Chicago Blackhawks vs. Tampa Bay Lightning Game 1 Analysis: 4 Reasons Why Blackhawks Won Stanley Cup Final Opener
A Champion knows how to win in the face of adversity. No odds are too great or mountain too difficult to overcome.
The Chicago Blackhawks are champions. Or, at least, they have been twice since 2010. The team proved that yet again with a thrilling Game 1 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning. True to form, the Blackhawks came back from a late 1-0 deficit to win 2-1, with two goals in under two minutes.
Here are some reasons why Chicago currently has a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series.
Turning the Possession Tide
For most of the game, Tampa Bay held the edge in possession, creating more shot chances throughout the night and limiting Chicago. Through two periods, Tampa held an 18-13 shot advantage and was shutting down Chicago's top players.
The tide turned in the third with the Blackhawks slowly taking the upper hand and ultimately running away with the shot attempts battle and overall shots on goal in the third period.
Tampa Bay reverted into a defensive mode, a dreadful mistake that allowed Chicago more offensive zone time and a build in momentum. Tampa essentially plateaued in shot attempts, as exhibited by the chart below (credit: War-On-Ice).
Shutting down the Triplets
The most dynamic line in all of the postseason did not enjoy a good game.
A rundown of the numbers tells you why.
Nikita Kucherov, Tyler Johnson and Ondrej Palat combined for two shots in the entire game. War-on-Ice notes that while on the ice the group was a combined -27 in scoring chances; essentially the trio was outshot as a whole by 27 chances. Individually, Kucherov saw 12 more opportunities going toward his net than going in his favor. The trio created a total of 11 attempts; for some perspective look at how Valtteri Filpulla, Alex Killhorn and Steven Stamkos combined for 55 attempts at goal and 11 of Tampa's 23 shots on goal.
Speaking of which...
Limiting Tampa's Offense to One Line
Steven Stamkos and his linemates were undoubtedly the most dangerous players on the ice for Tampa, but outside of them, there was little else going on offensively. In fact, of Tampa's players only five produced positive possession numbers; three players were even and the remaining 10 skaters were out possessed throughout the evening.
It helped that when Stamkos got a huge chance to extend the 1-0 lead, Corey Crawford made a huge save to keep the game at 1-0. The save came late in the second period with Tampa in full control and ultimately proved to be a turning point as Chicago started to win the possession battle at that point in the encounter.
Offensive Depth
Conversely, only four Chicago players were outpossessed on the night and they happened to be the top line of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Brandon Saad. The rest of the lineup was dominant, showcasing Chicago's depth at its very best. Why was Kane, Toews and Saad rendered ineffective? Because the trio wound up facing Stamkos quite a bit throughout the night, a seeming attempt by Tampa Coach John Cooper to go power against power and free up his triplets to destroy another line.
He managed to neutralize Toews, but failed in other areas as Chicago's other players were more than up to the task of taking down Tampa's hot line.
It's worth mentioning that the two Chicago goalscorers were Teuvo Teravainen and Antoine Vermette, both players that were benched at some point in the postseason. This is the kind of depth Chicago has.