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Rozner: Blackhawks dangerous when they sniff the prize

There was no serious change in posture during Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.

Tampa was the better team, just as it was in the first three games.

But there was a serious change in tenor.

And that was much different from the first three games.

The Blackhawks had been the frustrated team after the first few games, searching for the right answers and sometimes the right questions.

In the hours since the Hawks tied the series at 2-2, however, the Lightning have been shaking their heads, showing the first hint of doubt and perhaps a crack in their young armor.

"That was a tough one," said Tampa captain Steven Stamkos, after the Hawks' Game 4 victory. "I thought we deserved a little better. We played a pretty solid game from start to finish.

"We had some quality looks at the end and just couldn't put one in. We had four or five great looks. It's just not going in for us."

Instead of going home with a chance to clinch, the Bolts must now hold serve or return to Chicago with the Hawks having that opportunity.

"We have to be proud of a split in Chicago," Stamkos said. "We came here to get one and get home ice back, but it feels like a wasted opportunity with the way we played Game 4."

This is where you wonder if the Bolts begin to let doubt creep in. They have dominated the series. They could have won all four games or at least be up 3-1, yet here they sit tied at 2-2.

They did not slay the giant when they had a chance and they have to be wondering what they have to do to put away the two-time champs.

"We're still feeling confident as a group and we feel good about where we are," Stamkos insisted. "It's another one-goal game. If we give the effort that we did (Wednesday), we're gonna give ourselves a chance to win every night."

So while the Bolts are frustrated, the Hawks are embarrassed, admitting they need to match the effort and intensity of the Lightning.

"It's all about our work ethic," said Hawks captain Jonathan Toews. "When we're winning the puck battles, the puck races, getting body position, I think the more we can have the puck, the better off we'll be.

"It's just about being hard on them, not letting them do the things they want to do. We've seen it in spurts in some games where we let them get into their rush game, their wide-open puck-moving game.

"That's when we start to get ourselves into trouble. It's focusing on little details like that, raising our speed, our play, tenacity, and working for the bounces."

It speaks to the character of the Hawks that they can recognize when they have been too passive, and to a man they know they are lucky to be tied at 2-2 after the sluggish game they played Wednesday.

"You always have to evaluate your own game," said Kimmo Timonen. "We didn't play our best. Corey (Crawford) was unbelievable. He pretty much won the game for us.

"But it's 2-2 now. The only thing that matters is a win. We have to realize we have to get better for Saturday. The good thing is it's a 2-2 series, but we need to get better for Saturday."

So nine months of hockey now comes down to a short series, and the team that shows up next will be the likely winner.

"If you would have given us a best two-of-three with two at home in the Stanley Cup to start the season," Stamkos said, "I think we would have taken that."

The Lightning have displayed amazing character to this point, never showing any signs of being crushed by the pressure.

But many of these youngsters have also never been in this position, this close to winning it all.

The Hawks have been here before and it should serve them well - providing they show up and give an effort.

They have displayed a killer instinct late in series when they begin to sniff the end is near and know the prize is out there.

And they can smell it now.

brozner@dailyherald.com

• Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's "Hit and Run" show at WSCR 670-AM.

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Kimmo Timonen, left, and center Jonathan Toews, laugh during an NHL hockey Stanley Cup Final news conference Wednesday, June 10, 2015, in Chicago. The Blackhawks will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 5 on Saturday in Tampa. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)
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