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NHL opening round quick hits: Red Wings vs. Lightning
The Detroit Red Wings will try to rattle Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop in an opening-round rematch. Scott Audette/Getty Images

NHL opening round quick hits: Red Wings vs. Lightning

Vitals
Detroit: (41-30-11) 3rd in Atlantic Division
Tampa Bay: (46-31-5) 2nd in Atlantic Division

Season Series
Split four-game set, with Detroit winning the first two and Tampa Bay winning the second two.

Looking at the Matchup
The Bolts knocked Detroit out of last season’s Stanley Cup Playoffs, and it was no easy feat for the Red Wings to secure their 25th consecutive playoff bid for this rematch. Tampa Bay has had its own bag of drama to deal with this season, some to do with the potential trade of superstar Steven Stamkos — who will miss these playoffs after having to undergo surgery for a blood clot.

But the potentially bigger focal point of this series will be the goaltending. Starting netminder Ben Bishop posted a .922 save percentage for Tampa when the Lightning eliminated Detroit last postseason, and he’ll need to do the same to keep the Red Wings off the score sheet. Detroit’s goaltending tandem of Jimmy Howard and Petr Mrazek has had its ups and downs during the regular season, with Howard having a rough start and Mrazek cooling off at the end of the campaign.

Goaltending becomes even more paramount for Detroit when considering what the roster lacks on defense. Tampa, on the other hand, will be in the best shape if the reunited “Triplets” line of Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov repeats its effort from last year’s playoff push.

Quotables
"You never know what can happen. It's a new season now. Just go out there and just play. This is the fun time of season we're in. It's another great accolade, 25 years straight now running." —Jimmy Howard, goaltender Detroit Red Wings ( via MLive.com)

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