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It is Game 2 of the NHL Stanley Cup final between Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning, with the Blackhawks taking a 1-0 advantage into the match. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary on Sunday morning from 10:00am (AEST).
There’s a stat doing the rounds that’s very ominous if you’re in any way connected to the Tampa Bay Lightning: the winner of the opening game of the Stanley Cup Final has won 58 of the last 75 series, dating way back to 1939, and the last three straight.
Lightning had taken a 1-0 lead into the final seven minutes of Thursday’s Game 1 but then watched the resilient Blackhawks come back and score twice to record a surprising 2-1 win. Tampa Bay had controlled the game up until those final minutes and now know they must win Game 2.
Realistically, Tampa did little wrong in the game. The one message that’ll surely be repeated again and again by their coach, Jon Cooper, is the absolute importance of playing a full 60 minutes against Chicago. Equally as important: not playing to preserve a win. The Lightning went into a defensive shell late, and look what happened.
No lead is safe against Chicago. The guys in the red jerseys are the kings of weathering all kinds of storms and managing to scrap and claw and struggle to score a timely goal or two. It’s in their DNA. They play like no third-period lead is insurmountable. Well, OK, maybe they aren’t naïve enough to believe they can climb out of a 4- or 5-goal deficit, but a goal or two? Sure. They manage to create scoring opportunities, and capitalise on them.
The Lightning can win by doing again on Sunday what they did on Thursday for all but seven minutes of the game. Goalie Ben Bishop and the Lightning defence managed to keep the biggest names on the Chicago roster quiet.
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane were out there often, but didn’t have the same impact as they’ve had in previous playoff series for the Blackhawks. Case in point: it was two fringe players, Antoine Vermette and Teuvo Teravainen, who scored the goals.
Therein lies Tampa’s problem. And the problem of every other team Chicago have faced this year. You spend so much effort stopping Kane, Toews, Marian Hossa, Brandon Saad and all those other top-line guys, and then the low-minute guys get you. They got Tampa real good in Game 1, and it can’t happen again.
At least Tampa know they’re good enough to go with the ‘Hawks, and actually out-play them for large stretches of a game. If they fix up those late lapses – the defensive zone turnover from JT Brown that led to Vermette’s game-winning goal was as bad a coach killer as I can remember – I believe they’ve got the ponies to compete with Chicago.
They just cannot afford mistakes. I mean, none at all.
Prediction: Clearly, Tampa need to win this one. Going to Chicago and the Madhouse on Madison on a 0-2 hole is not advisable. I think they’ll get it done.
Join The Roar for live scores and commentary of the NHL Stanley Cup final Game 2 on Sunday morning from 10:00am AEST.
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