Blackhawks defense stands strong against Tampa Bay
After losing 1-0 in a shootout Saturday night at the United Center, the Tampa Bay Lightning must wonder exactly what it must do to solve the riddle that is the defense of the Chicago Blackhawks.
Coach Jon Cooper's team, which watched the Hawks hoist the Stanley Cup at the United Center just over four months ago, has managed a scant 2 goals in its last four games against the Hawks.
“It's like deja vu all over again,” Cooper said. “Come here and can't find the back of the net.”
The only difference this time was that Duncan Keith wasn't prowling the ice for 26, 27, 28 minutes or scoring the game-winning goal, like he did in Game 6 on June 15.
No, on this night, it was Jonathan Toews who beat rookie goaltender Kristers Gudlevskis 17 seconds into overtime as the Hawks improved to 5-3-0. It was Toews' first goal of the season.
“Early on these are the types of wins that we need to kind of grind out,” Toews said. “And I think it'll give our team some confidence that we can beat good, skilled teams — teams that will try and expose us defensively.”
Gudlevskis, playing for Ben Bishop, made 31 saves in just his second NHL start.
The Hawks continue to play impressive team defense without Keith. They allowed just 39 combined shots on goal against Florida and Tampa Bay the last two games. The Lightning managed just 21, which is incredible when you consider they had four power-play opportunities.
“We're a pretty good overall team,” said Crawford, who made 21 saves and has an astounding .981 save percentage in his last four games against the Lightning. “Missing (Keith) is definitely tough, but we have a lot of other guys too.
“I think we just play a puck-possession game; we want to get the puck as quick as possible when we lose it. But when we have it, we put it in the right areas to keep possession. Our good defense is our offense, I think.”
Tampa Bay had its chances, but Crawford stopped Steven Stamkos on a one-timer with 2:26 left in the first period, denied Cedric Paquette from point-blank range with 11:47 left in the second, and Tyler Johnson clanged one off the post with Crawford out of position in the third period.
“Hit every post and Crawford made the big saves when he had to,” said Cooper, whose team is now 5-2-2. “It's frustrating, but we're on a pretty tough road trip going through the Central Division (facing Nashville, Winnipeg, the Hawks and St. Louis) and we've pointed in every game. So we'll take that as a positive.”
The Hawks' next test comes Monday when the reeling Anaheim Ducks come to town in a rematch of the Western Conference finals. The Ducks are 1-5-1 and have scored just 6 goals in seven games.