Hawks stun Bolts with late rally in Final opener
Antoine Vermette’s goal helped the Blackhawks earn a Game 1 win. (USATSI)
Tampa Bay Lightning vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Stanley Cup Final Game 1
Blackhawks 2, Lightning 1 | Blackhawks lead series 1-0 | Game 2 Saturday
Game 1 in a nutshell: The Tampa Bay Lightning owned the first period, kicked off by a dominant opening five minutes which included a ridiculous redirection goal from Alex Killorn. The Blackhawks just could not get much generated through the neutral zone and even less on special teams. At various points it was hard to just get into the offensive zone in general. Then the third period happened. Chicago took advantage of a passive Lightning squad and ended up scoring twice in the less than two minutes late in the game to steal a Game 1 win and take the series lead.
Turning point: The Lightning took their foot off the gas. After the tremendously furious pace to start the game, which is when the Lightning scored their goal, they progressively got more defensive. They dominated the game for the majority of the first two periods. By the time the third period came along, they went into a shell. There was even some 1-3-1 setups in the neutral zone harkening back to the days of Guy Bucher and the Lightning stopped attacking. That bit them. Hard.
Three things we learned
1. It is utterly puzzling what happened in the third period. Tampa was content to sit back after showing for about the first 25-30 minutes that the way to beat this Blackhawks club is by giving them a dose of their own medicine with a relentless attack. Now, here’s the thing — relative to what we’re used to seeing from the Blackhawks, the Lightning successfully suppressed their shots on goal. Chicago had just 21 in the game and only eight in the third period, but the puck was in Tampa’s end almost the entire third. You can only defend for so long before things start leaking through. Chicago owned a 21-9 advantage in total shot attempts in the third. That is not a recipe for success against a team as skilled as the Blackhawks. These guys have been here before. They know what they’re doing. They didn’t look like it, though, before the Lightning decided to shell up.
2. Teuvo Teravainen, the prized Blackhawks first-rounder who is still just beginning to find his way as a pro in North America, was excellent in the third period. The super-skilled Finn scored the goal that tied the game and it was his stick check that forced the turnover that ended on Antoine Vermette‘s stick for what would be the game-winning goal. The 20-year-old has been getting better and better throughout the playoffs. He now has eight points in 13 games. He’s been in and out of the lineup this postseason, but he’s shown time and time again, he deserves to play and deserves the role he’s been given to provide scoring depth. To have that kind of performance in the Stanley Cup Final with his team playing from behind is pretty incredible.
3. The first 25 minutes of this game should scare the heck out of Chicago. Tampa was dominant early. They held a 24-11 shot attempt advantage at even strength in the first period. Their speed gave the Blackhawks trouble, they played physically, they put shots on goal and spent so much time on the attack. It made the Blackhawks, one of the fastest teams in the NHL, look slow, old and tired. That’s really only because it seemed like they never had the puck. Maybe the Lightning can’t sustain that exact pace for 60 minutes, but they have to extend it longer than the first 25 minutes of the game. This Lightning team is really good defensively, but they’re best defense is when they’re on the attack. They’re young and they’re skilled. They need to play like it.
Video of the game: Vermette provided the finish, but Teravainen made the play to make the game-winning goal possible. The young forward put a poke check on J.T. Brown, reaching about as far as he possibly could, which put the puck right on Vermette’s tape. That made it a 2-1 game and a Blackhawks winner thanks to the work of two guys that were healthy-scratched in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final.
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