Chicago's Teuvo Teravainen and Antoine Vermette both scored within two minutes late in the third period to lift the Blackhawks to a 2-1 win at Tampa Bay in Wednesday's opening game of the NHL's Stanley Cup.
Goaltender Corey Crawford made 22 saves for the Blackhawks, who are chasing their third NHL title in six seasons and exhibited more of the clutch scoring on which they've built a championship team.
"You just learn not to panic and keep working hard," Crawford said. "Stick to your game plan, and we'll get our chances."
For most of the game, nothing worked for Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane - but with their two stars off the ice and the clock dwindling, Chicago's role players delivered to crush the Amalie Arena crowd celebrating Tampa Bay's first trip to the Final since winning the 2004 title.
Teravainen scored through traffic with 6:32 to play, and Vermette got the winner in the slot with 4:34 left.
Game 2 is Saturday in Tampa.
Lightning goaltender Ben Bishop stopped 19 shots and Alex Killorn scored in the opening minutes for the hosts, who came close to a gritty shutout victory. Until Teravainen's goal through a two-man screen, the youthful Lightning gave a stellar defensive effort against Chicago's high-powered offense in front of a frenzied home crowd.
The 6-foot-7 Bishop was a few minutes away from his third shutout in four games, including a tenacious 2-0 victory over the New York Rangers to win the Eastern Conference title last Friday.
But Chicago's steady work in Tampa Bay's zone finally was rewarded in dramatic fashion.
Shortly after Crawford stopped Ryan Callahan on a breakaway, Marcus Kruger and Valtteri Filppula provided screens in front of Bishop, who never saw Teravainen's shot.
Moments later, Vermette collected a bouncing puck in the slot and beat Bishop for his third goal, providing a big return on the Blackhawks' decision to acquire him at the trade deadline.
The winner of Game 1 has won the Cup in 58 of the past 75 Finals since 1939, including the last three.
Share
