Bolts even Final in thriller, but fans left hanging on status of star goalie Ben Bishop
When Tampa Bay allowed two quick goals in the second period of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, a second consecutive first-period lead had evaporated. No worries. The Lightning reacted just as coach Jon Cooper wanted his team to react.
"It wasn't panic," Cooper said. "It was pissed."
When goalie Ben Bishop exited the game for good in the third period with an undisclosed issue, the mood was the same.
"When Bish went out, there wasn't an ounce of stress on our bench," Cooper said.
Hockey fans everywhere should be glad about that. Game 2 at Amalie Arena was more in line with what we expected from these two uber-skilled teams. After a feeling-out process in Game 1, the teams exploded for seven goals, numerous scoring chances and end-to-end action in which Tampa ultimately pulled out a 4-3 win over Chicago on Jason Garrison's slapshot from the point with 11:11 remaining in the game.
Whether a large portion of America tunes in from here on out is not the point (except to the league's revenue counters). Tampa's win ensured a little more high-end hockey before the sport takes a summer hiatus. This is what the league could and should be if it got rid of the cheap shots, the clutching and grabbing that has seeped back into the game and the dull defensive systems that numb the mind. Hockey at its best.
This was the entertaining series we were promised. Now we've got it.
Play of the day: Nikita Kucherov's deflection. It didn't match Alex Killorn's eye-popping redirect in Game 1, but Kucherov's sleight of hand tied the game at 2-2 after Chicago had rallied to take the lead and take the home crowd out of the game. The Bolts finally delivered their counter punch.
Turning point: Back-to-back Sharp penalties. Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp was whistled for slashing just over a minute after the Hawks had tied the game at 3-3 early in the third period. Tampa didn't score on the ensuing power play, so Sharp gave them another one when he was called for high-sticking. Jason Garrison cashed in on that one and Tampa evened the series.
Three stars
1. Nikita Kucherov, RW, Tampa. Kucherov had the aforementioned goal and a primary assist on Tyler Johnson's go-ahead goal with 6:02 left in the second period.
2. Cedric Paquette, C, Tampa. Paquette opened the scoring and helped hold the Jonathan Toews line largely in check. Advantage Lightning.
3. Victor Hedman, D, Tampa. Hedman notched a pair of assists, finished plus two and logged a team-high 25:51 of ice time.
RECAP
Tampa Bay Lightning 4, Chicago Blackhawks 3
Series: Tied 1-1.
Key stat: Tampa's Andrei Vasilevskiy (five saves) is the first goalie to earn a Stanley Cup Final win in relief since Pittsburgh's Frank Pietrangelo did it on May 23, 1991, against the Minnesota North Stars.
Key stat II: Tampa forward Tyler Johnson's 13 postseason goals are the most by any Lightning player in franchise history.
Best audio: The premature goal horn. Early in the first period, Cedric Paquette fooled the in-arena powers that be into thinking Tampa had scored. It had not, but the celebratory horn blew nonetheless. Awkward. Paquette kindly took the horn guy off the hook when he scored a few minutes later.
watch Hossa's stick. that's why Bishop/Tampa is mad pic.twitter.com/SoOjEPQb2R
— Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) June 7, 2015
Best at being worst: Corey Crawford, G, Chicago. Although he made some big saves, Crawford was fighting the puck all night. He dove forward awkwardly on a shot from the point, and he let a puck trickle off the boards and behind him, nearly kicking it in. He missed a shot with his left pad that hit the far post, and he allowed an awful goal to Tampa's Tyler Johnson where all he had to do was squeeze the post. In all, he surrendered four goals on 24 shots.
Best quote: "I take responsibility for (the penalties). I apologized to our penalty killers for putting them in that position." -- Chicago forward Patrick Sharp on his back-to-back infractions that robbed the Hawks of momentum, gassed the penalty killers and gave Tampa the lead for good.
What we learned: The Bolts have plenty of resolve. Tampa could have wilted after blowing Game 1 late when Chicago scored two goals in the final seven minutes, but things got even hairier when Chicago erased another Tampa lead with two quick goals in the second period on Saturday. As we noted in the series preview, Tampa has the offense to hang with Chicago if it gets any kind of secondary scoring. It did on Saturday from Cedric Paquette and Jason Garrison. It will need it again as the series shifts back to Chicago for games 3 and 4.
Next game: Game 3, Monday at 8 p.m. ET at United Center in Chicago.
Final thought: Tampa goalie Bishop left the ice twice in the third period. The first time brought a humorous string of potty break jokes on Twitter. The second trip -- one from which he did not return -- left Tampa fans feeling far more concerned. Backup Vasilevskiy has never started a postseason game, and the Lightning certainly don't want his first one to come against the Chicago Blackhawks. Bishop was not available after the game because he was getting treatment, Tampa coach Jon Cooper would not comment about his goaltending situation and teammates did not know why he left, although they did not think it was for repeated potty breaks. We have our main storyline for Game 3.
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