Blackhawks defeat Lightning to head home with 3-2 series lead
TAMPA, Fla. -- In a series where every game has been decided by a single goal, where no team has led by more than a goal at any point, the Chicago Blackhawks are now one home win away from their third Stanley Cup championship in six years.
Chicago scored early in the third period and held on for a 2-1 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 on Saturday, taking a 3-2 series lead back to their home ice for Monday night.
"I've never been in this spot -- I'm sure it will be crazy over the next two days in town," coach Joel Quenneville said after the win. "The buzz will be off the charts. I look forward to it."
For the second time this series, Blackhawks center Antoine Vermette scored the game-winner in the third period, having done the same in Game 1 in Tampa. Chicago goalie Corey Crawford held the Lightning to a single goal and won for the second straight game and the third time in five games, with 31 saves, including 26 in the final two periods.
Chicago took the 2-1 lead early in the third as left winger Kris Versteeg got a breakaway, and Lightning goalie Ben Bishop was able to make a kick save on the initial shot, but Vermette fired in the rebound for a goal.
"The goal was very fortunate for me -- this is a good group, a special team and I'm glad I'm here, trying to help the team," Vermette said. "This is a lot of fun right now, but there's a lot of work still ahead."
The Lightning pulled Bishop with 1:05 left in the game but couldn't even muster a shot on goal, penalized with 8.8 seconds left for having too many men on the ice during a late shift change.
Bishop, uncertain before the game due to an undisclosed injury that kept him out of Game 4, played well, stopping 26 shots, but gave up a costly one early when he came out to clear a puck and collided with defenseman Victor Hedman, allowing winger Patrick Sharp to score on an empty net for a 1-0 lead.
"It was unfortunate, obviously," Bishop said. "It's the first time that's happened, and a bad time to have it happen. I thought Heddy had seen me and I was going to make a play. You saw what happened."
Teams leading 3-2 in the Stanley Cup final are 29-8 historically when it comes to winning the final series, though Chicago faces tougher odds with the possibility of Game 7 in Tampa on Wednesday. Teams leading 3-2, but facing a potential Game 7 on the road, are just 6-5 all-time in winning the overall series.
Trailing early and outshot 17-6 midway through the second period, the Lightning got a goal from center Valtteri Filppula to know the score at 1-1 going into the third period.
The Lightning scored the tying goal with 9:07 left in the second period when defenseman Jason Garrison collected a loose puck and sent a pass to Filppula, who fired a wide shot behind Crawford.
The goal was Filppula's fourth of the playoffs, with Garrison getting his fifth assist and defenseman Anton Stralman his eighth.
"This is five one-goal games, so the margin of error on both teams is minimal," coach Jon Cooper said. "You look at what happened to Bish and Heddy today. That was just an unfortunate incident that ended up in our net. ... We've gotten some of those breaks before, you just have to make them."
The Lightning had a power play just 32 seconds later to keep the momentum but were unable to convert during the extra-man opportunity. The Lightning were outshot 14-5 in the first period but answered by outshooting the Blackhawks 12-8 in the second period.
The Lightning regained the momentum without one of their top scorers. Right winger Nikita Kucherov did not return to the ice after suffering an upper-body injury in the first period when he collided with a goal post after nearly scoring on a loose puck. There was no immediate word on his injury or how long he would be sidelined.
Bishop's status had been a question mark entering the game because of an undisclosed injury, but he started and held off Chicago except for the empty-net gaffe.
NOTES: The biggest question for the last three days was answered when Ben Bishop skated onto the ice, leading the Lightning out for Game 5 and signaling he would return to the net as Tampa Bay's goalie. Bishop had to leave at the end of Game 2 because of an undisclosed injury/illness, then helped the Lightning to victory in Game 3 before sitting out Game 4, with rookie Andrei Vasilevsky taking over and playing well. Given two days of rest before Saturday's game, Bishop was back in net, a source of confidence for Tampa Bay and their fans. ... Another lineup surprise was rookie Jonathan Drouin dressing after seeing limited action in the playoffs before this series. Drouin's speed and athleticism were seen as a potential advantage against Chicago's defensemen, who have logged high minutes in the playoffs. ... Saturday's game marked the first time since 1971 that a city/market had hosted teams from the same two markets for both a major-league game and Stanley Cup final on the same day. The Tampa Bay Rays rallied to beat the Chicago White Sox, 5-4, in St. Petersburg on Saturday afternoon. In 1971, it was also the Blackhawks on the road, losing to the Canadiens in Montreal on the way to losing the Stanley Cup final.
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