UA-59049186-1 Stanley Cup Final, Game 5: Blackhawks 2, Lightning 1 - Recap - Good if it Goes

Stanley Cup Final, Game 5: Blackhawks 2, Lightning 1 – Recap

Amalie Arena in Tampa was the site of game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final Saturday night. The Hawks controlled the action early on, save for a couple Lightning possessions that did not result in goals. The Hawks scored the game’s first goal 6:11 into the game when Victor Hedman ran into Ben Bishop who, for some reason, was way out of his net to play the puck, and Patrick Sharp picked up the puck, skated in, and tapped it into the open net. The game was much more back-and-forth after the Sharp goal, though the Lightning were unable to get on the board and the Hawks were unable to expand their lead. After one, the Hawks lead 1-0.

The Hawks would get a power play 47 seconds into the second after Cedric Paquette was sent off for hooking, but they would come away empty. The Lightning would have a couple nice possessions, but the Hawks mostly controlled the action in the first half of the period. The Lightning would tie the game 10:53 into the period on a goal by Valtteri Filppula. The Hawks would go to the penalty kill 32 seconds later after Brandon Saad was sent off for slashing. The Hawks would be able to kill off the penalty. The Lightning would retain the momentum, though. Eventually, the Hawks picked up their play and began to put together some nice possessions of their own. None of the possessions resulted in a goal, though, and after forty minutes, the teams were tied at 1.

Exactly two minutes into the third, Antoine Vermette picked up the rebound of a Kris Versteeg shot and put it past Bishop to give the Hawks a 2-1 lead. After a couple nice possessions by the Lightning, the Hawks regained control of the action. The Hawks spent a lot of the third period just trying to limit Tampa Bay’s offensive chances, though they did get a few of their own. The game was still 2-1 Chicago, though, when the Lightning pulled Bishop with around 1:15 to play. The Hawks kept the Lightning from getting set up, and closed the game out after the Lightning were called for too many men on the ice with nine seconds to play, thus bringing the faceoff to the Tampa Bay end and necessitating Bishop’s return to the ice. With the 2-1 win, the Hawks took a 3-2 lead in the series.

My picks for 3 stars:

★★★ Corey Crawford, G, CHI (31 SV, 1 GA)

★★ Antoine Vermette, C, CHI (1 G (GWG))

★ Niklas Hjalmarsson, D, CHI (7 BKS, 28:19 TOI)

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com

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