Forward Justin Abdelkader came back, defenseman Brendan Smith came back and the Detroit Red Wings bounced back for a 3-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning and a 2-1 edge in their best-of-seven Stanley Cup series, but don’t go talking to Mike Babcock about anything suggesting his team is on the rebound.
“This bounce back thing, I’d like to clear this up,… Detroit coach Babcock sought to explain. “In the National Hockey League if you get known for bouncing back you’re usually not in the league because you can’t have bad games to bounce back from.
“So you’ve got to play good every night.…
Well then, perhaps we shouldn’t mention Detroit goaltender Petr Mrazek, who bounced back from being pulled after two periods in Detroit’s 5-1 Game 2 loss to the Lightning to block all 22 shots he faced for his first career Stanley Cup shutout and the first by a Red Wings rookie since the guy who backed him up Tuesday at Joe Louis Arena, Jimmy Howard, blanked the Phoenix Coyotes by a 3-0 count on April 20, 2010.
“I felt great,… Mrazek said. “I think we played real well defensively today and the guys helped me there so much and the huge part was the PK for us.…
Detroit’s penalty killers thwarted the Lightning on six occasions, including a five-on-three for a duration of 56 seconds in the second period when Detroit’s lead was just 1-0.
“The penalty kill is huge as is the power play,… Detroit forward Drew Miller said. “When we get big kills the fans feed off it, the guys on the bench feed off it and we kind of grab the momentum back to our side.…
Kids Stepping Up Riley Sheahan, who was clearly venturing toward Babcock’s doghouse after going into his eighth Stanley Cup game still in search of his first point, got off the snide, scoring a third-period power-play goal to make it 2-0.
“It was unbelievable,… Sheahan said. “I can’t really put the feeling into words.…
Babcock felt that Sheahan was better, but still had some work to do on his overall game.
“He had to play against Stamkos the first two nights and didn’t have to tonight,… Babcock said. “He’s a real good player and anytime you don’t play the way you want your confidence can get shaken.
“He had some good opportunities tonight and it was good to see him score a goal. He had some good shifts tonight, so we’ll be able to go through them with him.
“Tomorrow we can have a good day with him and get him playing the way he’s capable of playing. He’s a big man with good hands and that knows how to play good.…
Lucky Luke Assigned the task of checking the potent Tampa Bay line of Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov, Detroit center Luke Glendening has matched Johnson in the goal category. Each have two in this series after Glendening’s empty-netter sealed Tuesday’s win.
“Glenny got another open-net goal,… joked linemate Drew Miller. “It’s either open-net goal or backhand goal with him.…
Glendening now has three playoff goals in eight career Stanley Cup games.
Abby In The House Back after missing the first two games due to a hand injury, Abdelkader made his presence known when Tampa Bay’s Cedric Paquette flipped the legs out from under Mrazek as he skated past the Detroit net.
Abdelkader took issue with the move and immediately went after Paquette.
“I saw that play and thought it was really dirty and there was no need for it,… Abdelkader said. “It’s one of those plays where maybe if I don’t do anything we’re on a five-on-three, but I just thought it was a pretty dirty play and I was pretty upset about it.…
It was exactly what his teammates have come to expect from Abdelkader – that he will always have their back.
“I thought Abdelkader and Smith both brought a big push for us and a lot of energy,… Miller said. “It’s huge to have those guys back and definitely Abby.
“He plays net front and gives Pav (Datsyuk) and Z (Henrik Zetterberg) a chance to sometimes split up to give us a little bit better first and second lines.…
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