Good Morning Hockey Fans! It’s game day. After the first two games of the series, the 2015 Stanley Cup Final is tied. Tonight, the series moves to Chicago for games three and four. The Blackhawks are almost unbeatable on home ice and have a 7-1 record at the United Center during the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.
The big story to come out of game two, the status of Lightning goalie Ben Bishop. In the third period, Bishop left the game with an unknown issue. Lightings goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy relieved Bishop and preserved the win for the Bolts. For those wondering, Bishop did skate with the team during the morning skate today. Bishop’s status is unknown for game three.
After game two, no one seemed to know what was wrong with Bishop and the Lightning weren’t talking. The Players on the bench were out of the loop as well.
“No one really knew what was going on. We were kind of listening to the announcements for who was in net for our team a couple of times,” captain Steven Stamkos said. “But depth has been a part of our success all season, and it showed tonight in the net tonight as well.” (Katie Strang, ESPN)
Once again, the Lightning did a great job of checking the Blackhawks superstars Jonathon Toews and Patrick Kane. Just like game one, Toews and Kane were also held to just five shots combined during game two. In game two, Toews was able to finally log a single assist. Even though Kane has been held off of the scoresheet in the first two games, Kane isn’t panicking.
Through two games, Toews and Kane have a combined nine shots on net and a single assist. (Game One Box Score) and (Game Two Box Score).
Stanley Cup Links
Quenneville hints at Toews/Kane split in Game 3 (Watch the Video)
Young Lightning learn from mistakes, zap Blackhawks in Game 2 (Puck Daddy)
Conn Smythe Watch: Tyler Johnson takes command in Cup Final (Puck Daddy)
Lightning silent about Ben Bishop’s exit in Game 2 (ESPN.COM)
Toews and Kane haven’t made magic together in Cup finals (ESPN.COM)
After further review, it appears that Brent Seabrook’s game-tying goal shouldn’t have counted. C’Mon Ref: Did Hossa interfere with Bishop on Seabrook’s goal? (TSN.CA)
Quenneville: Bickell, van Riemsdyk may play Game 3 (TSN.CA)
Chevy Hawks Rewind: Late mishaps plague Blackhawks in Game 2 (CSN Chicago)
Lightning goalie situation up in the air heading into Game 3 (CSN Chicago)
What to watch for in Game 3 of Stanley Cup Final (Yahoo Sports)
Columnist suggests Stamkos has fallen out of favor with Cooper (Pro Hockey Talk)
