DETROIT – It appears goalie Petr Mrazek's 35 saves for a shutout Saturday in Carolina was enough to convince Detroit Red Wings coach Mike Babcock to start the rookie in net Game 1 against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
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After waiting to see what happened in the Red Wings' last game of the season, Babcock told reporters Monday that 23-year-old Mrazek will be the starter heading into the playoffs.
That means Jimmy Howard officially has lost his role as the team's No. 1 goalie. The 31-year-old has been the Wings' starting goalie heading into the playoffs for the past five seasons -- since Chris Osgood retired following the 2008-09 run to the Stanley Cup final. Overall, Howard has 45 career playoffs games under his belt (21 W, .919 SV%, 2.02 GAA).
Last year, Howard played just three of the five games against the Boston Bruins in the first round of the playoffs before Jonas Gustavsson relieved him. Howard reportedly was suffering from the flu.
Mrazek has no playoff experience at the NHL level. He has a lot of playoff experience at the AHL level, including a 2013 Calder Cup-winning run in which he notched 15 postseason wins.
As for the Lightning, they will have 6-foot-7 Ben Bishop in net, who also has not played a single NHL playoff game.
Read back: Howard or Mrazek: Who starts playoffs in net for Red Wings?
I posted the below poll Saturday morning, and Mrazek received an overwhelming majority of the votes before puck drop in Carolina.
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Preview: Red Wings will play Lightning in first round of playoffs
1st round schedule:
Game 1: Thursday at Tampa Bay, 7:30 p.m. (CNBC)
Game 2: Saturday at Tampa Bay, 3 p.m. (NBC)
Game 3: Tuesday at Detroit, 7 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 4: Thursday April 23 at Detroit, 7 p.m. (NBCSN)
Game 5: Saturday April 25 at Tampa Bay, time and TV TBD
Game 6: Monday April 27 at Detroit, time and TV TBD
Game 7: Wednesday April 29 at Tampa Bay, time and TV TBD