Lightning Survive Petr Mrazek's Red Wings, but Carey Price's Canadiens Loom

Clinging to a one-goal lead as the seconds ticked down in the winner-take-all Game 7 Wednesday night at Amalie Arena, members of the Tampa Bay Lightning on the bench were pacing nervously, while those on the ice were frantically trying to keep the puck away from the Detroit Red Wings.

It was something they had trouble doing all evening.

Until a long, dribbling clearing effort from defenseman Anton Stralman found its way into the net vacated by goaltender Petr Mrazek in favor of an extra attacker, the game and series remained in doubt.

Chris O'Meara/Associated Press

Doubt hasn’t been something the Lightning have experienced much of this season, but they’ll face plenty of it in the second round of the NHL playoffs after narrowly surviving the first with a 2-0 win over the Red Wings in a game dominated by the visitors everywhere but in the final score.

“They went to church. We must have missed mass,” Wings coach Mike Babcock deadpanned in his postgame presser, as seen on the NHL Network. “We had the puck a lot tonight, to say the least.

“No one picked us to win this series. It sure didn’t look like it was lopsided.”

Give the Lightning credit for escaping the first round for the first time since 2011.

Their reward, however, is a rematch with the team that bounced them in four straight games last spring—the Montreal Canadiens.

Oh, those guys. The team with Hart Trophy favorite Carey Price in net. You know, the best goaltender in the world. Maybe the best player in the world this year. The goalie who almost single-handedly put the Ottawa Senators’ hopes on ice in a Game 6 performance for the ages just a couple of nights earlier.

And the Lightning thought Mrazek was tough to beat.

Mrazek let in 14 goals in the seven games, with a .925 save percentage and 2.11 goals-against average. He posted a pair of shutouts and rewarded the Wings for their faith in giving him the nod over veteran Jimmy Howard by rebounding from one rough outing to give the team its best shot at winning.

He proved to be athletic, cool under pressure and capable of highlight-reel saves like this one on Brian Boyle in the second period of Game 6:

While Mrazek was stellar in the first round, Price was even better.

Price finished the first round with a .939 save percentage and 1.94 GAA.

If Lightning star Steven Stamkos, who finished second in the regular season with 43 goals, went without a goal versus Mrazek in the series, will he be able to snap that slump against Price? If you knew Stamkos would be shut out completely over seven games going into that series, there’s no way you would have predicted a Lightning victory.

“It’s always frustrating when you can’t produce, but there’s not a lot of room out there today as we saw,” Stamkos said in a postgame interview on the CBC broadcast. “It’s been so tough. We stuck together as a group. I’m so proud of these guys. We’ve still got a lot of work to do and we’re not satisfied.”

Will Bolts goalie Ben Bishop—who was hurt and didn’t play in last year’s sweep at the hands of the Habs—make a difference in the rematch? Mike Zeisberger of the Toronto Sun commented on Bishop:

Bishop had some strong moments in the final game as the Red Wings owned the possession stats at even strength, as shown visually here by War On Ice, but he didn’t exactly inspire confidence throughout the opening series. He wasn’t awful but didn’t steal any games against the seventh-seeded Wings. That’s something he’ll have to do for the Lightning to be successful in the second round. Hockey broadcaster Daren Milard opined:

“We knew it was going to be tough (against the Red Wings),” Bishop said in his own on-ice interview. “We knew they’ve been there and done that. We got behind but we never gave up. We’ve got to go enjoy this for a little but get ready for Montreal.”

The celebration will be short.

The many questions will begin to be answered when the series begins in Montreal on Friday night.

Regular-season numbers offer hope to the Bolts in spite of their struggles against the Red Wings.

Stamkos had five goals and seven points in five games against the Canadiens this year. ESPN the Magazine's Craig Custance had this to say:

Price, meanwhile, struggled to a 0-4-1 record against the Lightning. He had a 3.47 goals-against average in those games compared to a 1.85 GAA against the rest of the league.

What matters more? The sting of last spring’s quick exit or the response in the regular season?

Mark Humphrey/Associated Press

“We wanted to come out and prove that we could win at this time of year,” Stamkos said. “I think we all gained that experience. Obviously (the Canadiens) took care of us pretty easily last year so we want to make it a good series.”

Seven (if necessary) games in the Eastern Conference semifinal will determine which is the better team when it counts.

“They’re there for a reason, and they’ve got a hell of a team up there,” Lightning head coach Jon Cooper said of the Canadiens matchup on the NHL Network. “It’s been a lot of fun to play them. I think a little rivalry is building between us. That should be a great one.”

It will be a great series if the Bolts can rattle Price early. If they can't, they will find themselves becoming the latest victim of the goalie's heroics.

Steve Macfarlane has covered the NHL for more than a decade, including seven seasons following the Calgary Flames for the Calgary Sun. Follow him on Twitter at @macfarlaneHKY