TAMPA -- Antoine Vermette hasn’t scored much this postseason.
But when he has, he’s made it count.
Vermette came up large once again on Saturday night, scoring his third game-winning goal of the playoffs to give Chicago a 2-1 victory in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, and a 3-2 series lead over the Lightning in the process.
Vermette, one of Chicago’s pickups at the trade deadline, has gone from maligned to magnificent in the span of a few weeks. Tonight’s goal, banged in off a Kris Versteeg rebound two minutes into the third period, wasn’t just his third-game winner -- it was his third game-winner in the last nine contests.
Yep, safe to say No. 80 has developed something of a knack for big goals. Previously, he notched the deciding tally in Game 1 against Tampa Bay and, in the Western Conference Final against Anaheim, scored a double-OT winner in Game 4.
Not bad for a guy that opened the playoffs as a healthy scratch.
Vermette wasn’t Chicago’s lone clutch performer in Game 5, though. Corey Crawford -- who’s faced his fair share of scrutiny this postseason as well -- allowed just one goal for the second consecutive contest and, over his last 120 minutes of action, has now stopped 55 of 57 shots for a .965 save percentage. The ‘Hawks tender also saved his best for last, making 15 saves in the third period.
While Crawford was stellar at one end, Ben Bishop had his issues at the other.
Back in goal after missing Game 4 to an undisclosed ailment, Bishop made an egregious judgement call by colliding with Victor Hedman midway through first period while trying to play a puck, paving the way for Patrick Sharp to score one of the easiest goals of his career:
Tampa Bay erased Bishop’s gaffe courtesy Valtteri Filppula’s goal midway through the second period, his fourth of the playoffs and first of this series. But Filppula’s marker was the Bolts’ lone bit of offense on the night; with the club having scored just twice over its last two games, there will almost certainly be pressure to score more as the team now heads to Chicago, where the ‘Hawks will look to win the Cup at home for the first time since 1938.
The ‘Hawks will hope tonight’s win follows in the historical trend of Game 5 winners. Since 1939, the winner of Game 5 after a split of the opening four contests of the Final has captured the Stanley Cup 16 of 23 times, a success rate of nearly 70 percent.
The Lightning, however, will hope to lean on a different piece of history. Recently, there have been four teams to lose Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final, yet go on to win it all -- and one of them was the 2004 Lightning, the first and only championship team in franchise history.
Notes
Nikita Kucherov left tonight’s game in the first period with a suspected shoulder injury, and didn’t return... With his goal, Sharp moved just three back of Steve Larmer (45G) for fifth all-time among Blackhawks playoff goalscorers... More good history for the Lightning: the club that has lost Game 5 after a split of opening 4 games of the Final has rebounded to win the #StanleyCup in 4 of past 7 occasions.