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Blackhawks host Lightning in Game 3 of Cup Finals

Jun 8, 2015 - 2:46 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Tampa Bay Lightning put forth a winning effort to even the Stanley Cup Finals in Game 2, but it wasn't all good news for Jon Cooper's team.

The Lightning head into Monday with some uncertainty in net, as the deadlocked series shifts to Chicago for Game 3 at the United Center.

The Blackhawks and Lightning split the first two games in Tampa. Chicago snatched the opener by a 2-1 count after scoring a pair of third-period goals less than two minutes apart. On Saturday, however, the Lightning were able to stay one step ahead of the Blackhawks offense and grab a 4-3 victory to even the championship round at one game apiece.

The Bolts received the go-ahead goal from Jason Garrison on the power play with 11:11 remaining in the third period. But the goal came with backup goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy in the crease, as starter Ben Bishop had exited the game for unknown reasons.

Bishop would re-enter the game a few minutes later before leaving the contest for good with 7:41 remaining in regulation.

Cooper offered no explanation for Bishop's departure, revealing he wouldn't speak about the goalie switch before anybody was able to ask the Lightning coach a question at the post-game press conference.

"Before we get going, I hate to be that guy," said Cooper. "But I won't answer a question about the goaltending and what happened tonight. I apologize for that."

Vasilevskiy, a 20-year-old blue chip prospect from Russia, didn't falter in his nine-plus minutes of relief duty, stopping all five shots to get the win. In the process, he became the first goalie to earn a Stanley Cup Final win in relief since Pittsburgh's Frank Pietrangelo on May 23, 1991.

Bishop's ailment and his status for Game 3 are still a mystery, but after Saturday's contest, the Lightning players were eager to make it clear they have faith in Vasilevskiy if he has to start tonight.

"We feel confident. I mean, you know, they're both here for a reason," Garrison said of the club's netminders. "We just got to make sure that we communicate with Vasi if that's the case, support him as much as possible."

"He's going to do a job for us. We're not worried about it."

While Tampa's goaltending situation is uncertain, the Blackhawks are clear on what they need from Corey Crawford and that's a better effort than he had on Saturday. Crawford stopped 20 shots in the loss and yielded one particularly soft goal to Tyler Johnson in the second period.

Tampa grabbed a 1-0 lead in the first period, but Chicago answered with a pair of quick goals early in the second. Nikita Kucherov, however, tied it with a nifty deflection at 6:52 of the middle stanza -- just 92 seconds after Teuvo Teravainen handed the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead.

Later in the second, Crawford's blunder allowed Johnson to restore the Bolts' lead. Johnson sent a seemingly harmless backhand shot at the net from the icing line below the left circle and the puck rolled up Crawford's back before finding the goal for a 3-2 lead.

The tally halted a five-game goal drought for Johnson, who hadn't scored since Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals against the New York Rangers. He is leading all players in this postseason with 13 goals and 22 points.

"I don't want to give that up," Crawford said. "I don't think he was trying to do that. He kind of fanned on his backhand, hit the side of the net, I don't know if it bounced up, I kind of lost it from there, but I felt something on my back. You can't give those up in these games."

When ask about his goaltender's performance after Game 2, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said he was "just okay."

Chicago would come back after Johnson's goal, tying the score on Brent Seabrook's marker at 3:38 of the third period. However, Garrison would get credit for the game-winner with his power-play goal at 8:49 of the final stanza.

Garrison blasted a shot on net from the point and the puck deflected off the stick of Blackhawks forward Andrew Desjardins before sailing past Crawford.

Tampa was able to hold onto the lead supplied by Garrison and killed off a Chicago power play with less than seven minutes remaining in regulation.

Cedric Paquette also scored for the Bolts, who received a pair of assists from Victor Hedman and Ryan Callahan in the victory.

Andrew Shaw added a marker for the Blackhawks, who hope to regain the lead in the series on home ice. Chicago is 7-1 at the United Center this postseason and will also host Game 4 on Wednesday.

"We get to go home, get excited, play in our building," said Quenneville. "I'm sure everybody will be loud and excited about us coming back."

Tampa, meanwhile, has been excellent on the road in the 2015 playoffs, going 7-3 away from Amalie Arena.

Chicago is hoping a return to the Windy City can get star forwards Patrick Kane and captain Jonathan Toews on track offensively. Kane has yet to register a point in this series, while Toews has one assist, logging the primary helper on Seabrook's Game 2 tally.

The Blackhawks are attempting to claim their third Cup in six seasons, having won in 2010 and 2013. Tampa is in the finals for the first time since winning its only championship in 2004.