The Chicago Blackhawks had plenty of chances to secure a huge lead in the Stanley Cup Final, but the Tampa Bay Lightning used a late goal from Jason Garrison to pick up a 4-3 victory on Saturday night.
The win knots the Stanley Cup Final at a game apiece as the series shifts back to Chicago for Game 3 on Monday night.
The Lightning came out firing just like they did in Game 1, but the Blackhawks made it a point to get their own chances early in the contest. Niklas Hjalmarsson had a great opportunity from the point, but it was stopped by Ben Bishop and Andrew Desjardins' rebound attempt barely missed. The Blackhawks got a 2-on-1 rush a little bit later in the period, with Brandon Saad being denied by Bishop.
With about seven minutes to go in the period, the Lightning drew first blood. Ryan Callahan beat out Kyle Cumiskey for a loose puck in the corner, and when Cumiskey turned over a clearing attempt, Paquette rifled a shot through traffic and past Corey Crawford to give the Bolts a 1-0 lead.
The Blackhawks got a big save from Crawford late in the frame as he denied Stamkos, and they also killed off a huge chunk of a Johnny Oduya penalty to keep the deficit at one goal after 20 minutes of play.
The second period started out with a high pace and plenty of chances, and it stayed that way throughout. Andrew Shaw tied the game up early in the frame as he screened Ben Bishop. The goaltender stopped a Niklas Hjalmarsson shot, but Shaw shovelled in the rebound to make it a 1-1 game.
The Blackhawks got a power play a few minutes later and scored again to seize the lead. Brandon Saad set things up as he screened Bishop in front of the net, and Teuvo Teravainen did the rest as he wristed a shot through traffic and past the goaltender to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead.
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The Lightning seemed unfazed by the quick scores, and they added one of their own to tie things up. Jason Garrison rifled in a shot on a really nice possession, and Nikita Kucherov managed to get his stick blade on the puck and deflect it into the net to tie things up at 2-2.
Finally, the Lightning capped off the crazy second period with another goal to take the lead. After a bouncing puck near the crease, Tyler Johnson picked up a loose puck along the goal line and flipped a shot off of Crawford's back and into the net to give the Bolts a 3-2 lead with 20 minutes remaining in the contest.
The Blackhawks managed to tie things up at 3-3 early in the third period on a goal by Brent Seabrook, but the Lightning scored without around 11 minutes left to take the lead right back. On a power play, Jason Garrison got the puck at the blue line after a nice cycle by the Bolts and he rifled a shot off of Andrew Desjardins' stick and into the back of the net to make it a 4-3 game.
That result ultimately held, as the Blackhawks were unable to capitalize on a late power play.
Game 3 will take place on Monday night with control of the series on the line. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the United Center, and the contest will air on NBCSN.
