Lightning vs Blackhawks

CHICAGO -- Kimmo Timonen spent most of the 2014-15 season not playing hockey, hoping he would recover from blood clots that threatened to end his career before he felt it was time.

When he was ready for a second chance at authoring his own ending to a fantastic career, he wanted to do it with the Chicago Blackhawks.

Timonen hasn't played in Chicago's past five Stanley Cup Playoff games but found out Wednesday that he'll be in the lineup for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final, likely replacing Kyle Cumiskey against the Tampa Bay Lightning at United Center (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

"I'm really excited," Timonen said. "I'm obviously going to trust my experience and my instincts, and try to help the team as good as I can. It feels great. I can't lie to you."

CHICAGO -- Nearly everyone can remember one thing that made them feel safe at some point in their lives.

Children often have a security blanket, adults prone to superstition will convince themselves that an inanimate object brings them luck. The common thread is the comfort that one thing brings them.

In the case of Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper, based on what we’ve seen so far in these Stanley Cup Playoffs, his security blanket is unique.

Nearly every time Cooper has needed to switch momentum in a series, or any time he’s felt somewhat insecure with a situation, he has turned to an unorthodox lineup of 11 forwards and seven defensemen.

He did it again in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks on Monday and came away with a 3-2 victory to take a 2-1 series lead into Game 4 at United Center on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

For additional insight into the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks during the Stanley Cup Final, NHL.com has enlisted the help of Dave Farrish to break down the action. Farrish will be checking in throughout the series.

Farrish was an assistant coach for the Anaheim Ducks and Toronto Maple Leafs from 2005-14. He won the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007. He also coached 1,027 games in the minor leagues, including the American Hockey League. In addition, Farrish, a former defenseman, played 430 games in seven seasons in the NHL.

For the Chicago Blackhawks to even the series before it shifts back to Tampa Bay, ex-NHL assistant coach Dave Farrish thinks they're going to have to get their focus back to attacking for 60 minutes.

When the Blackhawks have attacked against the Tampa Bay Lightning in the Stanley Cup Final, particularly in the first period of Game 3 on Monday at United Center, they have been able to control the play and dominate possession. But Farrish thinks mentally the Blackhawks are consumed with helping out their depleted defense corps and over time it's showing.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks put 38 shots on Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop in Game 3 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final but know it wasn't enough.

Despite limited mobility because of an undisclosed injury, Bishop made 36 saves and didn't have to face many rapid-fire shot attempts. He made a lot of first saves and got help from the fortress of Lightning players who cleared pucks out of dangerous areas.

The Blackhawks, who trail the best-of-7 series 2-1, need to make that task more difficult in Game 4 at United Center on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

"I wasn't paying attention to it as much," Blackhawks defensemen Brent Seabrook said of Bishop's injury issues. "I don't know if I just didn't see it or what, but I think you want to continue to do the things that we do. Get bodies to the net. Get pucks there. Try and get good looks and get him moving a little bit. It's pretty much just directing pucks and bodies at the net and trying to make him work in there."

CHICAGO — The Chicago Blackhawks won Game 1, 2-1, before losing the next two and needing to win Game 4 to avoid a 3-1 series deficit in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final.

This sounds like a familiar script because it is. The Blackhawks trail the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in the series, similar to when Chicago was down 2-1 to the Boston Bruins in the 2013 Cup Final.

After the Blackhawks lost Game 3 to the Bruins two years ago, they did not lose again. Their chance to author a sequel begins Wednesday at United Center (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

"It's not necessarily a situation you want to be in," Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp said. "The fact this group of players and this organization has been down that road a few times, has been able to persevere has been good for us. We're going to try to draw from that experience and play better games going forward."

Each of the first three games of the 2015 Final has been tied in the third period. In 2013, the Blackhawks lost Game 2 in overtime 2-1 before being shut out 2-0 in Game 3.

CHICAGO -- Nicklas Lidstrom couldn't get over Victor Hedman's size when he met the hulking Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman during a visit by the top prospects for the 2009 NHL Draft at the Stanley Cup Final.

"I heard lots of great things about him before I met him through some of the scouts and people in Sweden, that he had great potential and was really a gifted player that could be a top player, and I knew he was going to be a high draft pick. But my first impression was the size he had," the former Detroit Red Wings defenseman told NHL.com by phone from Sweden on Tuesday. "Being 18 years old and having that size, that's a big advantage. But you've got to be able to handle it too.

"He seems able to do the best with it."

A huge part of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final has been the battle between 2013 Cup winner Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks and Ben Bishop of the Tampa Bay Lightning. NHL.com scouted the goalies before the series and will track their performances each game, identifying attack trends and shot quality. Kevin Woodley, managing editor of InGoal Magazine, will use Double Blue Sports Analytics software to chart goals and shots in each game. Here are his findings from Game 3, a 3-2 victory by the Lightning.

Ben Bishop stole the spotlight and the headlines in Game 3 on Monday by overcoming an apparent injury to make 36 saves to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning to a 2-1 series lead in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks.

As gutsy as Bishop's effort was while facing the most shots in this series so far, especially during a 19-shot barrage in the first period, the shot metrics tell a different story in terms of quality.

CHICAGO -- Brian Boyle had no idea who Cedric Paquette was when the Tampa Bay Lightning opened training camp last September.

Boyle signed with the Lightning as an unrestricted free agent after having helped the New York Rangers reach the Stanley Cup Final three months earlier, and was trying to ease his way into his first camp with his new team.

The rookie forward's attempt to earn a roster spot was a thorn in Boyle's side throughout camp, and even though Paquette ended up getting cut, he left an impression.

"I was like, 'Who the hell is this kid?' I didn't know him," Boyle said. "Since then, he's been a huge asset for our team. I get to [penalty] kill with him. He's learned so much, he's come so far this year."

CHICAGO -- One day soon, after this Stanley Cup Final is in the books, Tampa Bay Lightning coach Jon Cooper will publicly discuss goalie Ben Bishop's mystery injury, which has become the talk of the series against the Chicago Blackhawks.

What Cooper says at that time might make heads turn because this injury, assuming there is one, of course, could very well be severe enough that people will wonder how Bishop could have possibly played through it.

No matter what the reaction will be at that time, it still might pale in comparison to the impression Bishop left on the series in Game 3 on Monday at United Center.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks have a proven killer instinct. Unfortunately, it deserted them at precisely the wrong time in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final at United Center.

You don't win the Stanley Cup twice since 2010 without knowing how to keep an opponent down upon gaining an advantage. But if the Blackhawks have designs on claiming the Cup for the third time in six years, they can't allow the Tampa Bay Lightning to steal another game, as the visitors did in a 3-2 win Monday.

"This one's frustrating right now," Chicago goalie Corey Crawford said. "We did a lot of good things; got up in the third period …"

Yes, the Hawks did get up in the third period; they scored what appeared to be a backbreaking goal by Brandon Saad at 4:14, giving Chicago its first lead of the game at 2-1 and turning United Center into its famous alter ego, the "Madhouse on Madison."

But 13 seconds later, Tampa Bay's Ondrej Palat shoveled a loose puck past Crawford to tie the game 2-2.