Bruins vs Red Wings

DETROIT -- The Detroit Red Wings lost a closely contested Eastern Conference First Round playoff series to the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday, capped by a 2-0 loss in Game 7.

Detroit played better as the series wore on. They were outshot 46-14 but won 3-2 in Game 1. Then goaltender Petr Mrazek shut out Tampa Bay in Games 3 and 5, and Detroit dominated Game 4 for all but the final 7:25 of the third period and overtime.

Mrazek's shutout in Game 5 gave the Red Wings a chance to win the series in Game 6 at Joe Louis Arena, but the Lightning won 5-2 to force Game 7 at Amalie Arena in Tampa.

Detroit was without two of its regular defenseman Wednesday. Niklas Kronwall was suspended by the NHL Department of Player Safety for charging in Game 6, and Marek Zidlicky sat out because of an upper-body injury sustained in Game 6.

The Red Wings outshot the Lightning 31-17 in Game 7 but couldn't beat goaltender Ben Bishop. Defenseman Braydon Coburn's goal in the third period was all the Lightning needed; defenseman Anton Stralman added an empty-net goal with 1:18 remaining.

Games 6 and 7 were the only time in the series when a team won two games in a row.

Here are five reasons the Red Wings were eliminated:

The Tampa Bay Lightning showed resolve and mental toughness to rally from 3-2 down in the best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round. The Lightning struggled at times against the Detroit Red Wings, but they never folded, and the personnel moves Tampa Bay made over the past two years paid off in Game 7 on Wednesday.

The Lightning advanced to the second round for the first time since 2011 and will play the Montreal Canadiens in a rematch from the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Canadiens swept the Lightning in the first round last year.

Here are five reasons the Lightning advanced:

For additional insight into the Eastern Conference First Round series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings, NHL.com has enlisted the help of Claude Noel to break down the action. Noel will be checking in throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Noel was coach for the Winnipeg Jets from 2011-14 and interim coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009-10. He also coached many years in the minor leagues, including the American Hockey League. In addition, Noel, a former forward, had 138 points in 353 regular-season games in the AHL and played seven games in the NHL with Washington Capitals in 1979-80.

The Tampa Bay Lightning proved even the highest-scoring team in the regular season will sometimes need to check and defend all over the ice to win the big game.

TAMPA – For the third time in the past four years, the Detroit Red Wings are making an early exit from the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

The Red Wings appeared to be the stronger team for much of their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Game 7 at Amalie Arena on Wednesday wasn't much different: The Red Wings outshot the Lightning 31-17 and dominated the puck while playing 5-on-5.

But the Lightning scored twice in the third period and Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop was perfect, and that was all the Lightning needed in a 2-0 win that moved them into the Eastern Conference Second Round against the Montreal Canadiens.

TAMPA -- The future of Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock has been a topic of discussion all season. With his contract set to expire and the Red Wings now eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs after losing Game 7 of their Eastern Conference First Round series to the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-0 on Wednesday, that discussion will intensify.

But Babcock had no interest in addressing it after the loss, deferring to his end-of-season press conference to be held in the coming days.

"I'll be happy to talk about any of that [stuff] then," Babcock said.

Babcock did say a lot about the future of the Red Wings, and it gave the impression it was tied to his own.

NEW YORK -- The First Round of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs reaches a dramatic conclusion Wednesday when the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings contest Game 7 in their series finale (7:30 p.m., ET, NBCSN, CBC, TVA2). The Lightning will be competing in the fifth Game 7 in franchise history and first since 2011, while the Red Wings will be playing their 25th such game and seventh since 2009.

The winner of Wednesday's game will face the Atlantic Division champion Montreal Canadiens in the Second Round.

For additional insight into the Eastern Conference First Round series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings, NHL.com has enlisted the help of Claude Noel to break down the action. Noel will be checking in throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Noel was coach for the Winnipeg Jets from 2011-14 and interim coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009-10. He also coached many years in the minor leagues, including the American Hockey League. In addition, Noel, a former forward, had 138 points in 353 regular-season games in the AHL and played seven games in the NHL with Washington Capitals in 1979-80.

The Tampa Bay Lightning rediscovered their offense against the Detroit Red Wings and center Tyler Johnson was the beneficiary when he struck for his third two-goal game of this best-of-7 Eastern Conference First Round series in a 5-2 Game 6 victory at Joe Louis Arena on Monday.

For additional insight into the Eastern Conference First Round series between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Detroit Red Wings, NHL.com has enlisted the help of Claude Noel to break down the action. Noel will be checking in throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Noel was coach for the Winnipeg Jets from 2011-14 and interim coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009-10. He also coached many years in the minor leagues, including the American Hockey League. In addition, Noel, a former forward, had 138 points in 353 regular-season games in the AHL and played seven games in the NHL with Washington Capitals in 1979-80.

The Detroit Red Wings showed great resilience and veteran moxie in beating the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-0 in Game 5 of their Eastern Conference First Round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning and taking a 3-2 lead in their best-of-7 series on Saturday.

Detroit can advance to the second round with a win in Game 6 at Joe Louis Arena on Monday (7 p.m. ET; CBC, CNBC, TVA Sports, FS-F, FS-D).

Claude Noel was extremely impressed with how focused, structured and determined the Red Wings were after what he called a demoralizing defeat in Game 4 on Thursday.

BRANDON, Fla. -- Tampa Bay Lightning forward Tyler Johnson said he got a few more text messages after his game Thursday, and the plane ride back to Tampa was a little nicer.

Otherwise there wasn't much that changed for the second-year player who scored two goals, including the game-winner 2:25 into overtime, to give Tampa Bay a 3-2 win against the Detroit Red Wings in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference First Round and save the Lightning from being on the brink of elimination.

The best-of-7 series is tied 2-2 with Game 5 at Amalie Arena on Saturday (6 p.m. ET; CBC, TVA Sports, NBCSN, FS-D, FS-F).

"I don't think I did anything out of the ordinary," Johnson said Friday. "We knew that we had to continue to work and if we could get one past [Red Wings goalie Petr] Mrazek we would have a chance."

DETROIT -- Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper goes way back with Detroit Red Wings left wing Justin Abdelkader.

When Abdelkader was playing high school hockey in his hometown, Muskegon, Mich., with Mona Shores High School, Cooper was the coach at Lansing Catholic Central High School. The schools played each other because both are located in west Michigan.

So it isn't a real surprise to Cooper that Abdelkader, 28, has developed into an impact NHL power forward.