The game was theirs for the taking. The Tampa Bay Lightning looked good for so much of Game Four in the Stanley Cup Final and had opportunities, but were ultimately unable to put enough pucks behind Corey Crawford. The result was a 2-1 loss, which sends the series back to Tampa tied at two. Instead of being up 3-1 with a chance to win the Cup, the Bolts now face the daunting task of holding serve on home ice.
I mentioned in the pre-game blog that Wednesday’s game would likely define the tone of the series. Either the Lightning were heading home with Lord Stanley’s mug square in their sights, or they were heading home for what feels an awful lot like a must-win game. Unfortunately, they’re now faced with the latter situation. It’s not particularly ideal, but it’s not like the series is over.
Despite the eventual loss, the Lightning can be happy with a lot of what happened in Game Four. In the first period, especially, they didn’t allow the Blackhawks anywhere near Andrei Vasilevskiy. Yes, Andrei Vasilevskiy. Ben Bishop, who is dealing with an injury of some sort, was not available to play. Vasilevskiy stepped in for him and played a great game. He kept his team in the game, and gave the guys in front of him more than enough of a chance to win. If Bishop isn’t ready to go in Game Five, the Bolts shouldn’t have any problem with turning to the kid again.
As he was only tested with two shots (!) in the first period, it shouldn’t surprise anyone that Vasilevskiy held the Blackhawks scoreless. The trouble was that Tampa was unable to capitalize on the chances they generated at the other end. The possession chart doesn’t highlight it, but the Lightning really did have some nice looks against Corey Crawford in the first period. Their inability to capitalize in the eventually came back to hurt them, as Chicago picked up their game as the evening moved along; it was almost the exact opposite of what happened in Game Three.
That missed opportunity in the first period consisted of three man-advantage chances. The Lightning power play was just unable to get anything going. It felt a lot like the Detroit series in that sense. While the power play has been clicking at a nice rate, it has some serious systemic issues. The shot generation just isn’t there for Jon Cooper’s unit, and that’s a problem. Shooting percentage varies too greatly for them to pick their spots like they do. The ‘wait for the perfect shot’ mantra results in long stretches of futility like we saw tonight.
Able to survive the first period, the Blackhawks stepped up when the second started. Rather than continuing to be a one-sided affair, the game transformed into a fairly even matchup. That hard work resulted in Jonathan Toews’s 10th goal of the playoffs, scored 6:40 into the middle frame. Assisted by Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa, Toews took advantage of a bad shift from the Triplets line to score the goal that gave Chicago the 1-0 lead.
Speaking of the Triplets - It wasn’t a good night for Tampa’s top trio. With Tyler Johnson clearly injured and unable to take faceoffs, the line really lacked the spark that it has had for most of the year. It will be interesting to see whether an extra day of rest helps them refresh in advance of a very important fifth game; the Lightning need them.
The 1-0 goal wasn’t a dagger, though. Alex Killorn gave Tampa some life about five minutes after Toews tallied when he scored to tie the game at one. Helped out by linemates Valtteri Filppula and Steven Stamkos, Killorn converted on a beautiful feed with one of Chicago’s bottom-two defenders out on the ice.
Unfortunately, the mini comeback effort was all for naught. 6:22 into the third period, Brandon Saad caught Anton Stralman sleeping and drove across the crease. That power move allowed him to tuck the puck between Vasilevskiy’s legs and into the net. The mental lapse of all mental lapses cost the Bolts in a big way, as Saad’s goal stood as the game winner.
Time ticked away, and Tampa tried mightily to tie the game. Steven Stamkos had two Grade-A chances (that might even be an understatement) to score once Vasilevskiy was pulled, but he was unable to convert. He’ll have nightmares about those opportunities as the team’s plane flies back to Florida. Shortly thereafter, the final buzzer rang. The series was tied.
Now, while this loss obviously hurts, it’s important to keep spirits up as this series comes back to Amalie Arena. The goal at the United Center was to earn a split; the Lightning did exactly that, and nearly stole a second victory. This mini-trip to Chicago has to be considered a success, even if it doesn’t feel like one right now. The Lightning have to win two more games this year, and they’ll have home-ice advantage as they try to do it. The task at hand is hardly an impossible one.
As always, thanks for reading.
Michael Stuart has been the Tampa Bay Lightning writer for HockeyBuzz since 2012. Visit his archive to read more or follow him on Twitter.