Daily Picks: Lightning take advantage at home?
Will the Tampa Bay Lightning need Andrei Vasilevskiy again? (USATSI)
Chicago Blackhawks at Tampa Bay Lightning, 8 p.m. ET, NBC, Game 5
Series tied, 2-2
The best-of-7 series is now a best-of-3.
If you listen to the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning talk about Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, it would be easy to think the result on the ice was the exact opposite of what actually happened.
The Blackhawks, who were 2-1 winners to even the series, seemed to be pretty upset with their effort and recognized that they need to be better if they are going to win two more games in this series. The Lightning, meanwhile, felt they played a pretty strong game but just didn’t get the result on the scoreboard, something that happens in a sport like hockey quite often where there is such a fine line between winning and losing every night, especially when one or two bounces don’t go your way.
The big question for Tampa Bay on Saturday is going to be which goalie will be between the pipes. Ben Bishop was able to hobble through Game 3 at the United Center and help his team get the win even though he could barely move in the crease. By the time Game 4 rolled around, he was out of the lineup completely. That sent 20-year-old rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy into the fray for his second appearance of the series — and the first playoff start of his career — in what would turn out to be the series-tying game.
The Lightning, as they have regarding Bishop’s status the entire series, are being secretive about which goalie is going to be in the lineup Saturday night. Coach Jon Cooper has said all along that Bishop will play again in this series and that if he is able to go Saturday night, he will be in the lineup.
Even though the Blackhawks were on the winning side, Game 4 could have been an indicator that perhaps the wear and tear of so many postseason games over the years, and the fact they have spent nearly the entire postseason this year basically playing only four defensemen, is starting to catch up to them. Especially against a younger, faster team that is unlike any other they have played this postseason.
If the Lightning can repeat that same effort Saturday night in Game 5 at the Amalie Center in Tampa, there is a very good chance they will be just one win away from winning the franchise’s second Stanley Cup title.
Pick: Lightning 4, Blackhawks 2
Three stars
1. Steven Stamkos, Tampa Bay Lightning: A lot has been made about Stamkos having zero goals in the Stanley Cup Final (which runs his current goal-less drought to six games) but he seems to be getting closer and had a couple of great opportunities in the Lightning’s Game 4 loss. This streak also came right after a seven-game stretch this postseason where he scored six goals. Stamkos, like any other goal scorer, doesn’t score his goals on a regular schedule. He scores them in bunches, then goes cold for a few games, then goes on another hot streak. He’s due for another one.
2. Victor Hedman, Tampa Bay Lightning: Consistently one of the best players on the ice every game, Hedman has been a major difference-maker in this series — and the entire postseason — as he uses his skill to help provide offensive and is a force in the defensive zone when it comes to playing without the puck. This postseason, and especially his play in the Stanley Cup Final, has elevated his reputation to the point that people around the league are finally starting to realize he’s one of the best defensemen in the NHL.
3. Nikita Kucherov, Tampa Bay Lightning: The Triplets line of Kucherov-Tyler Johnson–Ondrej Palat has only had a hand in three of the Lightning’s seven goals this series (and it’s not necessarily a bad thing that they are getting production from somebody else) but they have been the one constant this postseason when it comes to coming through in just about every big game. Kucherov has a goal and two assists in this series.
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