TAMPA, Fla. -- This isn’t how the Stanley Cup finals were supposed to go.
Remember when this series was going to be about offense? How little has separated the Chicago Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning isn’t all that unexpected -- five one-goal games is, indeed, insanely close -- but many thought the contests would be determined with scores such as 6-5, rather than 2-1.
The hype leading into the series was all about the offensive talent that would be on display and how goals would come at an incredible pace. That couldn’t be further from what has actually occurred on the ice, where defense has thoroughly trumped offense through five games.
Who would have taken the bet that the Blackhawks’ Patrick Kane and the Lightning’s Steven Stamkos would combine for zero goals entering Game 6 or that the Lightning would be held to one goal three times? Only in five of the 15 periods have both teams scored a goal, and just three times has a team scored more than one goal in a period.
The Blackhawks have elevated their defense in the past two games and now stand one win from clinching another Stanley Cup because of it.
The Blackhawks’ road victory Saturday in Game 5 in many ways resembled their home victory in Game 4. Both times, the teams were knotted at 1-1 after two periods. Both times, the Blackhawks pulled ahead in the third period and kept the Lightning out of their net for the final 20 minutes to hold on for a 2-1 win.
“We had chances to try and distance ourselves in this game, and it just didn't seem to go in for us, but equally we were playing smart defensively,” Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said after Game 5. “We were checking well, and we were creating those chances off the fact that they have to make plays and the fact that they have to really push the envelope offensively to try to even things up. In a lot of ways, that was our best defensive game, late in the game especially, and it's still something we can build off of and improve going into the next one, get excited that we can protect leads the way we did tonight."
Protecting leads has been a Blackhawks specialty all season. They're 32-0 when leading after two periods, and though they haven't found themselves in that spot in the Stanley Cup finals, they’ve been able to make their net nearly goal-proof in the third period. Saturday marked the third time in the series the Blackhawks have shut the Lightning out in the final frame.
Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford has had a major hand -- and a glove, a stick and a pad -- in that third-period series success. He stopped all 15 shots he faced in Saturday's third period and has made 35 saves on 38 shots in series' five third periods.
When it came to denying the Lightning a goal in the third period Saturday, Crawford thought the whole team deserved the credit.
“Tonight was a pretty solid effort by everyone, especially the third period,” Crawford said. “Once we got that goal, everyone was coming back hard. We were able to keep things out of the slot. Any rebounds or plays into the slot, guys were there to get in and clear it. Just a great team effort, I think, at the end of it.”
A massive part of that effort the past two series has been the play of the Blackhawks’ top four defensemen -- Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Brent Seabrook and Johnny Oduya. The foursome again played nearly all of the ice time in Game 5 and kept their consistency. Keith led all players with 29 minutes, 23 seconds of ice time and was followed by Hjalmarsson at 28:19, Oduya at 24:19 and Seabrook at 22:57.
The Blackhawks’ offense also factored into the defensive play Saturday. The Blackhawks weren't defending as much because they were often the ones with the puck. Chicago had more shots on goal and a higher Corsi percentage than Tampa Bay until the final minutes of the game, when the Lightning became very aggressive offensively. The Blackhawks were particularly dominant in the first period, with 14 shots on goal to the Lightning’s five.
“We had some more zone time in the offensive zone,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. “We weren't having to play in our own end. We didn't have too many long-cycle shifts. I think it started the shift when they scored. They got a couple [cycles] in a row because we didn't move the puck quick enough. But I thought we were simple. I think we have the checking mentality. They look to check as well. There's not a lot of time, not a lot of plays to be had, but I thought our start was something we haven't seen in the first four games, which is nice to see tonight.”
Another difference Saturday was that the Blackhawks didn’t allow the Lightning to capitalize on their major mistake -- and the Lightning did. The Blackhawks’ blunder came when Crawford passed the puck directly to the Lightning’s Nikita Kucherov in the first period and only prevented a goal by diving back to the net to make a save. The Lightning weren’t as lucky when goaltender Ben Bishop collided with defenseman Victor Hedman going for a loose puck, and the Blackhawks’ Patrick Sharp ended up with the puck and an open net.
“You don't want to turn a puck over for a goal,” Crawford said. “It was pretty close. [I] was able to get back and get a piece of it. But, you know, it wasn't a smart play. Luckily, it just didn't go in the net.”
What happens now? One would think the series remains low-scoring, but it’s never safe to assume. Lightning coach Jon Cooper knows that.
“To me, this series has been 'Expect the unexpected,'” Cooper said. “Those are two exceptional hockey teams out there. The pace is really, really fast. You don't get here to where both these teams are if you can't check. Both teams can do that. Both teams have defensemen that can skate. It makes it harder on forwards.
“It's coming down to the team that, you know, capitalizes on the break they get. They capitalized on theirs, and we didn't. But in saying that, aside from the first period, we threw 27 shots at Crawford in the last two periods. We had looks. Just didn't go in for us tonight. The only, I guess, problem is this isn't Game 4 in the season where you got, you know, 78 more to go. Now we're down to, 'This is it.' Now there's no margin for error.”
