Chicago Beat Tampa Bay 2-0 In Game Six
First Period
The Lightning’s Ben Bishop looked solid from the start saving Chicago’s first few shots. Chicago would continue to test Bishop relentlessly but the goalie continued to maintain his composure making highlight reel saves.
Chicago’s Patrick Kane began the first period really showing his offensive hunger and desire to put a goal in net for the first time of the series.
Although the first period would end scoreless it would be a sign of things to come.
Second Period
Tampa Bay would start the second period with a huge momentum boost. However Chicago goalie Corey Crawford continued his shut out of the Lightning making difficult saves appear easy including a spectacular breakaway stop on Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos.
Chicago would continue to test Lightning’s Ben Bishop especially towards the end of the second period and the goalie could only take so much.
Patrick Kane would get the puck and find Duncan Keith skating through the middle into the Lightning’s zone. Kane would put a perfect pass on Keith’s stick to give him a one on one opportunity with goalie Ben Bishop.
Keith skated in and quickly took off a shot on goalie Ben Bishop. Bishop would make the initial save but could not handle the rebound as Keith skated and followed up on his shot. He was in the perfect position to tap in the rebound to give Chicago the 1-0 lead with just over two and a half minutes left in the second period.
The second period would end as Chicago continued their pressure attack Bishop with everything in their arsenal as Seabrook’s slap shot hit the post with just seconds remaining almost adding to the Blackhawk’s lead.
Third Period
With just over five minutes left in the third period, Chicago would put the nail in the coffin of the Stanley Cup Finals in dramatic fashion.
The Blackhawk’s Brandon Saad would win the puck and quickly take it up the left side of Tampa’s zone. As soon as Saad felt pressure, he dropped the puck to Richards who immediately passed the puck to Patrick Kane without looking.
Kane, sitting on the right post, buried the puck into the net on a slap shot giving him his first goal of the Stanley Cup Finals.
The young Lightning squad continued to battle but was no match for Chicago or the wall known as goalie Corey Crawford as the Blackhawks won the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals.
Post-Game analysis
With a chance to win the series in front of their home crowd at the United Center, there was just no way of stopping Coach Joel Quenneville and the Chicago Blackhawks in game six of the Stanley Cup Finals.
The mystery of Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop was solved postgame as he revealed he had been battling through a torn right groin muscle. One will have to wonder how much the Lightning contemplated starting goalie Vasilevskiy instead.
Although Bishop looked solid especially for being injured, Chicago goalie Corey Crawford was unstoppable, saving every shot the Lightning could put on him and showing no signs of nerves like he did previously in game five.
This fact had to be especially frustrating for Tampa Bay’s Steven Stamkos, who just could not find any way to get a point for the young Bolts.
The Blackhawks’s initial goal scorer Duncan Keith became the first defenseman since Anaheim’s Scott Niedermayer to win the Conn Smythe trophy, awarded to the Most Valuable Player of the Stanley Cup.
The Chicago Blackhawks are now the 2015 National Hockey League Stanley Cup Champions; winning their third Stanley Cup in just an impressive six seasons.
