Welcome to the final post of the 2014-2015 NHL season, the Stanley Cup Finals. This post covers the entire series.
Game 1: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida. In goal: Corey Crawford and Ben Bishop. Tampa Bay began in the first period on an Alex Killorn goal, his eighth of the postseason, coming off of Anton Stralman and Valtteri Filppula. Chicago tied it on a Teuvo Teravainen goal in the third period, his third of the playoffs, via Duncan Keith. The Blackhawks took the lead as Antoine Vermette scored his third of the postseason, with a lone helper by Teravainen. The final stood at 2-1, with the three stars handed to Teravainen, Vermette, and Crawford (22 for 23 in saves). Chicago begins with a 1-0 series lead.
Game 2: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida. In goal: Corey Crawford and Ben Bishop. Tampa Bay led off with a first period goal by Cedric Paquette, his second of the postseason, via Ryan Callahan and Victor Hedman. Chicago tied it in the second period as Andrew Shaw scored his fifth of the playoffs, thanks to Marcus Kruger and Andrew Desjardins. The Blackhawks took the lead on a Teuvo Teravainen power play goal, his fourth of the postseason, powered by Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp. The Lightning retied it with a Nikita Kucherov goal, his tenth of the playoffs, assisted by Jason Garrison and Braydon Coburn. Tampa Bay took the lead again on a Tyler Johnson goal, his thirteenth of the postseason, with a lone helper from Kucherov. Chicago pulled even in the third period on a Brent Seabrook goal, his seventh of the playoffs, made possible by Jonathan Toews and Johnny Oduya. The Lightning retook the lead on a Garrison power play goal, his second of the postseason, passed from Hedman and Callahan. The final stood at 4-3, with the three stars given to Garrison, Kucherov, and Hedman, while Callahan gets an honorable mention. The series shifts to Chicago tied at 1.
Game 3: United Center, Chicago, Illinois. In goal: Ben Bishop and Corey Crawford. Tampa Bay struck first in the first period on a Ryan Callahan goal, his second of the postseason, coming off of Victor Hedman and J.T. Brown. Chicago tied it with a Brad Richards power play goal, his third of the playoffs, powered by Marian Hossa and Andrew Shaw. The Blackhawks gained the lead in the third period on a Brandon Saad goal, his seventh of the postseason, assisted by Hossa and Duncan Keith. The Lightning retied it on an Ondrej Palat goal, his eighth of the playoffs, made possible by Tampa Bay took the lead as Cedric Paquette scored his third of the postseason, with the help of Hedman and Callahan. This produced a 3-2 final, with the three stars being Hedman, Callahan, and Hossa. The Lightning now hold a 2-1 series lead.
Game 4: United Center, Chicago, Illinois. In goal: Andrei Vasilevskiy and Corey Crawford. Chicago got going in the second period on a Jonathan Toews goal, his tenth of the postseason, assisted by Patrick Sharp and Marian Hossa. Tampa Bay tied it on an Alex Killorn goal, his ninth of the playoffs, via Valtteri Filppula and Steven Stamkos. The Blackhawks took the lead back in the third period as Brandon Saad scored his eighth of the postseason, with a lone assist by Patrick Kane. This stood for a 2-1 win, with the three stars being Saad, Crawford (24 for 25 in saves), and Toews. The series returns to Florida tied at 2.
Game 5: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida. In goal: Corey Crawford and Ben Bishop. Chicago was first to score in the first period on a Patrick Sharp goal, his fifth of the postseason, fueled by Teuvo Teravainen and Jonathan Toews. Tampa Bay tied it in the second period on a Valtteri Filppula goal, his fourth of the playoffs, guided in by Jason Garrison and Anton Stralman. The Blackhawks retook the lead as Antoine Vermette scored his fourth of the postseason in the third period, thanks to Kris Versteeg. This produced the eventual 2-1 final, with the three stars given to Vermette, Crawford (31 for 32 in saves), and Sharp. The Blackhawks head home leading the series 3-2.
Game 6: United Center, Chicago, Illinois. In goal: Ben Bishop and Corey Crawford. Chicago dented the scoreboard in the second period as Duncan Keith scored his third of the postseason, courtesy of Patrick Kane and Brad Richards. The Blackhawks added on in the third period with a Kane goal, his eleventh of the playoffs, assisted by Richards and Brandon Saad. This held up for a 2-0 win, with the three stars given to Crawford (25 save shutout), Kane, and Richards. The Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup with a 4-2 series victory, and Duncan Keith earned the Conn Smythe Award for playoff MVP.
I'll be back next season, but for now, I'm going to enjoy my part-time summer work. I'll be covering MLS only until the Premier League and KHL get going again in August, giving me some nice time to decompress. If you like soccer, check in on MLS game days for recaps.
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