The Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 2-0 on Wednesday night, and punched their ticket to an Eastern Conference Semifinal matchup with the Montreal Canadiens as a result.
Despite the fact that they were vastly outplayed for large stretches of Game Seven, the Bolts managed to squeak by Detroit thanks in large part to opportunistic offense and stellar play from Ben Bishop. Bishop, who looked shaky towards the end of his victory in Game Six, was simply phenomenal, as he stopped everything the Red Wings threw at him. He was tested early, he was tested often, and he was tested with quality shots. The goaltender is truly the number one reason Tampa Bay is moving on.
Because Detroit was missing both Niklas Kronwall (suspension) and Marek Zidlicky (injury), there was a certain sense than anything less than a victory would be disappointing for the Lightning. They simply had to take advantage. Alas, they made it difficult, but they got the job done.
For a long while, it looked like the Bolts were on any path but the one to victory. As mentioned, the Red Wings were on fire. They controlled (read: dominated) possession and snuffed out the Lightning's attack at every turn. That reality is evidenced nicely by the fact that Bishop was forced to stop 14 (!) shots in the first period alone, while Petr Mrazek only faced seven. Had it not been for the Tampa Bay goaltender, the result tonight likely would have been quite different.
After battling through a scoreless 40 minutes, the Bolts finally broke through and got on the board. Countless quality chances were missed by both teams before Braydon Coburn, the team's marquee trade deadline acquisition, floated the puck past Mrazek from a long distance at 3:58 of the third. The price Tampa paid for Coburn at the deadline was high, but that one goal made it slightly more palatable. And, just like that, the Bolts had the lead they needed. It wasn't particularly pretty, but it counted just the same.
Detroit pushed and pushed after the Coburn goal, but they were unable to beat Ben Bishop. If you want evidence of how hard Detroit pushed, and not just after the Tampa goal, consider the following possession chart:
Given the result of this game and the way it happened, it's hard not to draw a parallel with Game One. The Lightning dominated possession then, but lost the game. The opposite was true on this occasion. Still, you probably won't hear the Lightning complain about it.
Considering that they had barely hung around all night, that one-goal lead didn't feel too safe with about 16 minutes left on the clock. Tampa needed insurance. It took a while, but it finally came in the form of an empty-net marker. Anton Stralman, who was a monster all night long, was credited with the goal that sealed the deal on the Lightning's first series win since 2011.
Following the Stralman goal, the seconds continued to tick away and the atmosphere at Amalie Arena got rockin'. The final buzzer rang, the Lightning rushed Bishop to congratulate him on his first postseason shutout, and everybody not wearing red started celebrating the team's big win. What a feeling!
When you consider that players like Steven Stamkos, Victor Hedman, Ryan Callahan, and Nikita Kucherov were unable to score in this series, it's almost hard to believe that Tampa Bay is moving on. The simple fact is that this group gutted out wins without their best players firing on all cylinders. Give full credit to the guys around them for picking up the slack and doing what needed to be done. While they weren't perfect from start to finish in this series, the Bolts have a lot to be proud of as they move into the second round.
As great as it was to get this win, the Lightning can't spend too much time celebrating. Game One between the Lightning and Canadiens will take place at the Bell Centre on Friday night. This matchup with Montreal is the one the Lightning and their fans have been looking towards since last spring. The Bolts dominated the season series between the two clubs, so it will be interesting to see whether and how that translates in the playoffs. One thing is for certain - the Lightning will have to be better against the Canadiens than they were against the Wings in Game Seven.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter. 
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