Quirky Tampa Bay evens series
LIGHTNING 4, BLACKHAWKS 3
TAMPA, Fla. — Two goalies taking turns in the crease in the third period. A lowscoring defenseman getting the biggest goal.
The Tampa Bay Lightning found some strange ways to even the Stanley Cup Final.
Jason Garrison scored the tiebreaking powerplay goal with 11:11 to play, rookie goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy relieved Ben Bishop twice to earn the victory, and the Lightning beat the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in Game 2 on Saturday night to even the series.
Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist for the Lightning, who played with all the aggression they seemed to lack in the third period of Game 1 when Chicago rallied late to win.
Game 3 is Monday night in Chicago.
Tyler Johnson and Cedric Paquette also scored for Tampa Bay, which made three goalie changes in the third period. The 20-yearold Vasilevskiy twice replaced starter Bishop and made five saves in 9:13 to earn his first NHL playoff win.
“Nervous? Just maybe a little bit,” Vasilevskiy said. “But after the first couple shots, I feel myself better. Every game I’m ready, and I keep my head ready for the game, and that’s it. ... First time, maybe more nervous. But second time, just play and that’s it.”
The Lightning didn’t say why Bishop left the game, came back and left again. He complained of interference on Brent Seabrook’s tying goal early in the third period but played on.
“No one really knew what was going on,” Tampa Bay captain Steven Stamkos said. “We were kind of listening to the announcements for who was in net for our team a couple of times. But depth has been a part for our success all season, and it showed in the net tonight, as well.”
Vasilevskiy has played in 16 regular-season NHL games, and he had played in just two games since March 31. But the Russian came in for 92 seconds before Garrison scored the go-ahead goal, and he returned to finish the game with 7:41 to play, earning the victory.
“We just told him to have fun,” Tampa Bay defenseman Anton Stralman said about Vasilevskiy. “I have no idea what went through his head, but he’s a calm kid. Even if he knows that he’s not going to play, he always prepares for every game and does everything he can to be ready.”
Andrew Shaw and Teuvo Teravainen scored 2:16 apart early in the second period for the Blackhawks, who couldn’t follow up their Game 1 comeback with another.
“Regardless of who’s in net, we were trying to find a way to tie that game in the end,” said Chicago captain Jonathan Toews. “But sometimes those ones slip away from you. ... We just ran out of time.”