With the Stanley Cup Final shifting to Chicago for Games 3 and 4, there were no shortage of story lines heading into Game 3. Much of them centered around would Ben Bishop be able to go for Tampa, and would Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville insert rookie Trevor van Riemsdyk into the lineup. As the pregame warmups took place, we got answers to both questions, Bishop and TVR were both in the lineup for their respective teams.
At the drop of the puck, the Blackhawks were lacking from a sluggish start. Tampa pounced on that early as they caught the Hawks in a slow, lazy change, coupled with a blowout by Johnny Oduya, and Ryan Callahan blew a slap shot past Crawford to give the Bolts an early lead. As the period wore on, the Hawks found their legs, and simply dominated play. All that puck possession would pay off as a point shot from Brad Richards, while on the power play, found its way past Bishop to tie the game at one. As the horn sounded to end the period, the game would remain tied at one.
As the second period got underway, it looked like the Hawks forgot some of that momentum they had in the first period back in the locker room. Tampa had a jump in their step that they were lacking in the first period, but were unable to solve Crawford early on. Meanwhile, the Hawks did have a nice opportunity from Antoine Vermette off a Lightning turnover, but Bishop was able to stone him. Following a Hawks power play, Tampa was able to spring Nikita Kucherov out of the box on a breakaway, but Crawford rose to the occasion and stopped him. As the period wound down, the Blackhawks got a little careless and reckless, and were forced to kill off an extended 5 on 3 power play for the Lightning. Much to the delight of the crowd, the Hawks did just that, and rode that momentum till the horn sounded and the score remained tied at one.
The opening minutes of the third period mirrored that of the later stages of the first period for the Blackhawks. Unlike the first though, the Hawks would strike much earlier. During a shift that saw Marian Hossa shift into beast mode, he found a wide open Brandon Saad in the slot, and Saad gave the Hawks a 2-1 lead. The lead wouldn't last long though, as just 13 seconds later, Tampa's Ondrej Palat tied the game at two. With 3 minutes remaining, Tampa would take advantage of soft defense by Brent Seabrook and Kyle Cumiskey, as Cedric Paquette redirected a puck past Crawford to give the Lightning a 3-2 lead. That would end up being the final as the Bolts held on for the 3-2 win, and now lead the series 2-1.
The Good
- Marian Hossa and Brandon Saad were absolute beasts in this game. It would have been nice to see some other guys answer the bell as well.
- Brad Richards power play goal was nice to see. Its amazing what happens when you shoot the puck on a power play isn't it?
- Speaking of that power play goal, I criticize Shaw all the time, but his work on that power play was outstanding. He won a board battle, and got the puck to the point, but he didn't stop there. He worked his way to the front of the net to disrupt Bishop enough to throw his timing off from Richards shot.
- The penalty kill came through big in the 2nd period as they killed off an extended 5 on 3 Tampa Bay power play.
The Bad
- Although his offensive prow less was evident, Brandon Saad did have a mental lapse in the 1st period. The Hawks were about to get a power play, but Saad felt the need to cross check Valtteri Filppula in the head, thus negating the Hawks power play.
- Tampa's first goal was just a collection of hot vomit in a garbage bag by the Hawks. Lazy, slow change, Oduya blows a tire, and while it was a bomb of a slap shot by Callahan, it was one that Crawford probably should have had if he was a little more aggressive in his positioning. He was a tad too deep in his crease.
- Johnny Oduya left the game in the second period with an undisclosed injury, but thankfully did return in the third period.
- Woof on Kyle Cumiskey's positioning on Cedric Paquette's goal. But there's more blame to be handed out. What exactly was Brent Seabrook doing on that play?
- The much hyped return of TVR produced 9:01 of ice time. Overall he was ok, but we don't have an ok category here.
The Ugly
- The Blackhawks peppered Ben Bishop with 19 shots, but could only get 1 past him. The Lightning had to be thrilled to escape at the end of that period being tied at one after being thoroughly outplayed.
- Also in that 1st period, Hossa and Teravainen both missed wide open nets that would have destroyed the confidence of the Lightning. In the end its all about missed opportunities.
- Bryan Bickell started out alright, but that was short lived. He took just an absolute brutal roughing penalty in the 3rd period. To make matters worse, Brandon Saad was nailed for goalie interference (it was the right call, get over it) and the Hawks were forced to kill off an extended 5 on 3.
- Nothing like taking your foot off the gas after a goal. Once again the Hawks did that, as Tampa responded to Saad's goal just 13 seconds later. But by all means continue to pat yourselves on the back for scoring.
- Is it just me or are the Blackhawks more like the Slackhawks when it comes to making line changes?
- Crickets have made more noise than Patrick Kane has so far in this series. Same can be said for Patrick Sharp.>