TAMPA, Florida -- With less than two minutes left in regulation, Alex Killorn scored the winning goal and the Tampa Bay Lightning advanced to the second round of the 2016 Stanley Cup playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Detroit Red Wings in Game 5 at Amalie Arena.
Alex Killorn #17 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrates his goal against the Detroit Red Wings. (Mike Carlson/Getty Images North America)
Red Wings goalie Petr Mrazek made a bad pass behind his own net and it was picked off by Ryan Callahan. The right wing centered the puck in the crease for Killorn's back hander that went into the back of the net for a 1-0 lead at 18:17 in the third period.
"It was a play where Mrazek makes a goalie play, and Callahan kind of jumped him," Killorn said. "Once I saw that Mrazek was out of his net, I was trying to gain position and go to the net knowing that if Callahan could get it to me I could probably put it in.
"It's a great feeling. We battled so hard for those two periods and there were periods where Bishop kept us in it. To get the winning goal with under two minutes left was huge because I think they did outplay us at instances in that game."
The 26-year-old had three goals and five points in the five-game series. During the playoffs last season, Killorn had just 18 points.
Ben Bishop, the goalie for Tampa Bay, made 34 saves on Thursday night. He dealt with multiple shots from the Red Wings in the last minute and denied every single one of them to secure the Game 5 victory for the Lightning. Bishop was outstanding all series long, allowing two goals or less in each game. The 29-year-old with a 6-foot-7 frame rejected Riley Sheahan, Darren Helm and Dylan Larkin on breakaways throughout the game.
Ben Bishop #30 of the Tampa Bay Lightning celebrates with Ryan Callahan #24 after the series win. (Mike Carlson/Getty Images North America)
"I just wanted to find a way to win, the guys have done a good job scoring goals all series for me. ... It was my turn tonight," Bishop said. "I just had to keep them out of the net."
The closest the Red Wings came to scoring a goal was on their first power-play of the game as Pavel Datsyuk hit the post. Later in the first period, Danny Dekeyser also hit the post. Detroit finished the series 1-for-25 on the power play and during a 5-on-3 in Game 5, the Red Wings could not even manage to get a shot on goal.
Pavel Datsyuk #13 of the Detroit Red Wings during a stop in play. (Mike Carlson/Getty Images North America)
"You find out a lot about your character when you are in situations like this, down 3-1 on the road," Detroit coach Jeff Blashill said. "I just thought we kept coming and coming and coming. ... I thought we played well enough to win. Unfortunately, we didn't."
After Jimmy Howard started the first two games of the series on the road, he was replaced by Mrazek. The goalie won Game 3 with a 2-0 shutout, his third career playoff shutout, then dropped Game 4 and Game 5. The former fifth round pick in the 2010 NHL Draft made 23 saves on Thursday.
"It is always hard losing a game like that. ... That kind of goal is frustrating," Mrazek said. "We had lots of chances to finish it earlier. We just couldn't score."
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Without star player Steven Stamkos, who is out with an injury, the Lightning will advance to the second round. Tampa Bay will battle against the Florida Panthers or the New York Islanders. Meanwhile, the Red Wings will have to wait until next season for another chance at a playoff run.