Blackhawks now one win away from another Cup
TAMPA, Fla. - Get ready, Chicago.
The Stanley Cup will be in the city Monday night, and for the first time in 77 years, the Blackhawks have a chance to celebrate a championship in front of their fans.
It's all possible thanks to a pair of crazy goals and another outstanding defensive effort in a 2-1 Blackhawks victory over Tampa Bay in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final at Amalie Arena on Saturday.
The Hawks lead the series 3-2 with Game 6 on Monday at 7 p.m. (NBC).
"Never been in this spot," said coach Joel Quenneville, who celebrated his team's other two titles in Philadelphia and Boston. "I'm sure it'll be crazy in town over the next two days. I'm sure the buzz will be off the charts. Looking forward to it."
So are millions of others.
Patrick Sharp and Antoine Vermette scored the Hawks' goals, Niklas Hjalmarsson blocked 7 shots and Corey Crawford made 31 saves.
In the cramped locker room afterward, the players tried to say all the right things about focusing on the next shift, next period and next game. But it would be perfectly normal if they had at least fleeting thoughts of lifting the Cup in front of 22,000-plus screaming fans at the United Center.
"It's human nature," Marian Hossa said.
"Extremely bad," Hjalmarsson said of how much he wants to win it at the UC. "We want to do it in front of our home crowd. They deserve it. They've been cheering us on all year along. They've been unbelievable. The support that we feel from them in Chicago is huge for us."
The Hawks, for probably the first time this series, outplayed the Lightning over the course of an entire game. Still, Tampa Bay tied things up 1-1 on a Valtteri Filppula goal 10:53 into the second period.
Vermette, in the Hawks' defensive zone, began the sequence that led to his goal by chipping the puck to Kris Versteeg, who raced down ice on an apparent breakaway. Just as Versteeg was about to shoot, though, Jason Garrison lifted his stick. In the half-second that was left before the scoring chance was over, Versteeg put the puck on net. It bounced off Ben Bishop's skate, went right to a charging Vermette, and the veteran buried his fourth goal of the postseason and third in the last nine games with 18 minutes left.
"I just tried to stick with it and put it in an area where I thought one of our guys would be there," Versteeg said. "Fortunately enough, Vermy was there and he put it in."
Sharp scored for the first time in 13 games when defenseman Victor Hedman and Ben Bishop collided about 25-30 feet away from the goal while both were trying to play the puck.
"I haven't seen the highlight, exactly what happened," Sharp said. "I just know there was a collision. I found myself with a heck of an opportunity. So make sure you put that one in."
Every game of the Final has been decided by 1 goal, so when a mistake like that happens, it's magnified tenfold.
After missing Game 4 with an undisclosed injury, Bishop had a solid game, except for that costly turnover, making 27 saves.
Crawford, meanwhile has allowed 1 goal in the Hawks' 3 victories in the Final. He also has stopped 55 of 57 shots in the last two games.
Now the Hawks are coming home with their sights set on a third Cup in six seasons and the chance to claim dynasty status in the salary-cap era.
"We'll talk about that if it happens on Monday night," Sharp said. "But I can tell you that our fans back in Chicago are extremely passionate. You guys have been in the city throughout the series. You see the red jerseys. You see the support we have behind us.
"The United Center is a big building, we pack it every night, whether it's a preseason game, playoff game.
"Can't wait to get back there, use that energy. I know it filters down through the team. As these guys mentioned earlier, we're not getting too far ahead of ourselves. Enjoy the process."
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Hawks 3 stars
1. Niklas Hjalmarsson, Hawks. Defenseman stifled Tampa Bay at every turn, blocking 7 shots and logging 28:19 of ice time.
2. Corey Crawford, Hawks. Second straight game allowing just 1 goal. Crawford made 31 saves.
3. Kris Versteeg, Hawks. Forward brought energy all night and was the catalyst behind Antoine Vermette's game-winner.