CHICAGO STYLE

Last night, The Chicago Blackhawks stole Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals in Tampa Bay taking a 1-0 series lead and home ice advantage moving forward. A energized Lightning crowd was deprived of their morale when they watched Tampa Bay surrender a 1-0 lead in the 3rd period. The first sign of Lightning blood was Chicago's first goal of the game that came from youngster C Teuvo Teravainen who hit nothing but net after slapping a shot from up top. As the crowd simmered down, the Blackhawks began doing their work, limiting Lightning offensive chances and outshooting Tampa Bay 8-5 in the final period. They gained the lead 2-1 with under 10 minutes left in regulation when C Antoine Vermette gained possession off a Lightning turnover and exposed goalie Ben Bishop. Perhaps the veterans have an idea of what the nerves of the youthful Lightning are like after a disappointing loss at home on such a big stage, but compassion is not a method Chicago is looking to use to inhibit the Lightning from getting their 1st Stanley Cup title since 2003-04.

So what went wrong for Tampa Bay? Why after leading Game 1 for over 40 mins did they collapse? First off, credit is due to the performance given by Corey Crawford who made one of the three stars of the night with 23 saves and a 2-2 on power-play kills against arguably the best offense in the league. The tenacity was simply not their for Tampa Bay in the final period. As stated in the previous paragraph, they were out shot 8-5,  and for the most part were unable to keep the puck out of their own end of the ice. When Tampa Bay did have the chance to extend the league, C Steven Stamkos was stoned by Crawford on two consecutive 3rd period shots. C Tyler Johnson was limited to just 1 shot in the entire contest and though the Lightning survived all three of their power-play kills, the 6 minutes they spent in the penalty box kept their offensive attack out of rhythm against the experienced Blackhawks.

The stakes have been raised. Chicago is now three wins away from yet another Stanley Cup Finals title. Will the Lightning strike back in Game 2? Watch Game 2 Saturday live from Tampa Bay at 7:15 p.m. E.T on NBC. Though the 2015 NHL season has come to a crashing end, we encourage fans to stay tuned with the Stanley Cup Finals as we prepare to crown the league best this month. THE BIRTH LLC supports the NHL.