TAMPA, Fla. – Now it’s a series.

In an emotional, intense and physical battle, the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Detroit Red Wings 5-1 in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series Saturday afternoon at Amalie Arena. The series is tied at a game apiece.

Offensive explosion: The Lightning’s Tyler Johnson scored a pair of goals to lead the charge. He netted a power-play goal at 3:05 of the first period to give Tampa a 1-0 lead. He then scored with 37.4 seconds remaining in the second period to extended the Lightning’s advantage to 4-0. Johnson finished the regular season with 29 goals and 43 assists for 72 points in 77 games, tying teammate Steven Stamkos for the team lead in points. Tampa forwards Alex Killorn and Valtteri Filppula also scored, while defenseman Andrej Sustr contributed one. Despite losing Game 1, the Lightning played well but wanted to focus on getting more traffic in front of Detroit’s net. Tampa’s second efforts the entire game proved crucial in the scoring department.

Masked men: This time it was Tampa’s Ben Bishop who stole the show between the pipes. After a difficult Game 1, Bishop was sharp and finished with 24 saves to earn his first Stanley Cup playoff victory. The lone goal he allowed was not his fault. A shot from the point ricocheted twice before the Red Wings’ Tomas Tatar inadvertently redirected the puck past Bishop. Detroit goaltender Petr Mrazek, who led the Red Wings to a victory with his 44-save performance in Game 1, made 14 saves on 18 shots in the first two periods of Game 2, so coach Mike Babcock decided to replace Mrazek with veteran Jimmy Howard. Since Howard came in cold, Tampa did a solid job of quickly getting the puck on net. Howard allowed one goal on 12 shots.

Getting to know you: The feeling-out process of this series is over. Game 2 started fast and furious and the first period featured a pair of lively scrums. The Red Wings didn’t like a hit on Pavel Datsyuk near the Tampa bench when a scrum ensued. It ended with Stamkos and the Red Wings’ Kyle Quincey in a wrestling match at 2:27 of the period. That ignited the Lightning and Johnson scored his first power-play goal. The physicality continued for the remainder of the game and no doubt should last for the rest of series.

Special teams: After going 0-for-7 on the power play in Game 1, Tampa went 2-for-4 in Game 2. Detroit went 0-for-4 on the PP.

Up next: The series shifts to Detroit with Games 3 and 4 at Joe Louis Arena on Tuesday and Thursday.