PLAYOFF PREVIEWS: NYI | MON | NYR | CHI
Schedule/TV (All times ET; * — if necessary)
Series tied 2-2
April 16: Red Wings 3, Lightning 2 April 18: Lightning 5, Red Wings 1 April 21: Red Wings 3, Lightning 0 April 23: Lightning 3, Red Wings 2 OT April 25: at Tampa Bay, 6 p.m. ET. TV: CBC, TVA, NBCSN, FS-F, FS-D April 27, at Detroit, TBD *April 29, at Tampa Bay, TBD
NEED PLAYOFF TICKETS? Get them from VividSeats.com
Season series: 3-1 Lightning.
Injuries: Red Wings deadline acquisition Erik Cole is lost for the playoffs with a spinal contusion. Winger Justin Abdelkader sat out the season finale but is expected to be ready for Game 1. Winger Johan Franzen hasn’t played since Jan. 6 because of a concussion but recently skated with the team.
Veteran Lightning defensemen Braydon Coburn (lower body) and Jason Garrison (upper body) have been out since February and are considered doubtful for the start of the playoffs. Young forwards Jonathan Drouin and Alex Killorn and defenseman Andrej Sustr all sat out of the team’s finale against the Bruins but are expected to be ready for Game 1.
MORE: Soldier surprises family at Coyotes game | Jagr returning to Panthers
Key players: Lightning star Steven Stamkos finished second in the NHL with 43 goals and will continue to be the driving force behind their lethal offense. Equally lethal is dazzler Pavel Datsyuk, who was one of four Red Wings with 20 or more goals this season.
Goalie matchup: Ben Bishop, all 6-7 of him, will make his playoff debut. He’s been nothing if not consistent for Tampa all season (40-13-5, 2.32 goals-against average and .916 save percentage). For Detroit, it’s a toss up between veteran Jimmy Howard and 23-year-old Petr Mrazek. Howard was 23-13-11 this season with a 2.44 goals against average and .910 save percentage. By comparison, Mrazek is 16-9-2 with a GAA of 2.38 and a .918 save percentage.
Prediction: Lightning in 6.
