The Detroit Red Wings entered the post season with an identity crisis of sorts in the net. Opting for Petr Mrazek over Jimmy Howard left some scratching their heads on the decision. Thursday night they were still scratching, this time in amazement as Mrazek made 44 saves and backstopped the Wings to an unlikely 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning.
“Some nights you have to pick up the goalie when he doesn’t play good, but [Thursday] 
the goalie picked us up,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “He was unreal. We found a way to win. It wasn’t exactly the way I drew it out but it was a win. We have to get quicker and spend more time in the zone, but we’re happy to be up after one game.”
Mrazek was solid throughout the game and provided confidence in his game that extended to the rest of the Wings.
“They were coming at the net hard and they took shots from everywhere in the first period,” Mrazek said. “I was able to get into the game with all those chances they had. In the second period, I had 17 saves, so I was always in the game. It was a lot of fun out there.”
Pavel Datsyuk scored twice for Detroit in the win.
“It’s a good feeling to win this game,” Datsyuk said. “We tried to be active and take advantage of our scoring chances. [Mrazek] played real well.”
Luke Glendening’s shorthanded goal early the third gave the Red Wings a 3-1 lead.
“I couldn’t draw the game up any better than the way we played it,” Lightning coach Jon Cooper said.
“It’s tough. You think about games, ultimately, it’s not really how many you score, it’s how many you keep out. When you’re giving up two or less, you’ve got a pretty good chance of winning the game. You give up the third one, now it’s sometimes you win, and sometimes you don’t. We were just one short at keeping them out.”
Ben Bishop faced 14 shots in the game with 11 saves.
“I thought we played well and just didn’t get the win,” Bishop said. “Sometimes it goes like that. [Mrazek] got a lot of work and made a lot of great saves. We’ve lost some games where we had a big shot advantage. As a goalie sometimes it’s better to face a lot of shots.”
Scratching the head my not get the itch and Detroit will need more offense if they hope to extend on this 1-0 series lead.
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