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- Tampa Bay Lightning Win Stanley Cup
Young Lightning Learn From Mistakes, Zap Blackhawks In Game 2
- Updated: June 6, 2015
The youthful Tampa Bay Lightning are an exercise in learning real-life hockey lessons this postseason. If they make a mistake one game, they hardly make it again the rest of the playoffs. Coach Jon Cooper often references how Tampa’s too young to know any better.
In Game 1, of the Stanley Cup Final, the Blackhawks took a lead off two quick goals in the third period and Tampa couldn’t adjust. In Game 2, the Hawks again scored two quick ones (this time in the second), but the Lightning didn’t crash. Chicago tied the game in the third period but the Lightning never lost composure. Instead it zapped Chicago 4-3 at Amalie Arena to tie the Final at 1-1.
Not only did Tampa have to overcome a resilient Blackhawks team, Tampa starter Ben Bishop seemed to have some sort of third period issue and eventually left the game in the final 10 minutes for 20-year-old uber-talented backup Andrei Vasilevsky.
He was cool and calm, making five saves on five Chicago shots on goal.
Game 3 is Monday at United Center.
With 11:11 left in the third Tampa’s Jason Garrison completed rifled a shot past Corey Crawford to put the game at 4-3 in favor of Tampa. This was a power play score that came on the second straight penalty by Chicago forward Patrick Sharp.
Just 3:38 into the third period, the Blackhawks tied the game at 3-3 thanks to a slap shot by defenseman Brent Seabrook.
Tyler Johnson’s goal at the 13:58 mark put the game at 3-2 for the Lightning and looked just horrible for Crawford. It came off a bed angle and snuck through the netminder. Just look at that. Gooo!
Nikita Kucherov knotted the game at 2-2 as in a deflection at the 6:52 mark of the second. It was beautiful stick work by Kucherov off yet another point blast by Garrison, who has an absolute bomb of a shot.
Just before then, Chicago appeared prime to take over the contest. Tampa was back in a defensive rope-a-dope after scoring the first goal, and the Blackhawks capitalized.
Teuvo Teravainen put the game at 2-1 in favor of Chicago at the 5:20 mark of the second on the power play. He fired a wrist shot past Bishop and just 3:04 into the second period, Chicago forward Andrew Shaw scored off a rebound to put the game at 1-1.
Cedric Paquette struck first for the Lightning at the 12:56 mark of the first period. J.T. Brown was screening Crawford in front of the net. Twas a nice wrist shot indeed and came off some poor play in front of the net by Chicago depth defenseman Kyle Cumiskey.
The Lightning inserted rookie forward Jonathan Drouin into the lineup to try to help some offense. Drouin, the No. 3 pick in the 2013 draft, hadn’t played since May 7.
