Anthony Mantha first NHL goal.jpg

Anthony Mantha (39) scored both of his NHL goals this season on the power play.

(Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)

GAME INFORMATION

* Who: Detroit Red Wings vs. Tampa Bay Lightning, Game 4

* Series: Lightning lead 2-1

* Where: Joe Louis Arena

* When: 7 p.m.

* TV: Fox Sports Detroit, NBC Sports Network, CBC

* Radio: 97.1 WXYT-FM and Red Wings radio network

* Social media: Follow MLive sports on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

* Twitter: Follow Ansar Khan and Brendan Savage

* Live coverage: Join our live updates at 6 p.m.

GAME NOTES

* Despite what some people believed, the Detroit Red Wings' power play was never the worst in the NHL during the regular season. But it's pretty close now that the playoffs are here. The Red Wings are 1-for-17 with a manpower advantage after three games in their series against Tampa Bay, a 5.9-percent success rate. Only the Philadelphia Flyers, who have yet to score a power-play goal in three games, have been worse. The Red Wings' lone power-play goal in the series came in Game 2, when Brad Richards scored in the third period to tie it 2-2. The Red Wings have 17 power-play shots against Tampa Bay during the 27 minutes, 19 seconds they've had a manpower advantage. They were 0-for-7 on the power play in a 2-0 win in Game 3.

* The Red Wings' power-play struggles go back to the end of the regular season. After scoring at least one power-play goal in eight straight games - a stretch that saw them go 11-for-25 (44 percent) - the Red Wings failed to register a power-play goal in two of their final three regular-season games. They were 1-for-12 during that stretch. So in their last six games overall, the Red Wings are 2-for-29 - that's 6.9 percent - on the power play. In addition to Richards' goal in Game 2, Riley Sheahan scored on the power play in a season-ending 3-2 loss to the Rangers.

* Many fans believe the Red Wings' power-play woes began when they sent rookie Anthony Mantha back to Grand Rapids with three games remaining in the season. Is there any validity to that line of thinking or is it a coincidence? Probably a little bit of both if statistics are an accurate measure. Mantha's only two NHL goals came during the eight-game streak and both were on the power play. He was also in the lineup for every game during the streak and he ranked among the top five Red Wings in power-play ice time five times during that stretch, leading the team with 2:57 March 24 in a 4-3 win over Montreal. But he was also ninth or lower three times. He had just 58 seconds of power-play time to rank 10th in a 3-2 April Fool's Day win over Minnesota.

* Mike Green and Pavel Datsyuk deserve as much credit as anyone - or perhaps even more - for Detroit's eight-game power-play streak. Both had five points in those games. Green had two goals and three assists while Datsyuk had a goal and four assists. Henrik Zetterberg and Niklas Kronwall both had four assists, Dylan Larkin scored two goals and Brad Richards had a goal and two assists.

* Tampa Bay hasn't been much better than the Red Wings on the power play. The Lightning are 1-for-13 in the playoffs for a success rate of 7.1 percent. Their lone power-play goal came in Game 2, when Nikita Kucherov opened the scoring in the first period. Tampa Bay has failed to score on its last six power plays.

* Given their lack of success on the power play, it's no surprise the Lightning and Red Wings rank second and third, respectively, in the playoffs when it comes to penalty killing. Tampa Bay has killed 94.1 percent of the Red Wings' power plays while Detroit has successfully killed off 92.8 percent of the Lightning's manpower advantages. Only Washington, at 100.0 percent through three games, has been better on the penalty kill than Tampa Bay and Detroit.

* All three games between the Red Wings and Lightning have featured one major skirmish and the last two ended with all five players on the ice squaring off after time expired. But just how physical has the series been? Consider this: The Red Wings have amassed 106 penalty minutes in three games. Last year, they had a total of 82 for their entire seven-game series vs. the Lightning. Tampa Bay has racked up 109 PIM this year as opposed to 96 last year.

* Detroit's Petr Mrazek all leads playoff goalies with a 1.000 save percentage and 0.00 goals-against average. ... Justin Abdelkader is No. 1 in penalty minutes with 33. Teammate Dylan Larkin and Tampa Bay's Alex Killorn are tied for third with 16. ... The Lightning's Nikita Kucherov is tied for second with three goals. ... Tomas Tatar leads the Red Wings in scoring with three points, all assists. He's tied for seventh in the playoffs in assists and tied for 16th in points. ... Florida's Reilly Smith, younger brother of Red Wings defensemen Brendan, leads the playoffs in goals (4), points (8) and plus-minus (plus-7).

PREGAME LINKS

Here are a few stories to peruse before game time:

* Red Wings hoping lively crowd, big hit can provide momentum in Game 4

* Justin Abdelkader doesn't expect animosity to spill over into Game 4

* Luke Glendening scored big with defensive performance in Game 3

* Jeff Blashill made right adjustments for Game 3 but much work remains

* Red Wings on Brian Boyle mocking Abdelkader: It's hockey, not dance off

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