OTD: Blackhawks Win Game 5 vs. Tampa Bay!
On June 13th, 2015, the Blackhawks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in game 5 of the Stanley Cup final. The series was tied at 2 games a piece headed into a pivotal game 5 in Tampa Bay. The entire series was a closely fought bout, leaving both teams a razor thin margin for error. The Lightning couldn't take advantage of having home ice, losing game 5 to the Blackhawks 2-1.
Patrick Sharp opened the scoring for Chicago on a fluke misplay by Ben Bishop 6:11 into the first period. Bishop came out to play the puck at the top of the circle and collided with Victor Hedman which allowed Sharp to tap home an empty net goal for the lead. The Lightning evened the score at 1 around the 11-minute mark of the 2nd period on a great play by Valtteri Filppula. The Lightning had a little life after the goal and played a very strong game from there on out. The Blackhawks refused to back down. Antoine Vermette scored the go-ahead goal 2 minutes into the 3rd period, which ultimately was the game winner.
Corey Crawford was sensational once again, stopping 31 out of 32 shots faced in hostile territory. Duncan Keith was an iron man once again, logging a staggering 29:23 of ice time in a game that ended in regulation. Every time you looked up he was on the ice. Niklas Hjalmarsson was right on his tail, logging 28:19 of ice time. During the 2015 playoffs, The Blackhawks had a mind blowing 11-1 record when scoring first. The Blackhawks were outshot 32-29, but managed to score timely goals when they needed them the most. The Blackhawks had yet another gutsy performance, priming them to finish the deal and win the cup a few nights later on home ice. What a fun time it was to be a Blackhawks fan!
| POLL | ||
Who had the best performance in game 5? | ||
| Crawford | 54 | 32.9 % |
| Vermette | 38 | 23.2 % |
| Keith | 47 | 28.7 % |
| Sharp | 25 | 15.2 % |
| List of polls | ||
