The Detroit Red Wings and Tampa Bay Lightning are playing Game 7 live in the NHL playoffs in the first round of the eastern conference postseason on Wednesday and the game from Amalie Arena starts at 7:30 pm ET and has the series tied 3-3 as TB and DET try to advance to play the Canadiens in the second round.
The series has been back and forth and now the teams will match up for the final game of the series. The Lightning were the better team during the season and they were one of the best in the east, but now they have gone seven. The Rangers and the Canadiens finished things up in fewer games, while the Islanders and Caps also went seven games. The Lightning are the favorites, but Detroit has already proven that they can win on the road.
The biggest turn for the series came on Thursday with the 3-2 win for Tampa Bay, as they came back from two goals down late and won in overtime. The team was down with minutes left in the third period of that game and the Lighting scored two goals and then stunned the Red Wings on the road with a win in overtime. The team basically saved the series there, as they would have been down 3-1 at the time.
Niklas Kronwall will be out for the Red Wings after dealing with a charge against Nikita Kucherov in Game 6 and now he will be suspended for the matchup. The Red Wings are also without defenseman Marek Zidlicky after he dealt with an injury and that could have a huge impact on the game. Steven Stamkos and Detroit's Henrik Zetterberg have not been great during this series, but Game 7 offers the chance for some redemption. The Red Wings come in looking to shut down Tyler Johnson, who scored six playoff goals, including in Game 6 on Monday and he helped spark the comeback against the Red Wings as well.
The Lighting came into the playoffs as the top scoring team in the league and they averaged over three goals per game this season. The team got a huge year from Stamkos, who led with 72 points and 43 goals and the team sure could use him to step up on Wednesday night. The Red Wings come into the game with second best power play from the season and they will need that to be strong to finish off the series. Zetterberg led the Wings in scoring and assists this season and they need him to step up.
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