The Tampa Bay Lightning have eliminated the Detroit Red Wings from Stanley Cup contention.
Brayden Coburn scored early in the third period, Ben Bishop earned a shutout and Anton Stralman notched an empty netter to give the Bolts a 2-0 win in Game 7 of their opening round series -- sending Tampa Bay to the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Detroit dominated in terms of possession through two periods, racking up 43 shot attempts to Tampa's 23, but were unable to solve Bishop, who couldn't have picked a better time to turn in a stellar performance. The 28-year-old stopped all 31 Detroit shots en route to victory.
Coburn broke the scoreless tie 3:58 into the third period with a fluttering one-timer. Alex Killorn fought off two Red Wings behind Detroit's net and got the puck to Ryan Callahan, who fed it to a wide open Coburn in the right circle. The veteran defenseman then beat Petr Mrazek (15 saves, one goal allowed) blocker side.
Stralman found the back of the net shortly thereafter, but the goal was waived off due to matching penalties to Steven Stamkos (roughing) and Riley Sheahan (interference). Stralman would later find the score sheet, however, as he fired a shot into Detroit's vacant cage with 1:18 left in regulation.
3 things we learned
1. Coburn stepped up in a big way
Coburn was acquired by Steve Yzerman midseason for his defensive aptitude -- not his goal scoring abilities. But, with Tampa's offensively-gifted players unable to light the lamp, the 30-year-old blue liner rose to the occasion. This marks his second goal of 2014-15 and third career postseason tally.
2. Bishop was stellar
Given the numbers he put up in the regular season (2.32 goals against average, .916 save percentage), Bishop rarely looked like someone capable of winning four best-of-seven series in a row. That said, the 6-foot-7 backstop was up to the task on Wednesday, and looked solid more often than not over the last few weeks. His Game 7 performance was undoubtedly his best of the playoffs so far and brought the Lightning 12 wins away from the Stanley Cup.
3. The Wings gave it their all
Detroit's season has come to an end, but the Red Wings didn't go down without a fight. Their defense was stellar throughout Game 7 despite the absences of Niklas Kronwall and Marek Zidlicky. Tomas Tatar was particularly good up front, registering six shots; Gustav Nyqvist chipped in four of his own. With a 31-16 edge in SOG, Detroit certainly did enough to come out on top.