Lightning finish off Red Wings on late Alex Killorn goal
A late Game 5 goal by Alex Killorn off a dogged forecheck by Ryan Callahan gave the Tampa Bay Lightning the victory they needed to finish off the Detroit Red Wings in the first-round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Callahan picked up the puck behind the net as Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek went to play it around the boards. He then found Killorn in front who cashed in on the play to put the game at 1-0. The goal was scored with just 1:43 left in the third period and stood as the game-winner in the 1-0 victory.
The Lightning then held on, killing off a Jason Garrison crosscheck in the final minute to become the first team to advance in the playoffs.
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The Lightning will face the winner of the Florida Panthers, New York Islanders series.
Tampa beat the Red Wings despite nursing several injuries. Captain Steven Stamkos has been out since early April with a blood clot near his neck. Top pairing defenseman Anton Stralman has been out since late March with a non-displaced fracture of his left fibula.
Forward Tyler Johnson played a series low 14:20 and just three shifts in the second period in Game 5.
Tampa took Detroit’s physical punch and continued to move forward. In a Game 2 Tampa win, Red Wings forward Justin Abdelkader pummeled Tampa forward Mike Blunden. Tampa then won two of the next three games to win the series.
The Lightning’s top line of Johnson (seven points), Nikita Kucherov (eight points) and Killorn (three goals) led the way in Round 1 and proved the difference.
Goaltender Ben Bishop came up big in the clinching situation stopping 34 of 34 shots on goal. He finished the round with a 1.61 goal-against average and .950 save percentage.
The Red Wings skate into a summer with some questions. Center Pavel Datsyuk has said he wants to return to Russia, which would leave Detroit on the hook for his $7.5 million salary cap hit. Teemu Pulkkinen, Riley Sheahan, Danny DeKeyser and Petr Mrazek are all pending restricted free agents
Detroit’s regular season offensive struggles also extended into the playoffs. Tomas Tatar led the team in playoff scoring with three assists in five games. Captain Henrik Zetterberg scored one goal. Detroit ranked 23rd in the NHL in goals per-game during the regular season.
The Red Wings’ power play was woeful, going just 1-for-25 in the series. Their 4.0 power play percentage is the worst in the playoffs.
Upgrading the offense and addressing Datsyuk will likely be general manager Ken Holland’s top priorities.
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