It’s very early to say that the Chicago Blackhawks won a pivotal game, but the way the ‘Hawks managed to battle back from a 0-1 deficit with barely more than 6:00 to play in the game for a 2-1 victory that really sucked the life out of Amalie Arena in Tampa Bay, where the locals were loud and hostile for so long, willing their team into the waning minutes with their goal advantage.
That one-goal lead looked good for the longest time. Even in a scoreless second period, the Lightning always seemed to have the ‘Hawks measure, if only by a little. Their penalty kill was exemplary. Ben Bishop looked good in goals. Yet, it wasn't enough. Chicago, as they have done on so many playoff runs in recent times, found a way to get back into the game. We talk about Tampa’s resilience, but we should highlight Chicago’s, too. It was on full display tonight.
For all intents and purposes, Tampa Bay were the better team in this game. At least, they were for the first two-and-three-quarter periods. They had more shots on goal than the Blackhawks and, you can argue, had more realistic scoring chances.
Yes, their first goal came on a wicked backhanded redirect that was as acrobatic and extraordinary as I’ve ever seen. Alex Killorn was in the right spot at the side of the net for the opening goal of the series that’ll likely make it to Stanley Cup Final highlight reels for many years to come.
It was a span of 1:58 in the third where Chicago’s youngsters, two unsung heroes, forgotten guys in a line-up that contains Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa. Those big guns tried hard to find a way through, over or around Ben Bishop for fifty-three minutes, but could not get it done. So, enter rookie Teuvo Teravainen and free agent pick-up Antoine Vermette.
Teravainen scored first, tying the game, and becoming the youngest player to have a multi-point Stanley Cup Final game since a 19-year-old Jaromir Jagr in 1991, and overtime looked a distinct possibility. Except no one told Vermette that. The man who was a healthy scratch in Game Three of the Western Conference Finals rebounded to score the winning goal in Game Four came up big again. Talk about justifying the faith the Blackhawks showed in Vermette when they plucked him from Arizona at the trade deadline. It’s looking more and more like an inspired move.
Tampa played almost the perfect game – fifty three of a possible sixty minutes were as good as coach Jon Cooper could have hoped his men would play – but they could not close the deal. Their seeming want to sit back and defend the lead rather than continue to attack was what cruelled them at the end. It’s a tough way to go down, and you have to feel sorry for the young Lightning squad. Steven Stamkos noted that his team had the better of Chicago for the most part, but that scarcely matters now. The pertinent message? Play sixty minutes.
Mentally, Game One was a loss that’s not going to be easy for Tampa to bounce back from, yet that’s exactly what they’re going to have to do. Game Two is Sunday morning Australian AEST in Tampa, and it’s key that the Lightning put this game out of their mind and focus on squaring the series. Heading to Chicago’s United Centre – aptly known as the Madhouse on Madison, especially at this time of the year – in a 0-2 hole is a recipe for disaster as far as Tampa is concerned.
The key stat out of tonight? An ominous one for Tampa: the winner of the opening game of the Stanley Cup Final has won fifty-eight of the last seventy-five series’, dating way back to 1939, and the last three straight.
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