Mrazek rewarding Red Wings with strong performance

DETROIT -- Detroit Red Wings rookie goaltender Petr Mrazek will look to build off his second shutout of the series when the Red Wings play the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Monday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, CNBC, TVA Sports, FS-F, FS-D).

Red Wings coach Mike Babcock elected to start Mrazek rather than veteran Jimmy Howard when the Stanley Cup Playoffs started. While Howard and Mrazek were inconsistent late in the regular season, Mrazek went 16-9-2 with a 2.38 goals-against average, .920 save percentage and three shutouts in 29 regular-season games.

Mrazek has justified Babcock's faith with a 1.91 GAA, .937 save percentage and two shutouts in the first five games of the series.

Babcock said Sunday it isn't a surprise that Mrazek has played so well.

"He was a star in junior. His first year in the [American Hockey League] he wins the Calder Cup. You don't win the Calder Cup by accident so he must be good," Babcock said. "And every time we called him up he played good. He plays good so he must be good."

Said defenseman Danny DeKeyser, "He's been great for us. I don't know that there were many people outside of this locker room or this area who thought he would play this well. But he's been great for us. He's made some big saves at the right time."

Mrazek has outplayed Lightning goalie Ben Bishop in the series. Bishop has a 2.22 GAA and .901 save percentage.

One of the keys to Mrazek's success has been his ability to remain on an even keel and not get too high or too low. He said he'll keep that mindset going into his first playoff elimination game.

"I wouldn't say it's different,” Mrazek said. "You try and be focused for every game. You want to finish it as soon as possible. We know the game starts from 0-0 tomorrow and we're going to go and play hard."