Seidel: Wings in control, but series far from over

TAMPA – This time, the Red Wings grabbed the lead and held it.

This time, the Wings didn't make any painful, gut-wrenching mistakes at the end.

This time, the Wings added two more insurance goals to eliminate any drama at the end of a 4-0 victory Saturday night over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 at Amalie Arena.

Now, the Wings have taken control of this back-and-forth series, 3-2, and can win it Monday night at home. Then again, that probably means nothing. Nothing in this series has gone the way you might think.

"No team has been able to win two games in a row in this series," Wings coach Mike Babcock said. "Now, we have to get our mind right and get ready for the next game. That, to me, is the biggest thing in this series. You have to keep getting better."

Luke Glendening had the play that swung this game for the Wings. Of course, it was Glendening, the guy playing with a stitched-up hand after he injured it Thursday. Glendening threw the puck at the net late in the second period. It bounced off goalie Ben Bishop, and Drew Miller punched in the rebound as the Wings took a 2-0 lead.

"I think we are playing the way we are capable," Miller said. "We are not worried about them. We are worried about us."

Worry? Of course, it was time to worry. A 2-0 lead over the Lightning? Yes, it did seem strangely familiar. The Wings had a 2-0 lead Thursday night with 6 minutes left, then blew it after Glendening left injured. The Wings made mistake after mistake, and the Lightning scored over and over and over again and won in overtime, 3-2.

But the Wings learned from that gut punch. They learned that they had to play a complete game. And this time, the Wings didn't make any mistakes at the end, which is a great sign that this is a team that is still improving.

"Our last three games, we have been getting better," Babcock said.

Petr Mrazek earned his second shutout of this series, a remarkable accomplishment for a 23-year-old goalie playing in his first playoff series. "It's nice to have a shutout, but it doesn't matter in the playoffs," he said.

Mrazek has proven to be Mr. Calm and Composed. Nothing rattles him. Not a bad goal. Not a bad game. Not even a heartbreaking defeat.

"He's calm, solid, all the way through," Niklas Kronwall said.

The Wings were stellar on the penalty kill, shut down Tampa's Triplets line and continued to frustrate Steven Stamkos, holding him scoreless in the entire series, and you can sense that Tampa's frustration level is climbing with the humidity here in Tampa.

This series has been unbelievably tight with wild twists and turns. There has only been one thing that has been consistent in this back-and-forth affair. Just when you think it's over, there is another twist. Just when you think one team has control, the other one grabs it.

So even though the Wings are in a great position, even though they have control, this is not over.

Contact Jeff Seidel: jseidel@freepress.com . Follow him on Twitter @seideljeff.