The Tampa Bay Lightning beat the Detroit Red Wings 1-0 at Amalie Arena in Tampa Thursday night.
Lightning goalie Ben Bishop stopped 34 shots to earn the shutout win in a game that was scoreless for 58 minutes and 17 seconds.
“…these guys have been scoring for me for the last three years, so I knew eventually it would come and I just had to keep (the puck) out of our net.” – Bishop
The Lightning survived a scare early on when they found themselves down two men at 4:27 of the first, after getting a bench minor for Too Many Men On the Ice at 3:41and Jason Garrison was called for Cross-Checking at 4:27 . But the penalty kill was masterful, giving up only two shots during the entire time they were shorthanded.
Detroit also mustered a number of breakaway opportunities but Bishop was able to fend them off.
“You know, sometimes you are feeling it, I guess. I was able to make a couple saves there and keep the team in the game.” – Bishop
The first and second periods ended in a scoreless tie.
Finally at 18:17 of the third, a hustling Ryan Callahan corralled a loose puck behind the Red Wings net and fed Alex Killorn for the only goal of the night.
“It was a play where (Mrazek) makes a goalie play and Callahan kind of jumped him. Once I saw that he was out of his net, I was just trying to gain position in front, knowing that if Cally could get it to me, I could probably put it in.” – Killorn
“I think that is when I’m effective. That is when I am playing my best. When I’m in there pressuring their defense, taking the body, trying to get to the front of the net. More than anything, that is just when I feel like I am playing my best.” – Callahan
With Detroit goalie Petr Mrazek pulled for the extra skater, the Lightning faced another penalty kill adventure when Garrison was whistled again for Cross-Checking with 44 seconds left, the first penalty called since 14:01 of the second period. But the Lightning held on to protect the one-goal lead, win the game and advance to the next round.
In the second round, the Lightning will play the winner of the New York Islanders – Florida Panthers series, which can’t end until Sunday at the earliest. That series is currently tied at two games apiece.
Game notes:
- Tickets for second round games at Amalie Arena will go on sale at 1 PM this Saturday.
- The Lightning are the first team to advance to the next round in this year’s playoffs.
- This was the third time in their history that the Lightning entered a postseason series with a 3-1 lead, having previously beaten the Islanders in five games in 2004 and the Canadiens in six last season.
- Tampa Bay is now 6-9 all-time in Game 5’s.
- They’re 4-3 all-time in Game 5’s played at home.
- The Lightning were 5-0 at home vs Detroit this season.
- This is the fourth playoff shutout of Ben Bishop’s career, with three of those four coming in series-clinching games.
- For Killorn, he notched the fourth playoff game-winning goal of his career.
- The Lightning were 24 for 25 (96%) on the penalty kill for the series.
- Dating back to last season, the Lightning are 15-1 in playoff games when they score first.
- Too many possible scenarios in play right now to hazard a reasonable guess as to the schedule for the next round. Just know that if the Lightning play the Panthers, they’ll open on the road and if they play the Islanders, they’ll have home ice advantage.
- The Lightning honored Arthenia Joyner as the 44th Lightning Community Hero of the 2015-16 season during the first period of tonight’s game. Joyner, who received a $50,000 donation from the Lightning Foundation and the Lightning Community Heroes program, will donate the money to the Links Foundation, Delta Enriches Life Through Training & Awareness (DELTA), Tampa Heights Civic Association, Florida A&M University Foundation and the USF Foundation. Joyner has been at the core in the fight for equal rights. She was the first black female attorney in Polk and Hillsborough counties and has been in private practice for 45 years. She pioneered change for all minorities who were wrongfully arrested and those who were being illegitimately targeted. Since being wrongfully incarcerated herself, she’s been a leading advocate for individuals that have been unlawfully imprisoned. Furthermore, her relentless desire for justice led to her appointment as the first black female lawyer to the Hillsborough County Bar Association while serving on the Board of Directors. Joyner has passed legislation to provide compensation to those who’ve been wrongfully incarcerated. To this day, Joyner continues to guide young professionals who are beginning their career in law and public service. Joyner becomes the 223rd Lightning Community Hero since Jeff and Penny Vinik introduced the program in 2011-12 with a $10 million, five-season commitment to the Tampa Bay community. Through this evening’s game, in total, the Lightning Foundation has granted $11.3 million to more than 300 different non-profits in the Greater Tampa Bay area.
