2 win in Game 1.
But the inexperienced goalie was chased from the net after allowing four goals over the first two periods of Game 2. Head coach Mike Babcock will be going back to Mrazek to start Game 3, though. He’s 5-4-2 with a 2.15 GAA in regular season home games.
Two days after scoring two goals on two shots, Pavel Datsyuk failed to find the back of the net against the Lightning. Henrik Zetterberg is on a six-game point-less streak against Tampa Bay. But he should be able to break his slump considering he’s scored the bulk of his regular season points (42 of 66) at home.
But if the two struggle once again, they can still take up the role of playmaker. Zetterberg and Datsyuk finished the regular season leading the Red Wings in assists, 49 and 39 respectively. They’ll have a couple of nifty goal-scorers in their midst in Tomas Tatar and Luke Glendening, who’ve scored two of Detroit’s four playoff goals thus far.
The total has gone under in four of Mrazek’s last five home starts.
Writer’s Prediction
Tampa Bay sputters on the road. The Red Wings take advantage to take a 2-1 series lead. Playoff hockey can’t get any better than this. Create a betting account now and feel the thrill of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
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