Petr Mrazek bounces back, leads Red Wings' Game 3 win

DETROIT - Coach Mike Babcock doesn't much like Detroit Red Wings goaltender Petr Mrazek's reputation as a "bounce-back"goalie because it requires a sub-par performance before the greatness occurs.

"In the National Hockey League," Babcock said, "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."

But that's a long-term concern, and in the short term, Mrazek's bounce-back ability served the Red Wings' interests Tuesday when he made 22 saves to beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 3-0 and give the Red Wings a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarterfinal.

"(Mrazek) has confidence," Red Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg said. "He knows he's a good goalie. If stuff goes against him he forgets about it quick and comes in the next morning and works hard for the next game."

Mrazek, yanked after two periods in Game 2, has been pulled five times this season and he's now 4-0-1 in the next game with a save percentage above .950.

In Game 3, he was just a chapter of the story for the Red Wings, who played their best game of the series. The return of forward Justin Abdelkader from injury seemed to give the team a major boost. He set up Detroit's second goal with a nifty pass. He went strong to the net, and in the third period he roughed up Tampa Bay's Cedric Paquette for messing with Mrazek.

"(Abdelkader) is unbelievable," said center Riley Sheahan, who scored off Abdelkader's feed. "He had so much energy and he's a leader. You watch him play and it motivates you and gives the whole team confidence."

It clearly inspired the Red Wings and their fans to see Abdelkader confront Paquette after he lifted up Mrazek's leg with his stick

"When I saw that play, I thought it was really a dirty play," Abdelkader said. "There's no need for that."

Babcock pointed out that the return of Abdelkader made three of Detroit's lines better because he was able to put regular lines back together. With home-ice advantage, Babcock was able to use Pavel Datsyuk against Steven Stamkos and he put Luke Glendening's line against the Tyler Johnson line.

"They played a better game – we had less room out there," Lightning right wing Ryan Callahan said.

With his 2.25 goals-against average and .930 save percentage, Mrazek has been crucial to the Red Wings grabbing the series lead against the favored Lightning.

He stole Game 1 for the Red Wings, who were outplayed. The reason why the Game 3 win was more meaningful for the Red Wings was because it was a more complete effort.

The stat sheet said the Red Wings out-hit the Lightning 48-26 and had twice as many blocked shots.

"I thought it was a good tight game," Babcock said. "It's the way we have to play."

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said it was a challenge to play from behind against the Red Wings the way they were playing.

"They were well-structured and they play hard," he said.

But the Lightning were far from being demoralized by the loss. They know they outplayed Detroit in the first two games, and every game as its own identity. Game 4 on Thursday will tell more about this series than any of the first three games.

"This was a typical playoff game," Stralman said. "They played well. We didn't play bad. But we can definitely play better."

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