The Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning are coming off successful regular seasons ranking third and second in the Eastern Conference respectfully. Now they are hoping to carry that momentum into the playoffs and add another Stanley Cup to the trophy case. However, first they must get through the first round of the playoffs as this matchup could be one of the more exciting series to kick off the postseason.
Tampa had the regular season success against Detroit winning three of the four games. Steven Stamkos and Cedric Paquette were credited with most of the goals against the Red Wings and will likely get a lot of scoring in during this series as well. One thing Tampa Bay is looking forward to is the return of several injured stars. Braydon Coburn will be back after missing a month. Alex Killorn and Andrej Sustr will also return after practicing in full contact jerseys.
The Lightning are looking to avoid the pitfalls of last season's playoffs where they were swept by Montreal. The team finished the regular season as the high-scoring offense posting 50 wins on the year. Tampa Bay's x-factor could be goalie Ben Bishop who set a personal best in wins with a 40-13-5 record and ending the season on a 4-0 run. He has a 2.32 goals-against average, but lacks playoff experience. He missed last year with an injury.
The Red Wings have all kinds of playoff experience as they enter their 24th consecutive playoff run. However, the Red Wings are not counting on experience to take over in the net. Head coach Mike Babcock has named Petr Mrazek the starter over veteran Jimmy Howard after the Red Wings lost in the opening round of the playoffs two of the past three years. The 23-year-old found momentum down the stretch, finishing with a 2.38 goals-against average and .918 saves percentage. Meanwhile, Howard finished with a 2.44 GAA and a .910 saves percentage.
The Red Wings are changing their lineup heading into Game 1. Pavel Datsyuk and Kenrik Zetterberg will play as linemates. Justin Abdelkader is making steps to returning from a hand injury, but is unlikely to be healthy for the first game. Detroit will stick with that lineup until they gave other players back.