Crawford carries Blackhawks to victory in Cup opener

Ben Bishop has stared down some pretty big names at the other end of the ice this postseason, having bested Henrik Lundqvist and Carey Price the last two rounds.

But Corey Crawford has won a Stanley Cup and should have won the Conn Smythe, something the aforementioned goaltenders can't say.

And wouldn't it be something if Crawford came back from a benching in the opening playoff series to win two big trophies at the end of the Stanley Cup Final?

The popular names for playoff MVP are Jonathan Toews, Duncan Keith and Tyler Johnson, but it was Crawford who stole the show Wednesday night in the Hawks' 2-1 Game 1 victory at the Amalie Arena.

“We had some goaltending and we needed it in the first,” said captain Jonathan Toews. “We were a little flat. Corey kept us in it and gave us a chance to find our legs.”

Tampa took a 1-0 lead into the third period and tried to rope-a-dope the Hawks for the final 20 minutes. They made it less than 14.

After Crawford stopped Ryan Callahan on a break, for at least his 10th big save of the night, the Hawks cycled in the offensive zone and Duncan Keith dished to Teuvo Teravainen, who fired from long distance through a Marcus Kruger screen and beat Bishop to tie the game at 13:28.

“I felt (Callahan) had a little pressure from our defense coming so I was a little more aggressive than usual,” Crawford said of the breakaway. “I felt our guy could catch him, so I just tried to take away any net he could find.”

Less than two minutes after Teravainen tied it, Patrick Sharp went in hard on the forecheck and forced a bad pass, which Teravainen got a stick on and he tipped it to Antoine Vermette, who beat Bishop high right corner for a 2-1 Hawks lead.

Crawford did the rest.

“Over the years you just learn not to panic,” Crawford said. “You just keep working hard and don't panic, and we know we'll get our chances.”

Tampa got off to a furious start as the Hawks, predictably, struggled to find their legs, which was easy to forecast after a bruising and emotional series with Anaheim, and the Bolts got on the board first just 4:31 into Game 1.

Steven Stamkos dumped the puck in and Valtteri Filppula outmuscled Keith and fed the point, where Anton Stralman tossed one at the net and Alex Killorn made a brilliant tip past Crawford.

The Hawks were a step slow the entire first period as the speedy Lightning had the visitors on their heels, playing a five-man game in the Chicago zone with the Tampa defense pinching on nearly every offensive zone possession.

Crawford was terrific and the only reason it was 1-0, which was a good result considering the Hawks were completely outplayed in the first period.

“They were flying at the start, but our guys stayed calm,” Crawford said. “We just know not to lose our cool and play our game.”

After one period, Tampa had a huge advantage in shots attempted (24-11) and at the faceoff dot (14-6), but in the second period the Hawks started to find their legs and got back in the game when they made an adjustment with their breakout.

With the walls clogged, the Hawks used the middle of the ice and started to get some zone time, gaining a shots attempted advantage in the middle period of 20-12 and won the faceoff edge 13-8.

By the time the game ended, the Hawks had the advantage in shots attempted (52-45) and got the faceoffs to nearly even.

“Corey made some huge saves for us,” Sharp said. “It's playoff hockey and you get big swings in momentum. Sometimes it's the smallest plays that can change it.”

Tampa had been 9-0 in the postseason when they score first, 8-0 when leading after two periods and 6-0 when Killorn scores, but all those numbers were flushed when the Hawks came back Wednesday night.

“I think we always have that feeling that we can come back,” Sharp said. “We always have that belief that if we stick to the game plan, we know the process will work.”

The Hawks were the better team in the second half of the game and Tampa might have lost its best chance to steal a win and gain some confidence, while the Hawks took the Bolts' best shot and came out on top.

That could be devastating for a young Tampa team that's never been here.

So both teams will adjust now. The Hawks will start better in Game 2 and the Lightning won't take their foot off the gas the way they did Wednesday.

But the Hawks did not play their best game and they won anyway. If Tampa can't get Game 2, this will be a very short series.

And the Hawks will be dancing with Lord Stanley's bowl again.

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