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Final Score
Blackhawks: 0-2-1 — 3
Lightning: 1-2-1 — 4
Goals:
1st Period — TB: Cedric Paquette (Assists: Ryan Callahan, Victor Hedman)
2nd Period — CHI: Andrew Shaw (Assists: Andrew Desjardins, Johnny Oduya), Teuvo Teravainen (Power Play, Assists: Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp); TB: Nikita Kucherov (Assists: Jason Garrison, Braydon Coburn), Tyler Johnson (Assist: Nikita Kucherov)
3rd Period — CHI: Seabrook (Assists: Jonathan Toews, Johnny Oduya); TB: Jason Garrison (Assists: Victor Hedman, Ryan Callahan)
In a wild game that saw three different lead changes, the Lightning broke a 2-2 tie late in the 2nd period and a 3-3 tie halfway through the 3rd period to help lift them past the Blackhawks 4-3 to nod the Stanley cup Final at 1-1.
Tampa Bay got off to a fast start in Game 1, but took their foot off the gas pedal and decelerated into the 3rd. That is when they gave up the game-tying and game-winning goal within a two-minute span. Although the Lightning were once again dominated in the faceoff circle — this time losing the battle 2-1 — and out-shot (29 to 24), their natural skill showed and finding scoring chances closer to the net came easier, which was the main difference between Games 1 and 2.
Corey Crawford helped aid the Lightning. Nikita Kucherov’s 10th goal of the postseason and Tyler Johnson’s franchise record 13th were both textbook definition “soft” goals due to Crawford’s positioning on each play. The often-criticized goaltender looked like he struggled to find pucks tonight, but that’s what Tampa Bay’s offense has done this entire postseason. Garrison’s game-winner was a bad break hitting off Andrew Desjardins stick, as the Blackhawks had been solid in holding the Lightning’s power play in check for the first two games.
The depth players of the Blackhawks continued to show up as Andrew Shaw scored and Teuvo Teravainen scored his 2nd goal of the Final. As the series shifts back to the Madhouse in Madison, the Blackhawks star players, namely Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, look to get back on track and on a scoring pace that ended the Anaheim Ducks’ season.
Click here for a full box score of the game. Heavy will continue to have live updates, score stats and highlights as the series shifts back to Chicago for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night.
Cedric Paquette Opened the Game’s Scoring
At the 7:04 mark of the 1st period, Paquette beat Corey Crawford on a high shot to his right side that snuck inside the far post and opened Game 2’s scoring. With 1:34 remaining in the period, Blackhawks’ Johnny Oduya was called for a tripping penalty.
A Flurry of 2nd Period Goals From Both Teams Made it a 2-2 Game
The Blackhawks struck with a pair of goals in a span of 2:12 early in the 2nd period to give Chicago a brief 2-1 lead. Tampa Bay’s Nikita Kucherov answered 1:06 later with a top-in goal that beat Crawford on his short side.
Tyler Johnson Set a New Lightning Single Playoff-Season Goal Mark
Tyler Johnson rings one off the post, 0-0 in Game 2. #StanleyCupMoments http://t.co/89uQvhT3AS
At the 6:02 mark in the 2nd period, Tyler Johnson on a harmless drive to the net lifted a soft shot above Crawford’s skate, which trickled in slowly behind the netminder to break a 2-2 tie and put the Lightning up 3-2.
With the goal, Johnson’s 13 total is a new playoff record for the Tampa Bay Lightning franchise, previously held by Brad Richards (12) in 2004 — the year the franchise won its only Stanley cup. Coincidentally, Richards is playing on the opposite side in this year’s Final.
Brent Seabrook Tied the Game in the 3rd Period
Big game Brent Seabrook came up big again with the game’s tying goal almost four minutes into the 3rd period. Jonathan Toews skated the puck in and took the blueline off of a rush, and used the center of the ice to create space and hit a perfect drop=pass onto the stick of Seabrook.
Ben Bishop complained after the goal was over that he was interfered with by Hossa’s stick in his pad, but a replay showed that the contact was minimal (if any at all) and that the goal counted.
Ben Bishop Left the Game in the 3rd Period
Ben Bishop just left, and Andrei Vasilevskiy is in. Whoa. Must have gotten hurt.
Shortly after Bishop gave up the game-tying goal, Tampa Bay drew a power play but did not score. With 12:43 left in the 3rd period, Bishop left the game and Andrei Vasilevskiy entered the game to replace him.
Jason Garrison Broke the Tie Thanks to an Assist From a Blackhawk
With their 2nd consecutive power play in a five-minute span, the Lightning struck this time around thanks a blast from the point from defenseman Jason Garrison. With an assist from Desjardins’s stick that got a piece and redirected the show past Crawford, the Lightning re-took the lead again with 11:11 (make a wish) remaining in the 3rd period.
Click here for the full box score from Game 1 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final.
Blackhawks vs. Lightning 2015 Stanley Cup Final Game 2 Preview
The Blackhawks are now three games away from being the closest thing to a modern-day NHL dynasty as you can get.
Game 1 was a tale of two halves — the Lightning dominated the first-half of the game including the entire first period and a majority of the second period, while the Blackhawks slowly hung around, found their game around the midway point of the second and flat out dominated the third when they needed to.
And that is largely with quiet games from Blackhawks stars Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa.
The Lightning scored early in Game 1 thanks to a ridiculously absurd Alex Killorn deflection, but after that point, quality scoring chances were few and far between. The next best Lighting chance to score came with just over 8:00 left in the third period when Ryan Callahan broke away with some space for a clean one-on-one chance against Corey Crawford, but Crawford was to the task and stopped Callahan.
The save proved a turning point for Chicago — less than two minutes later, Teuvo Teravainen scored from the high left slot, beating Ben Bishop over his right shoulder after his shot was mostly screened in front. A minute-and-a-half after that, Victor Hedman didn’t clear the puck around the boards cleanly, Teravainen made a sound defensive poke check, which deflected the puck to the center of the ice and right on Antoine Veremette’s stick. He buried it high to Bishop’s other side, and after a snack break, the Hawks had their first lead of the Final.
It stuck, and now the team that was eager to have home ice and keep Blackhawks fans away from Amalie Arena is suddenly down 1-0, facing a must-win scenario in Game 2 tonight. 1-1 is manageable — the Lightning lost Game 1 to the Detroit Red Wings in the opening round and the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference Final — but going down 2-0 to the 2010 and 2013 Stanley Cup Champs heading back to the madhouse on Madison for Game 3? That would be a tough hill to climb.
The Lightning need any kind of contribution from their bottom-five (six) if they should win. The Blackhawks boast Andrew Shaw, Marcus Kruger and Patrick Sharp, all players who have been there before multiple times — not to mention two guys by the name of Teravainen and Vermette.
It was J.T. Brown involved in the crucial play that led to Chicago’s second goal in Game 1. Brown hasn’t played bad, but he and fellow teammates Brendan Morrow and Cedric Paquette being mostly kept off of the score sheet minimizes any other impact they make on the game.
The “Triplets” Line of Tyler Johnson, Odrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov have played well, but they haven’t dominated a game since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final. Steven Stamkos has also been held without a goal for three consecutive games now. Tampa Bay’s stars need to shine bright tonight to have any chance at regaining momentum heading into the United Center for Game 3 on Monday night.
Coverage of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final begins at 7:15 p.m. ET, immediately following the 2015 Belmont Stakes on NBC.
Game 1 Overview
For all of the veterans and all of the experience on the Chicago Blackhawks roster, it was a 20-year-old who came through when the team was in desperate need of a spark.
With the ‘Hawks trailing the Tampa Bay Lightning 1-0 in the latter half of the third period, Teuvo Teravainen tied the game with a long-distance goal then assisted Antoine Vermette on the game-winner, propelling Chicago to a thrilling 2-1 victory in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
The Blackhawks’ attack was mostly non-existent after Alex Killorn gave Tampa Bay an early 1-0 advantage, but a relentless onslaught in the final period resulted in a rare result for the Lightning:
The Game 1 loss was the first this postseason by the Lightning when scoring first and when leading after two periods.
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) June 4, 2015
Corey Crawford kept Chicago close enough to make the late comeback, making 22 saves on 23 shots.