Notebook Buzz
STANLEY CUP FINAL The Chicago Blackhawks like they often do find ways to win and did exactly that in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Trailing 1-0, the Blackhawks dominated play in the third period and scored twice in a 1:58 span, en route to a 2-1 victory over the Lightning in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Teuvo Teravainen (3) tied the game at 1-1 with 6:32 remaining in the regulation and Teravainen would could come up big moments later, creating a Lightning turnover with pressure on J.T. Brown and Antoine Vermette buried a shot past Ben Bishop to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead.
The Chicago Blackhawks gave up a first round pick and top prospect for Antoine Vermette and the trade for months had been looking like a complete dud but Vermette who has dealt with being a healthy scratch at various points in post-season, is finally stepping up at the right time for the Blackhawks.
Vermette has 3 goals in the post-season and his last two goals have been pretty significant ones, scoring the game winning goal in double-OT of Game 4 vs Ducks to go with tonight’s game winner.
Corey Crawford made 22 saves on 23 shots in the win and his save on a Ryan Callahan breakaway opportunity at 11:38 of the third period, loomed large as the Blackhawks would tie the game, 1:50 later.
Chicago outshot 23-21 and held the Lightning to just five shots in period 3. Tampa Bay was unable to sustain the fast pace they possessed in period one as they were limited to 13 shots over the final forty minutes. The Lightning will likely be criticized for sitting back too much in this one after dictating the play early on.
The Blackhawks are three wins away from their third Stanley Cup in six years. Game 1 winners in the Stanley Cup Final have gone on to win the series 77% of the time.
