Mishkin's Extra Shift: Red Wings 3, Lightning 1

This was going to be a challenging game for the Lightning. They were finishing up a back-to-back against a rested opponent. True, they had played the previous afternoon, not the night before, so they had arrived in Detroit around dinnertime on Monday. But the Red Wings were the fresher team, not having played since last Saturday. They were facing a motivated opponent, one still stinging from last year’s dramatic seven-game playoff series defeat. And most of all, the Lightning were taking on an excellent hockey team. The Red Wings were very good last year and based on their offeseason additions, could be even better this season.