TAMPA, Fla. — Lucky bounce or not, Petr Mrazek never saw the puck coming.
Braydon Coburn broke a scoreless tie with a goal that kicked up over Detroit’s goalie early in the third period and Ben Bishop made 31 saves Wednesday night, helping the Lightning beat the Red Wings 2-0 in Game 7 of the first-round Stanley Cup playoff series.
“Didn’t plan to do it like that. It flipped up on me. It knuckleballed in there, which is good,” Coburn said.
” I didn’t see it and it just went through me,” Mrazek said. “I knew he was going to shoot a one-timer there, and I lost it … It was a nice shot.”
Ryan Callahan set up Coburn’s third goal in 79 career postseason games with a pass through the slot to the top of the right circle, where the Tampa Bay defenseman launched his shot just under four minutes into the final period.
“We didn’t give them much at all over the whole 60 minutes,” Red Wings defenseman Jonathan Ericsson said. ” I didn’t exactly see the goal, but for me, it looked like a really, just lucky shot — like a missed shot that goes in the far side. It’s a bounce their way, and that’s how they win the game. I think we were better.”
Anton Stralman added an empty-net goal with 1:18 remaining, ensuring the Lightning would win the first Game 7 they’ve played at home since beating Calgary in the 2004 Stanley Cup Final.
Stralman’s empty-netter, assisted by Bishop, was just the fourth goal in 62 career playoff games for the veteran defenseman.
The Red Wings outshot the Lightning 31-17, but Bishop wasn’t tested a lot in posting his first career playoff shutout. Coburn was obtained from Philadelphia in a trade March 2 and had one goal in 43 games for Tampa Bay during the regular season.
Thumbnail image via Kim Klement/USA TODAY Sports Images
