TAMPA, Fla. – Petr Mrazek stopped 28 shots and the Detroit Red Wings rebounded from a disappointing loss to shut down the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 on Saturday night and take a 3-2 lead in the first-round NHL playoff series.
Riley Sheahan, Drew Miller, Pavel Datsyuk and Danny DeKeyser scored for the Red Wings. They can close out the Eastern Conference matchup by winning Game 6 at home Monday night.
The shutout was the second of the series for the young Mrazek, who had no previous NHL playoff experience before being named Detroit's starter over veteran Jimmy Howard. The 23-year-old goalie blanked the Lightning 3-0 in Game 3 at home and also had the only shutout against the league's highest-scoring team during the regular season.
It was a frustrating evening for Tampa Bay, which rallied to win Game 4 on the road, evening the series after fizzling in Game 3 and being outplayed for 54 minutes before being rescued by Tyler Johnson on Thursday night.
Sheahan and Datsyuk scored on the power play. Miller's first goal of the series made it 2-0 through the second period, and DeKeyser added an empty-net goal with 1:38 remaining.
On Thursday night in Detroit, the Red Wings were 6 minutes away from taking a 3-1 series lead before Johnson led the stirring Tampa Bay comeback that brought the series back to Amalie Arena tied at two games apiece.
The Lightning went 118 minutes without a goal before Johnson beat Mrazek twice and assisted on a third within a span of less than 8 minutes to turn a 2-0 deficit into a 3-2 overtime win, yet that didn't translate into momentum for Game 5.
The Red Wings weathered an early barrage of shots, as well as Tampa Bay's first power-play opportunity, to take a 1-0 lead on Sheahan's second goal of the series late in the first period. Niklas Kronwall and Detroit captain Henrik Zetterberg assisted on the score, coming with Tampa Bay's Ondrej Palat in the penalty box for hooking and just 23 seconds remaining in the opening period.
Luke Glendening, playing despite a right hand injury that forced him to leave Game 4, assisted on Miller's goal that made it 2-0. The Detroit center scored in each of the Red Wings' first two victories and his only shot Saturday caromed off Ben Bishop's right leg, leaving the puck in position for an easy tap-in for Miller skating into the middle.
Notes: Despite getting off to a nice start on Sheahan's goal and Datsyuk adding his third goal of the series late, the Red Wings finished 2 for 4 on power-play opportunities and are just 4 of 19 for the series. ... The Lightning, who averaged a NHL-high 3.16 goals per game during the regular season, have struggled in man-advantage situations. They were 0 of 3 on Saturday and are 2 for 24 through five games. ... Lightning rookie LW Jonathan Drouin has been a healthy scratch in four of the five games, including Saturday.