Detroit Red Wings Can’t Afford to See If Petr Mrazek Was Just a 1-Game Wonder

April 18th, 2015 by Steve Macfarlane Leave a reply »

The Detroit Red Wings leave Tampa with a split, but head coach Mike Babcock’s decision to go back to goaltender Petr Mrazek for Game 3 may create a divide among the fanbase, if not the organization.

Mrazek was the Red Wings’ hero in Game 1 but got the hook in a 5-1 loss in the second game of their opening-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon.

He followed up a 46-save performance that earned the 23-year-old a win in his playoff debut with a 40-minute showing that saw him finish with 14 saves, four goals against and a .778 save percentage.

Jimmy Howard—the team’s undisputed starting goalie before tearing his groin in January—relieved Mrazek to start the third period against a ferocious Lightning squad that played a lot of the game on the Red Wings’ end of the ice.

So while the Lightning got a solid bounce-back performance from fellow playoff rookie Ben Bishop and saw forwards Tyler Johnson and Valtteri Filppula emerge with big two-point performances, the Red Wings head home with a serious debate taking place on whether Babcock is making the right d ...

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