Thursday, June 11, 2015

Blackhawks Push Through, Even the Series



Well, not watching the game will certainly hamper posting on the blog about it, that's for sure, but you know, on a warm Wednesday night, you've got to enjoy it, right?

 photo cupfinalsdaily.gifThe news of the night, before the game started, was the lack of Ben Bishop in the Tampa net, despite being out for practice earlier in the day, the Lightning went with Andrei Vasilevskiy instead and Bishop didn't even dress for the game, making way for Kristers Gudlevskis to back-up.

Bishop was listed as out day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, just about what you would expect in the playoffs.

From what I've read about the game, it sounded like the Lightning had the better part of the play, but it was the Blackhawks who made good on their opportunities.  Brandon Saad's game-winner, an amazing effort, taking the puck to the net, staying with it, despite a good stick from Vasilevskiy, and a strong backhand shot through the legs of the sliding keeper was the tipping point in the 3rd period, as Chicago won, 2-1, evening up the series at two games a piece.

Saad and goalie Corey Crawford were the only two pool players to pick up a pair of points on the selection sheet. which made for a low-scoring game overall.

Given the low-scoring affair, Jesse really couldn't make much ground up, just the win being the difference, as his team and Thor's, split hairs on the remaining points. Jesse picking up a point from a Steven Stamkos assist, while Thor had a Marian Hossa assist to add to his team's total. Crawford's 2 points was all that was gained and now Thor's lead is down to 2 points, as the series shifts to Tampa Bay for Game 5.

What we know for sure is that this series will now get six games, at the very least, and it now becomes a best-of-three series, which means that Jesse will get a couple more chances to try and pass Thor for 2nd place.

I'll be back with a bigger post on Saturday night/Sunday morning, as I won't be missing out on Game 5 of the series.

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