Stanley Cup Final, Game 4: Blackhawks 2, Lightning 1 – Recap

Down two games to one, the Hawks were again on home ice for game 4. With Ben Bishop hurt, the Lightning turned to Andrei Vasilevskiy to mind their net. The Hawks would struggle to get their offense going early on, a situation that would only be made worse by Brent Seabrook making a trip to the penalty box after getting called for interference. The penalty came 9:10 into the game. The Hawks would be able to kill off the penalty. The Hawks would go to the power play 11:41 into the period after Jason Garrison was sent off for interference. The power play would come to an end just over a minute in after Jonathan Toews was sent off for high-sticking. The Lightning would control the 4-on-4, but would not score, nor would the Blackhawks. The Hawks would then be able to kill off the remainder of the Toews penalty. The Hawks would go back to the power play 16:33 in after Kimmo Timonen was sent off for hooking. The Hawks would be able to kill off the penalty and 37 seconds later would go to the power play after Alex Killorn was sent off for high-sticking. The Hawks would be unable to score in the period, so after one, we were as we began, though the Hawks would have 1:08 of power play time waiting for them to start the second.

The Hawks would struggle to get set up on the power play to start the second, and though they got a couple nice looks at the end of it, they came away empty. After Johnny Oduya and Patrick Sharp both hit the post with shots, the Hawks finally scored, getting the first goal of the game for the first time in the series. The goal came from Jonathan Toews 6:40 into the period. The Hawks would go to the penalty kill 39 seconds later after Seabrook was sent off for cross-checking. The Hawks would be able to kill off the penalty. Following the Chicago goal, the Lightning controlled the action, eventually tying the game 11:47 into the period. After the Killorn goal, the Hawks would pick up their play, though they would not score again in the second. The Lightning would not either, and after forty minutes, the teams were tied at 1.

The Hawks would go to the power play 1:04 into the third after Steven Stamkos was sent off for delay of game. The Hawks would come away empty on the man advantage. The Hawks took the lead 6:22 into the third on a goal by Brandon Saad. After the goal, the Lightning, as was the case after the first Chicago goal, were the more active team. They were not able to score, though. With about a minute-and-a-half to play in the third, the Lightning pulled Vasilevskiy in favor of the extra attacker. The Lightning challenged Crawford multiple times, but each time, Crawford came up big. The final: 2-1 Hawks. The series: 2-2.

My picks for 3 stars:

★★★ Jonathan Toews, C, CHI (1 G)

★★ Brandon Saad, LW, CHI (1 G (GWG))

★ Corey Crawford, G, CHI (24 SV, 1 GA)

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com