Lightning vs Blackhawks

TAMPA -- Chicago Blackhawks center Antoine Vermette is making up for lost time in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Vermette was acquired from the Arizona Coyotes near the 2015 NHL Trade Deadline to be a difference maker. For 19 regular-season games he was anything but, managing three assists.

But the postseason has been a different story.

Vermette scored his fourth goal of the playoffs Wednesday against the Tampa Bay Lightning at Amalie Arena in Game 5 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final. Vermette put home the rebound of a Kris Versteeg shot two minutes into the third period to provide the winning margin in a 2-1 game.

TAMPA -- Tampa Bay Lightning goalie Ben Bishop started Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks at Amalie Arena.

Bishop took part in warmups, and after the morning skate said he was progressing from an undisclosed injury that prevented him from playing in Game 4. Backup Andrei Vasilevskiy, 20, made his first Stanley Cup Playoff start and made 17 saves in a 2-1 loss that tied the best-of-7 series 2-2.

TAMPA -- Chicago Blackhawks right wing Patrick Kane has the most points on his team in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs and is tied for the team goal-scoring lead.

Yet, his "struggles" were a primary topic of conversation when the Blackhawks arrived here for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning (8 p.m.ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports) at Amalie Arena. The best-of-7 series is tied 2-2.

Kane had an assist in Game 4, a 2-1 win by the Blackhawks at United Center, which was his first point of the series. He has not scored a goal since Game 6 of the Western Conference Final against the Anaheim Ducks.

BRANDON, Fla. -- The Tampa Bay Lightning are two victories from becoming the first team to win the Stanley Cup in the same season in which they led the NHL in scoring since the 1991-92 Pittsburgh Penguins.

The irony is that the high-scoring Lightning are trying to win the Cup with defense.

"Obviously scoring goals is a lot more fun than keeping them out of the net," Lightning coach Jon Cooper said. "But keeping them out of the net is what is going to get you the big shiny trophy at the end. They're realizing that.

"If each team is going to get limited chances, I like our odds with anybody we play."

BRANDON, Fla. -- Were it not for a bold move in early February, the Tampa Bay Lightning might have turned to a different Russian goaltender in Games 2 and 4 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Final.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, now thrust into the heart of the biggest story of the Final, spent much of the 2014-15 season as the No. 3 goaltender on Tampa Bay's depth chart. Veteran Evgeni Nabokov, 39, had been signed to a one-year contract in July to back up Ben Bishop and to give Vasilevskiy more time to develop with Syracuse in the American Hockey League.

Nabokov struggled in limited duty, and when the calendar turned to February the Lightning decided Vasilevskiy's time had arrived. Tampa Bay waived Nabokov and bumped Vasilevskiy, born 19 years to the day after the 39-year-old veteran, up the depth chart.

BRANDON, Fla. -- Goaltender Ben Bishop did not practice Friday for the Tampa Bay Lightning, and his status for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Final remains uncertain.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper said Friday that Bishop will be evaluated Saturday morning before a decision is made for Game 5 at Amalie Arena (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

The best-of-7 series is tied 2-2. Game 6 is Monday at United Center.

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.

In putting the Stanley Cup Final into context through four games, former NHL assistant coach Dave Farrish said he thinks the Chicago Blackhawks should feel fortunate to be tied in the series going into Game 5 on Saturday at Amalie Arena (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

"I would say Chicago survived [to win Game 4]," Farrish said of the Blackhawks 2-1 win against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday at United Center that evened the best-of-7 series at 2-2. "Really they were fortunate to win that one. I think they owe [goalie] Corey Crawford a lot after that one. He certainly won that one for them."

TAMPA -- Captain Steven Stamkos wants the Tampa Bay Lightning to get back to basics on the power play and work harder to generate chances.

The Lightning are 1-for-11 on the power play through four games of the Stanley Cup Final against the Chicago Blackhawks and have all of 12 shots on goal. Tampa Bay failed to generate a goal during a lengthy two-man advantage in the second period of Game 3 but managed a 3-2 victory. The Lightning went 0-for-4 in Game 4, a 2-1 loss.

Tampa Bay and Chicago are tied 2-2, with Game 5 in the best-of-7 series at Amalie Arena on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

TAMPA -- Standing behind the play, watching everything develop, Tampa Bay Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman's first reaction was to raise his arms. And why wouldn't he?

Hedman saw Steven Stamkos, one of the best goal-scorers in the NHL, with the puck on his stick in the slot, staring at a wide-open net, with 1:13 remaining in the third period of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday at United Center.

Hedman had to think it was a guarantee, a sure goal. Everyone on the Lightning bench was thinking the same thing. Heck, even Stamkos had to have that thought too.

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. A new wrinkle was added to the battle Wednesday when rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy replaced Bishop as the Game 4 starter. Bishop is day-to-day because of an unspecified injury. NHL.com scouted the goalies before the series and is tracking their performances each game, identifying attack trends and shot quality. Kevin Woodley, managing editor of InGoal Magazine, uses Double Blue Sports Analytics software to chart goals and shots in each game. Here are his findings from Game 4, a 2-1 victory by the Blackhawks.

The spotlight may have been on Tampa Bay Lightning rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy, who was making his first start in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, but for the second straight game Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks was the busier of the two goaltenders, by shot quantity and quality.

The Lightning continue to make life more difficult for Crawford than the Blackhawks have done for Ben Bishop or Vasilevskiy, who started for the injured Bishop in Game 4.

Just as Chicago failed to generate a lot of lateral chances against a clearly hobbled Bishop in Game 3, there wasn't much pressure placed on Vasilevskiy, a 20-year-old Russian rookie, in Game 4. The Blackhawks had two shots on goal in the first period and 19 for the game.