Blackhawks 2 - 1 Lightning
Final
  for this game

Blackhawks, Bolts fight for lead in Game 5

Jun 13, 2015 - 12:44 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Tampa Bay Lightning will try to regain the lead in the Stanley Cup Finals, but they may have to do so without the services of their No. 1 goaltender.

The Lightning could be without Ben Bishop for a second straight game on Saturday when they host the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 5 of the deadlocked Stanley Cup Finals.

Chicago evened this best-of-seven series at two games apiece after notching a 2-1 home victory in Wednesday's Game 4 clash. Bishop did not suit up for Tampa due to an undisclosed injury, but backup Andrei Vasilevskiy turned in a solid performance in the first playoff start of his career.

Bishop missed practice on Friday, but hasn't been ruled out for tonight's pivotal encounter.

"Don't be alarmed that he's not out there," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said on Friday. "I'm not going to sit here and commit as to whether he's going to play Saturday. He's feeling better with each day."

The mystery ailment caused Bishop to leave Game 2 in the third period with Vasilevskiy taking over and picking up the win in relief. Bishop then played all of Game 3, stopping 36-of-38 shots to help Tampa secure a 3-2 victory, but he wasn't available at all for the last game.

"When we made the decision not to play him the other night, the decision just wasn't made, 'Oh, we're not going to play him,' said Cooper. "It's, 'We're not playing you and you're taking the next three days off.' This was all in the plan."

Whether or not four full days of rest will be enough to allow Bishop to return on Saturday is likely going to be a game-time decision.

No matter who is between the pipes for Tampa in Game 5, the Blackhawks will be aiming to grab their first lead in this matchup since taking Game 1 on the road. Chicago halted a two-game slide with Wednesday's victory, as Brandon Saad supplied the game-winner in the third period.

The score was tied at 1-1 heading into the third period, but Saad put the Blackhawks ahead for good at the 6:22 mark of the final stanza. Following an offensive zone faceoff win, Saad drove the puck up the left side and moved in on net. He lost the puck while traversing across the crease, but recovered it and backhanded a shot through Vasilevskiy's pads for the 2-1 lead.

It was the eighth goal of this postseason for Saad, who only had one goal in 23 games when Chicago won its last Cup in 2013.

"I loved his game tonight, great power move to the net," Blackhawks head coach Joel Quenneville said of Saad. "He's dangerous. Very good performance."

Jonathan Toews scored his first goal of the series for the Blackhawks, who improved to 4-0 in Game 4s this spring and pushed their home record in the 2015 playoffs to 8-2.

Corey Crawford provided a solid performance in net, making 24 saves to help Chicago even the series.

Alex Killorn provided the Lightning's lone marker and Vasilevskiy stopped 17 shots during his surprise start.

"If you told me he was going to come in and give up two goals, that's a hell of a job in my book," Cooper said of the 20-year-old netminder. "That kid gave us a chance to win the hockey game."

Vasilevskiy became the sixth goaltender to make their first playoff start in the Stanley Cup Finals. He also became the youngest goaltender to start a Stanley Cup Finals game since Patrick Roy in 1986.

In addition to being tied at 2-2, this series has been extremely close from game to game. The first four tests of the Finals have been decided by one goal for the first time since 1968, when Montreal swept St. Louis.

Dating back to 2011, nine of the past 11 games between the two teams have been decided by one goal.

Tampa fell to 8-4 as the away team this spring after having a four-game road winning streak snapped on Wednesday. The Bolts are just 6-6 at Amalie Arena this postseason, while the Blackhawks are 6-5 on the road.

Chicago has overcome a 2-1 deficit to win a series six times since 2009. The Blackhawks did it last round against Anaheim in the Western Conference finals, edging the Ducks in seven games and also won four straight after losing two of the first three games against Boston in the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals.

Game 6 of this series is scheduled for Monday night in Chicago. If necessary, a final seventh contest will take place Wednesday at Amalie Arena.






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