June 14, 2015

Blackhawks one win away, Manchester wins Calder Cup, Sabres stumbling with prospects, and more…

Thanks to their 2-1 win in Game 5, the Blackhawks can win their third Stanley Cup in six seasons on Monday night in front of their home fans. But really, someone has to hold a 3-2 advantage in this series. Here are a couple stats proving how evenly played this series has been:

Neither team has held a two-goal lead at any point during this series, which is the first time this has happened during the first five games of any Stanley Cup Final (Sportsnet Stats).

Perhaps you saw this one on the CBC broadcast, but Chicago has scored 11 goals in this series, and Tampa Bay has scored 10. The teams are also in a dead heat in shots on goal with 136 each in the series. Maybe experience is the reason the Hawks are up in this series? Nah, that just sounds like an overused hockey cliché, of which there are many.

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Antoine Vermette hasn't set the world on fire since being acquired by the Blackhawks, and he's all but assured of being nothing more than a rental. But you can't say that his acquisition hasn't mattered for the Blackhawks, as three of his four goals during the playoffs have been game winners – two of which were scored in the Stanley Cup Final. With Patrick Kane held to just one assist in this series, the Vermette – Teuvo Teravainen – Kris Versteeg line has worked wonders for the Hawks, proving that teams that win the Cup must possess secondary scoring.

Corey Crawford probably hasn't gotten the respect that he deserves. Since being replaced by Scott Darling temporarily during the first round, Crawford has been steady, and he's allowed an average of two goals per game during the final. Is he Conn Smythe material? Probably not, as icetime eater Duncan Keith seems like the favorite to win it if the Hawks win the Stanley Cup.

Speaking of which, it's fortunate for the Hawks that they won't have to play more than two more games this season. The top four of Keith, Brent Seabrook, Niklas Hjalmarsson, and Johnny Oduya have logged major minutes. Saturday was no different, with bottom pair Kimmo Timonen and Trevor van Riemsdyk logging single-digit minutes yet again.

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It won't be easy for the Lightning in Game 6. Not only will they need to win on the road, but they may be doing so without the services of Ben Bishop and Nikita Kucherov. Bishop provided another valiant effort in Game 5 (25 saves on 27 shots), but he still looks a little hobbled – perhaps to the point that Andrei Vasilevskiy starts the do-or-die Game 6.

As for Kucherov, he left the game in the first period after ramming into the goal post.