After all we've seen from these Red Wings -- a team widely predicted to finally miss the playoffs, yet still wound up with 100 points and third in the Atlantic Division -- we shouldn't be surprised when they find a way to win a Game 7 on the road tonight.
Here's how they can do it:
Protect the puck: When the Wings limit turnovers and costly mistakes -- like they did in Games 3-5 -- good things happen, such as the two shutouts they recorded. When they don't, things can get ugly quickly, as they did when three major blunders led to a 3-0 deficit they couldn't overcome in Game 6.
Protect the goaltender: As good as he's been at times, Petr Mrazek can't do it by himself. When the Wings play well as a six-man defensive unit -- which includes Mrazek handling the puck like a third defenseman -- they can stifle Tampa Bay and neutralize its speed. Mrazek is at his best when his team plays well in front of him. He'll give his team a chance, if his teammates give him a chance.
Crowd the crease: There's a rookie at the other end, too, and Ben Bishop has shown he's vulnerable when things get chaotic around his goal crease. Good things happen when you go to the net, which we've seen with pucks bouncing in off Tomas Jurco, Tomas Tatar and Pavel Datsyuk in this series. And Bishop has a lot more difficulty stopping pucks he cannot see.
Dominate special teams: For starters, the Wings have to stay out of the penalty box. They've been sent there 26 times in this series, tying them with Tampa Bay for most in these playoffs. The penalty killers have been masterful, however, limiting the Lightning to strike for just two power-play goals. But the Wings can't keep a great power play down forever, and they need to click with at least one goal on their own power play, which has chipped in nicely with five in this series.
Keep believing: When no one else even considered the Wings a playoff contender, they became one. When everyone lost faith at the start of the postseason and universally picked the Lightning to win easily, the Wings won three games -- two by shutout -- to push the favored team to the brink. It will be so much harder without their leader on defense, the suspended Niklas Kronwall. But the Wings have found ways to succeed without key performers. They won when their All-Star goalie, Jimmy Howard, went down and missed nearly five weeks. They won without their stars in the lineup for short stretches. They won with a bunch of kids still finding their way in this league. They won because they trusted one another and liked playing together. They believed. Now we should.
Prediction: Detroit 3, Tampa Bay 2 in overtime. Justin Abdelkader with the game-winner in a goal-mouth scramble.
