TAMPA, Fla. – The Detroit Red Wings battled hard against long odds Wednesday, but came up just short in Game 7 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Braydon Coburn broke a scoreless tie early in the third period and Ben Bishop made 31 saves to lift the Lightning to a 2-0 victory at Amalie Arena in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal playoff series.
The Red Wings are out in the first round for the second year in a row and the third time in four seasons.
The Lightning will face the Montreal Canadiens in the second round.
Tampa Bay won back-to-back games, breaking the pattern that saw the teams alternate wins through six games.
The Red Wings played without two regular defensemen. Their leader on the blue line, Niklas Kronwall, served a one-game suspension for “charging” Nikita Kucherov in Game 6. Marek Zidlicky missed the game with a possible concussion believed to be the results of a hit from Brenden Morrow earlier in the same game. MORE