Tampa Bay 4, Chicago 3
When: 7:15 PM ET, Saturday, June 6, 2015
Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida
Referees:
Kelly Sutherland, Dan O'Halloran
Linesmen:
Pierre Racicot, Shane Heyer
Attendance:
19204
By The Sports Xchange
TAMPA, Fla. -- Three days earlier, the Tampa Bay Lightning saw a 1-0 lead turn into a 2-1 deficit in barely two minutes, and the Chicago Blackhawks escaped with a victory in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals.
Another dramatic turnaround occurred Saturday in Game 2, when the Lightning scored twice to retake the lead in the second period, and Tampa Bay eventually pulled out 4-3 win at Amalie Arena to even the best-of-seven series.
"What happened to us the other night was a lesson learned," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "That position happened midway through the game when we had a 1-0 lead and there go the two quick goals and it's 2-1 (Chicago). Our guys wouldn't be denied. There was a fire on that bench. It wasn't panic. It was (ticked). You've got to love that in your team."
The Lightning scored the game-winner on a power play with 11:11 left in the game, as defenseman Jason Garrison fired a long shot that caromed through a Chicago defenseman into the net for the lead.
The goal came as Lightning goalie Ben Bishop had to leave the game for 90 seconds, replaced briefly by rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Again with 7:41 left, Bishop left the game, with Vasilevskiy, just 20 years old, going the rest of the way to seal the win in relief.
Cooper offered no explanation for Bishop's departure but said Vasilevskiy stepped up huge under difficult circumstances. Vasilevskiy stopped all five shots he faced after Bishop made 21 saves on 24 shots.
"I know we have two unbelievably capable goaltenders, and when Bish had to leave, there wasn't an ounce of stress on anybody on our bench, including myself," Cooper said. "The kid proved it when he went in. He was great."
The Lightning killed off a power play in the final seven minutes after a delay call for sending the puck over the glass, then survived the final two minutes after the Blackhawks pulled goalie Corey Crawford (20 saves).
Chicago tied the game 3-3 when defenseman Brent Seabrook scored with 16:22 left in the third period.
Blackhawks left winger Patrick Sharp was called for slashing with 15:01 left, then was whistled for high-sticking just 18 seconds after he came out of the penalty box, and the Lightning converted on the second power-play opportunity.
"I don't think I've ever done that before, but it happened," Sharp said. "We'll move on from it. I take responsibility and apologize to our penalty-killers for putting them under such stress."
Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said the timing of the back-to-back penalties was costly.
"We'd just gotten the big goal and had to kill four minutes," he said. "Maybe a little tired on the kill. We did an outstanding job on the first one and almost got through the second."
The winning goal was just Garrison's second tally of the playoffs, with defenseman Victor Hedman getting his 11th assist and right winger Ryan Callahan picking up his fifth on the play.
Tampa Bay again held Chicago's top two playoff scorers in check, with Blackhawks center Jonathan Toews and right winger Patrick Kane held to a combined one shot in the first two periods after neither had a point in Game 1 on a combined four shots.
The series now goes to Chicago for Games 3 and 4 on Monday and Wednesday, assured of returning to Tampa for Game 5 on June 13.
Momentum shifted sharply twice in the second period, with the Lightning emerging with a 3-2 lead.
Tampa Bay went into the second period up 1-0, found itself down 2-1 after two Chicago goals in a span of 2:16, then answered with a pair of goals to grab the lead and momentum.
Lightning center Tyler Johnson fired a shot behind Crawford for the go-ahead goal at 13:58 of the second, his NHL-best 13th goal of the playoffs, breaking the team record set by Brad Richards in 2004.
As they did in Game 1 on Wednesday, the Blackhawks fell behind early
Top Game Performances
Chicago |
|
Tampa Bay |
Brent Seabrook 1 |
Points |
Jason Garrison 2 |
Brent Seabrook 1 |
Goals |
Jason Garrison 1 |
Andrew Desjardins 1 |
Assists |
Ryan Callahan 2 |
Teuvo Teravainen 1 |
Power Play Goals |
Jason Garrison 1 |
N/A |
Short Handed Goals |
N/A |
Corey Crawford .833 |
Save Percentage |
Andrei Vasilevskiy 1.000 |
Corey Crawford 20 |
Saves |
Ben Bishop 21 |
Team Stats Summary
Team |
Shots |
Goals |
Power Play |
Penalty Kill |
Penalty Mins |
Face Offs Won |
Chicago
|
29 |
3 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
6 |
35 |
Tampa Bay
|
24 |
4 |
1-3 |
2-3 |
6 |
19 |
Upcoming Games
-
Tampa Bay will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Lightning have a W/L % of .560 after a win and .688 after a loss.
-
Chicago will play their next game at home against Tampa Bay. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .521 after a win and .676 after a loss.