The Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings will take to the ice tomorrow night at Amalie Arena for Game One of their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal series. In preparation for the matchup, it’s time for part two of my series preview.
Four Reasons the Tampa Bay Lightning Will Win the Series:
Reason #1: Regular Season Success The Lightning’s record in their season series with Detroit was a sparkling 3-1-0. This group has shown an ability to beat the opponent they’ll face in the series, and beat them handily. A 5-1 win on January 29th and a 3-1 win on March 20th highlighted Tampa’s success over Detroit this year.
Their one loss came on March 28th, when the team was missing Jason Garrison (for most of the game) and Braydon Coburn on the blue line. A healthier Lightning group is going to take to the ice when the series gets underway tomorrow night. The question now is whether regular season success carries over into the playoffs or not.
Reason #2: Distractions in Detroit It’s no secret that the Red Wings limped their way into the 2015 postseason. After surging to start the 14-15 campaign, the Wings struggled down the stretch. There are some serious questions surrounding their game right now, and you can bet the players in the room know it.
Further, the goaltending situation is a little bit messy for the Wings as well. I noted yesterday that Petr Mrazek is one reason Detroit might win the series, but the decision to start him could also come back to bite them. The story is that Babcock didn’t even tell Jimmy Howard he wasn’t starting. It all sounds like a bit of a mess. Combine that with the fact that the media is really playing up the Mike-Babcock-is-leaving storyline right now, and you’ve got yourself a nice set of distractions.
Reason #3: Goaltending Remember Anders Lindback? He was the Lightning’s number one guy when they faced the Montreal Canadiens one year ago. When he faltered, the team turned to Kristers Gudlevskis. Tampa was swept.
The story this time around is a little bit different. Ben Bishop is healthy and ready to play in the playoffs, and the team’s backup is Andrei Vasilevskiy. The situation in net right now is a whole lot better than it was one year ago. If the Lightning get decent goaltending, it’s hard not to like their chances in this series.
Reason #4: Something to Prove We all remember that aforementioned sweep. For fans, it hurt. For players, it was likely downright painful. This group, this core has something to prove. Led by a now-healthy Steven Stamkos, the Lightning want to show the hockey world that they are for real.
The Bolts compiled a great regular season record, dominated possession, and did a lot of other things right. None of that will matter if they can’t get the job done in the playoffs. By loading up with acquisitions like Anton Stralman, Jason Garrison, and Braydon Coburn, Steve Yzerman has clearly shown that he is ready to see his team compete. It’s up to the players now.
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The festivities get started soon enough. Enjoy the wait.
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.