That Mike Babcock … he pushes all the right buttons. Well most of them at least. After all he is human. And he made the correct move Thursday night by starting Petr Mrazek in goal for Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
Mrazek made 44 saves in Detroit’s 3-2 win over the Lightning to take a 1-0 series lead. Overall, the Lightning outshot Detroit 46-14. This should have indicated a Tampa win. Except it didn’t. And now Babcock looks like a genius, at least for one game.
Babcock, who is a coaching free agent this summer, went with Mrazek – a rookie – over veteran Jimmy Howard.