Tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET, the Detroit Red Wings (43-25-15, 100 points) and Tampa Bay Lightning (50-24-8, 108 points) take the ice for Game 1 of their Round 1 best-of-seven series live from the Amalie Arena as part of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Detroit clinched the third and final automatic playoff spot in the Atlantic Division, notching their NHL-record 24th consecutive trip to the postseason. Tampa Bay, meanwhile, held off their opponents for home-ice in the series, but couldn't catch up to the division-winning Montreal Canadiens (110 points).
The Lightning took three of four meetings from the Red Wings this season, but Detroit took their most recent encounter by a 4-0 score on March 28.
This game can be live streamed for free here.
The Red Wings enjoyed a solid campaign and will look to eventually win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 2008.
Pavel Datsyuk and Henrik Zetterberg led the charge for Detroit offensively this year, and could unite on the same line tonight.
Zetterberg finished tied for sixth in the NHL with 49 assists and led the Red Wings with 66 points while Datsyuk found the back of the net 26 times and finished second on the club with 65 points in just 63 games.
Detroit also boasts some youth as Tomas Tatar, 24, had a team-best 29 tallies this season while Gustav Nyquist, 25, was right behind him, lighting the lamp 27 times.
The Lightning had a great season and emerged as one of the most dangerous teams in the NHL, leading the league with an average of 3.18 goals per game. Tampa Bay hopes for their first Cup since 2004.
Leading the charge was captain Steven Stamkos, who finished second in the NHL with 43 goals this season and tied with Tyler Johnson with 72 points.
Tampa Bay also has tremendous secondary scoring and one of the best second lines in the league with the grouping of Nikita Kucherov (65 points), Johnson and Ondrej Palat (63).
In the crease, Jon Cooper's team turns to Ben Bishop, who missed last year's Round 1 sweep at the hands of the Canadiens. Bishop placed third in the NHL with 40 wins this season while adding a 2.32 GAA and a .916 save percentage.
Mike Babcock's group counters with Petr Mrazek and he went 16-9-2 this season with a 2.38 GAA and a .918 save percentage.
The Red Wings and Lightning open up their Round 1 best-of-seven Stanley Cup playoff series live tonight from the Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay.
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