Lightning vs Blackhawks

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks got the win they needed in Game 4 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final, tying the best-of-7 series 2-2 against the Tampa Bay Lightning, but that doesn't mean they're pleased with the performance.

The Blackhawks will look to play a complete game as the series shifts to Amalie Arena for Game 5 on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

"Well, I mean, we're in the winning business," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said at a press conference Thursday at United Center. "I don't think you should ever be satisfied with the way things go. I think you want to find ways where you can better yourselves, better the situation. I think after four games there's been some progress, some areas where we need to improve. We know we have to be better. We're looking to get better as we go into Game 5."

TAMPA -- Ben Bishop was a junior goaltender at the University of Maine, the starter for a highly ranked team with national championship aspirations, when he spent a weekend as the host for a potential recruit, a tall kid like himself who also hailed from a non-traditional source of amateur talent.

Bishop, a 6-foot-7 goaltender from just outside St. Louis, connected pretty quickly with Scott Darling, a 6-foot-6 goalie from just outside Chicago. Darling enjoyed the recruiting trip and eventually committed.

Seven years later, they are on opposite sides of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks, which is tied 2-2 heading into Game 5 at Amalie Arena on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports). Bishop started the first three games for Tampa Bay before missing Game 4 with an unspecified injury; Darling has not seen action in the series for Chicago.

"[Bishop] really took care of me," Darling said. "I was really nervous. He took me out for some food, showed me kind of the ins and outs of campus. [The hockey players] were the big guys on campus, so it was fun to hang out with them. I watched them play that weekend, and he had two great games. I experienced the college life a little, and it made me excited to go there."

CHICAGO -- There is rarely solace in a loss, especially when the stakes are as high as they are in the Stanley Cup Final.

But the Tampa Bay Lightning were looking at the bright side of life after a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday in Game 4 evened the best-of-7 series at two victories each.

"We could have won every game so far," Tampa Bay defenseman Anton Stralman said.

CHICAGO -- Brandon Saad's goal was memorable, his speed burst on the game-winner remarkable, but his defensive play in the final minute of Game 4 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final was indelible.

The Chicago Blackhawks clung to a one-goal lead by their fingertips in what turned out to be a 2-1 victory at United Center on Wednesday to tie the best-of-7 series 2-2.

Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Anton Stralman got the puck at the right point with 37 seconds left in the third period and readied for a wrist shot. Saad read Stralman's mind, dropped to a knee and blocked the shot with his right skate, sending the puck out of the Blackhawks zone to burn some precious time.

"He's one heck of a player," Chicago forward Andrew Desjardins said. "He's got the skating ability, but it's also smarts, and he's one of those guys [who] sacrifices himself to do the right things. He's the total package. Big goal [he scored], but just a huge block too. That block with 20, 30 seconds left, or whatever it was there … huge."

CHICAGO -- The line shuffle is often seen as a hockey coach's first resort, an attempt to swing momentum or switch unfavorable matchups or get slumping offensive stars going.

For most coaches, however, their options with their forwards are often limited because of defined roles for certain players or lines that are clicking well and should remain intact.

Luckily for the Chicago Blackhawks, coach Joel Quenneville has no such limitations.

With a forward group that is among the most talented in the NHL, Quenneville can create a diverse combination of lines that can severely change the look of his team.

CHICAGO -- Word started to spread through the Tampa Bay Lightning on the way to United Center a few hours before puck drop.

On the team bus, in the dressing room, from coaches to players, everyone eventually found out the hard truth, that No. 1 goalie Ben Bishop would not be even dressing for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, that 20-year-old rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy would be starting instead.

The reaction was pretty much the same from everyone. It was telling.

"There's not much thinking that goes on other than [Bishop] has been huge for us all year and you feel bad for him that he can't be a part of this," center Brian Boyle said. "When it comes to confidence in our goaltending, it's there for both guys."

That confidence, which the Lightning have emphatically stressed since before Game 3, when there were questions about Bishop's availability, is validated now after Vasilevskiy made 17 saves on 19 shots in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday at United Center.

CHICAGO -- Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop will play again in the Stanley Cup Final, coach Jon Cooper said Wednesday after Bishop was scratched from Game 4.

Bishop, who has an undisclosed injury, was replaced by rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who made 17 saves in a 2-1 loss to the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center.

"[Bishop] is going to play again in this series, there's no question," Cooper said. "I just don't know which game."

The best-of-7 series is tied 2-2, with Game 5 at Amalie Arena in Tampa on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports). Game 6 is here on Monday.

Tampa Bay Lightning goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy has already traveled a long road to make his impact on the 2015 Stanley Cup Final.

Vasilevskiy, who won Game 2 with a third-period relief appearance, started Game 4 and lost 2-1 to  the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center.

Vasilevskiy made 17 saves Wednesday after making five without allowing a goal in 9:13 of ice time when Tampa Bay won Game 2, 4-3, on Saturday. Bishop, who has an undisclosed injury, won Game 3 3-2 on Monday.

Vasilevskiy, a 20-year-old Russian, has been working toward this moment for years.

Goaltending plays an integral part in the Stanley Cup Playoffs and NHL.com has been breaking down the matchups throughout, so with Tampa Bay Lightning No.1 Ben Bishop out for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, we take a close look at 20-year-old rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who got the start.

Much like many goaltending coaches do before a playoff series, NHL.com correspondent Kevin Woodley, the managing editor of InGoal Magazine, charted every goal he gave up with the help of a program from Double Blue Sport Analytics. The graphics showing where goals went in and where shots were taken from on the ice are nice, but the real value is analyzing the plays that led to them and whether they reveal strengths, weaknesses and tendencies that can be targeted.

CHICAGO -- Andrei Vasilevskiy led the Tampa Bay Lightning onto the ice for warmups for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final and will start against the Chicago Blackhawks at United Center on Wednesday.

Ben Bishop, who was injured in Game 2 but played Game 3, was not on the ice for warmups and is day-to-day with an undisclosed injury, the Lightning said. Kristers Gudlevskis is Vasilevskiy's backup.

Vasilevskiy, 20, was a first-round pick (No. 19) in the 2012 NHL Draft. This would be his first start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He has appeared three times in relief of Bishop, including in Game 2 of this series when he made five saves and was the winning goaltender in a 4-3 victory.