Ben Bishop made 34 saves and stopped three breakaway attempts in the second period to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 1-0 win in Game 5 over Detroit, eliminating the Red Wings in the first round for the second straight year. It’s also the second straight elimination-game shutout of the Red Wings by Bishop.
Alex Killorn scored the game-winning goal with 1:43 left in the third period. Detroit goalie Petr Mrazek underhit a pass from behind the net to Jonathan Ericsson. Ryan Callahan intercepted it and found Killorn in front of the net, who beat Mrazek as he was scrambling back to the net. Killorn had beaten Niklas Kronwall to the position in front of goal.
Detroit had the better of the play in the second period, and more than enough scoring opportunities to extend the series. Riley Sheahan, Darren Helm and Dylan Larkin all had their chances one-one-one against Bishop, but failed to beat him. The Red Wings outshot Tampa Bay 34-24 for the game, and 14-6 in the second period.
The game ended with Detroit having a 6-on-4 advantage after Jason Garrison took a penalty. Detroit’s power play ended the series 1-for-25.
The biggest question facing the Red Wings is whether or not Pavel Datsyuk will return to Russia after the season. Prior to the playoffs he indicated that this was his last year in the NHL, but following the game, he said he was going to take some time to cool off before making a final decision. He has one year on his contract with a cap hit of $7.5 million, which Detroit will have as dead money should the forward opt to not play with the Red Wings.
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