{{pageModel.leagueAbbr}} {{pageModel.subtitle}} | Las Vegas Review-Journal
National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Detroit 4, Tampa Bay 0
When: 6:00 PM ET, Saturday, April 25, 2015
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Referees: Kelly Sutherland, Francis Charron
Linesmen: Brad Kovachik, Bryan Pancich
Attendance: 19204

TAMPA, Fla. -- For the third time in five games, the road team has taken momentum in the opening round, as the Detroit Red Wings bounced back to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 Saturday night at Amalie Arena and take a 3-2 series lead, with a chance to advance with a home win Monday.

Second-seeded Tampa Bay had rallied in the final minutes Thursday and won in overtime in Detroit to tie the series, but couldn't find the same spark Saturday. Third-seeded Detroit got goals from center Riley Sheahan, left wing Drew Miller and center Pavel Datsyuk, plus an empty-net score from defenseman Danny DeKeyser with 1:36 remaining.

Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek got his second shutout in the series, stopping all 28 Lightning shots.

The Lightning are in danger of a opening-round upset exit for the second year in a row, aftyer getting swept by Montreal last season. Tampa Bay had lost just seven times at home in the regular season, but are 1-2 at home in this playoff series.

The Lightning will need another road win Monday to stay alive and bring the series back to Tampa for Game 7 on Wednesday.

Detroit went 2-for-4 on its power play, getting the first and last goals with the man advantage to beat Lightning goalie Ben Bishop.

Detroit took control of the game -- and the series -- with a 2-0 lead entering the third, putting them in position for a second road win in three tries in the opening round.

The Lightning came in with momentum in the series, having trailed, 2-0, with six minutes left in the third Thursday night in Detroit before scoring twice in regulation and winning in overtime to steal a road win and tie the series, 2-2.

Returning to Tampa, where they had the NHL's best home record in the regular season, they couldn't pick up where they left off. The Lightning took eight of the game's first nine shots, but they were unable to get any past Mrazek.

Momentum shifted to Detroit in the second half of the opening period, with a power play with 1:47 left in the period after a penalty by Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman.

Sharp passing led to a goal by Sheahan, who took a pass from defenseman Niklas Kronwell and fired it past Bishop with 23 seconds left in the period for a 1-0 lead.

Detroit finished with 10 of the period's final 11 shots, with an 11-9 shots lead entering the second.

Detroit possessed the puck enough that Tampa Bay had one shot on goal in a span of 23 minutes between the first and second periods.

The Red Wings added to their lead late in the second, when Miller scored on a rebound of a shot from center Luke Glendening, beating Bishop for a 2-0 lead with 4:14 left in the second.

NOTES: How important is winning Game 5 in a best-of-7 series? NHL teams that hold a 3-2 edge in a playoff series go on to win that series 78 percent of the time entering this postseason, per Elias Bureau. ... Neither team has made many lineup changes in this series, with the Lightning and Red Wings each tweaking their active lineup with two players that had been scratched in five games. Tampa Bay had rookie LW Jonathan Drouin back as a healthy scratch, with rookie C Vladislav Namestnikov dressed, and D Jason Garrison back healthy for a second game and D Nikita Nesterov a healthy scratch. ... Detroit stuck with LW Justin Abdelkader and D Brendan Smith for a third straight game healthy, with C Stephen Weiss and D Alexey Marchenko as the healthy scratches.
Top Game Performances
 
Detroit   Tampa Bay
Jonathan Ericsson 2 Points N/A
Pavel Datsyuk 1 Goals N/A
Jonathan Ericsson 2 Assists N/A
Pavel Datsyuk 1 Power Play Goals N/A
N/A Short Handed Goals N/A
Petr Mrazek 1.000 Save Percentage Ben Bishop .897
Petr Mrazek 28 Saves Ben Bishop 26
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Detroit 30 4 2-4 3-3 8 23
Tampa Bay 28 0 0-3 2-4 8 41
Upcoming Games
  • Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Detroit. The Lightning have a W/L % of .560 after a win and .688 after a loss.
  • Detroit will play their next game at home against Tampa Bay. The Red Wings have a W/L % of .488 after a win and .564 after a loss.