Breaking down Chicago and Tampa Bay in Game Four

CHICAGO, Illinois – Game Four of the Stanley Cup Final was a stark contrast from how the first three games were played. While the result involved another one-goal game, the fourth of the series, the game involved a number of different dynamics.

For Chicago, they nailed down a victory on home ice, evening the series 2-2 in a match they badly needed to win against Tampa Bay in Game Four, improving their playoff home record to 8-2. Tampa Bay hung close to the Blackhawks and nearly tied the game in a furious late rally. They now hold an 8-4 playoff road record.

The series is now a best-of-three and heads back to Tampa for Game Five Saturday night. Below is the breakdown of Game Four.

Tampa Bay continues strong play the, despite the loss. Among them:

Cedric Paquette continued his suffocating play, despite allowing Chicago’s Jonathan Toews his first goal of the series. He had 6 hits and 3 blocks.

Victor Hedman was strong defensively in not being on the ice when Chicago’s two goals were scored. He had several nice stretch passes, two shots and played 27:18. Anton Stralman had somewhat of a rough night, being on the ice for both goals and not contributing to the lone Lightning goal. He was -2, but, importantly, he played 22:57 big minutes to go with two shots.

Andrei Vasilievskiy started in place of Ben Bishop in goal, stopping 17 of 19 shots, including 12 in the middle period. Bishop will essential have had five days to rest his injury by the time Game Five arrives.

Tampa Bay continued strong physical play for the fourth game in a row leading in hits 46-34. While the Blackhawks may have won the face-off battle (38 of 58 for 66%), they did not hold the puck long as the Lightning eliminated much of the neutral zone most of the night. J.T. Brown led the way with 7 hits, followed by Cedric Paquette with 6 and Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Ryan Callahan, each with 5. The advantage and result is detailed below.

o Game One – Tampa Bay 29 to 21 – Chicago won 2-1

o Game Two – Tampa Bay 33 to 28 – Tampa Bay won 4-3

o Game Three – Tampa Bay 46 to 27 – Tampa Bay won 3-2

o Game Four – Tampa Bay 46 to 34 – Chicago won 2-1

The Lightning need a few adjustments as they enter Game Five and maybe getting on track at home is just what they need to put them over the top to set-up a clinching game Monday night in Chicago. Improvements include:

Tampa Bay’s face-off success has worsened as the series has advanced. Their winning percentages for each game and the result are below:

o Game One – 30 of 57 (52.6%) – Chicago won 2-1

o Game Two – 33 of 61 (54.1%) – Tampa Bay won 4-3

o Game Three – 28 of 67 (41.8%) – Tampa Bay won 3-2

o Game Four – 20 of 58 (34.4%) – Chicago won 2-1

They can’t win unless they win more draws. Maybe getting the last change on home ice will help.

Captain Steven Stamkos registered his first point of the series, an assist on the lone Lightning goal, but was on the ice for the Chicago game-winner, giving him an “even” rating. He won 1 of 2 face-offs for a 50% winning percentage, but it was his best game in terms of draws he has had. He had several great chances throughout the game in 20:40 of TOI, but his chances particularly late nearly tied things up.

In winning, Chicago took advantage of opportunities when they found them and they can use some of these things to build on for Game Five as it shifts to Tampa:

Chicago dominated at the face-off dot in game four winning nearly 2/3 of the draws. Marcus Kruger won 8 of 12 and Antoine Vermette won 11 of 16. The last change may have been a factor in the numbers, but winning as much as they did, even on home ice, is something to leverage moving forward.

o Game One – 27 of 57 (47.4%) – Chicago won 2-1

o Game Two – 28 of 61 (45.9%) – Tampa Bay won 4-3

o Game Three – 39 of 67 (58.2%) – Tampa Bay won 3-2

o Game Four – 38 of 58 (65.6%) – Chicago won 2-1

The two anchors on defense were solid, despite some missteps. Duncan Keith was held pointless, finishing +1. He had 1 shot, 2 hits and 5 big blocks. But he had 3 giveaways to go with 1 takeaway in 29:07 of TOI. Brent Seabrook also had no points with 1 shot, 5 hits, 2 blocks to go with 3 giveaways in 23:59 of TOI. The huge minutes provide confidence when the offense takes risks for scoring chances, something Chicago is having to do with Tampa Bay’s relentless and suffocating physical play.

Brandon Saad scored in his second consecutive game, netting the game-winner in the third period. Maybe he can come along and replace the team’s stars in leading this team the rest of the way.

Marian Hossa gained an assist on Jonathan Toews’ goal to open the scoring, his third game in a row with a point. He has been a +2 rating, but without a goal in the series and seven shots. His open net miss in Game Three will be haunting hi for awhile. Maybe he can get on line in Game Five.

Corey Crawford returned to great form stopping 24 of 25 shots including some game-saving efforts in the final few minutes. Nearly tied by Tampa Bay late, the Chicago goaltender played a huge role in the Blackhawks tying the series.

But the Blackhawks need to make some changes to shift control from Tampa in game Five.

Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane might be coming back to life, but it is a slow build, at least for one of them. Jonathan Toews netted his first goal of the series. Coupled with the assist he gained in Game Two, he has just two points. He has a plus rating (+1) for the first time and had his regular 20-plus minutes of TOIO (21:25 in Game Four). He needs to get to his regular self.

Patrick Kane finally got on the Series score sheet with his assist on Brandon Saad’s game-winning goal. His ice time has diminished, though with 18:30 of TOI in Game Four as compared to 24:19 in Game One. Chicago cannot win this series with him.

After scoring a goal in each of the first two games to go along with a Game One assist, Teuvo Teravainen has been held off the score sheet and his 3 shots and a -1 rating the last two games. Rekindling that early series magic could be a nice jolt for the Blackhawks.

In the playoffs this Spring, the Lightning are now 8-4 on the road while the Blackhawks improved to 8-2.

After allowing 19 shots on goal in the first period of Game Three, the most they have allowed in a single period during the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Lightning allowed just two shots in the opening period of Game 4, the fewest the club has given up in this year’s postseason. Their previous low was the three shots given up to Detroit in the first period of Game 1 of their First Round series.

The Blackhawks snapped a four-game Lightning road winning streak (dating to Game Two of the Eastern Conference Final at New York), during which they had outscored opponents 13-4.

The Blackhawks scored first for the first time in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final and improved to 10-1 when scoring the opening goal this postseason.

The Blackhawks improved to 4-0 in Game Four matches this postseason, while the Lightning dropped to 1-3. The Blackhawks are now 41-14 in Games Four through Seven dating to the start of the 2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs (7-2 this year).

The Lightning dropped to 3-1-1 in their past five visits to United Center dating to April 3, 2011 (regular season and playoffs). Tampa Bay did not lead at any point in the game for the first time in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning have led for 38.5% of total playing time in the Stanley Cup Final, the teams have been tied for 51.1% and the Blackhawks have led for 10.4%. The clubs have been tied or separated by one goal for the entire series.

Game 5 is set for Saturday night at the Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Face-off is set for 8:00 PM ET and is being televised on NBC, CBC, TVA Sports. The schedule for the remaining games in the Stanley Cup Final are listed below.

Game 6 Mon., June 15th at 8 p.m. Tampa Bay at Chicago NBC, CBC, TVA Sports

*Game 7 Wed., June 17th at 8 p.m. Chicago at Tampa Bay NBC, CBC, TVA Sports

* if necessary