ONE GOAL III: Blackhawks Outlast Lightning in Tight Cup Final

Scotty Bowman, the Blackhawks' Hall of Fame Senior Advisor to Hockey Operations, has earned 14 Stanley Cup rings and counting. Beyond that, he knows both 2015 Stanley Cup Final teams like a book. Here, the oracle of hockey shares his knowledge.

Did the Final between the Blackhawks and Tampa Bay Lightning meet your expectations?

Naturally, I like the way it ended. But overall, yes, it was good for hockey. Two skilled teams, playing fast. And until Patrick Kane scored the second goal in Game 6, there was never more than a one-goal separation in the entire series. You can't get much tighter than that.

Besides seeing a lot of Blackhawk games, you have a winter residence in Florida and regularly attend Lightning games. Did anything surprise you about the series?

Tampa Bay had the highest-scoring team in the National Hockey League, but they managed only 10 goals in six games and two in the last three. I thought they might score more. That said, it's still about defense and goaltending in the Final. Believe me, I know.

Indeed, you were on the losing end in only four Finals, but three were as coach of the St. Louis Blues, from an expansion division wherein one of six new teams qualified for the Final by decree.

Yes, the only established team that I lost with was Detroit, in 1995. We had just played a series against Chicago that took something out of us. The Blackhawks were more physical than we anticipated. Only five games, but three overtimes. Then in the Final, New Jersey was tight-checking, with excellent goaltending and defense, and we got swept. Chicago had the same and basically shut down the Lightning. No team did that to Tampa all year, regular season or playoffs.

You started your NHL coaching career with a pretty good goaltender, didn't you?

You bet. Glenn Hall. He won a Stanley Cup with the Blackhawks in 1961, but by 1967, they were convinced he was going to retire. So they left him unprotected in the expansion draft. We took him in St. Louis, and he wound up playing for us. And he played great. He put us on the map and was terrific in the locker room, around the younger players. The Blues got swept their first three years in the Final, by Montreal-twice-and Boston. But in the 1968 Final against the Canadiens, he won the Conn Smythe Trophy as most valuable player even though we lost four straight. They were all one-goal games.

You also won two of your Stanley Cups in the old Stadium.

With Montreal in 1973, in Game 6. That was the year after Bobby Hull left the Blackhawks, but they played really well without him and surprised a lot of people by making it to the Final. Then in 1992, after I took over for Bob Johnson in Pittsburgh, we beat the Blackhawks in four straight. That was the Penguins' second Cup in a row. They were loaded. But so was Chicago. They came into the Final with 11 straight playoff wins and had us on the ropes in Game 1 before we came back to win 5-4.

Against Tampa, who impressed you for the Blackhawks?

Start with the goalie, Corey Crawford. He stole the first game in Tampa. They were all over Chicago; then we scored two goals in two minutes late in the third period and won. Crawford does that time after time. The clincher in Boston in 2013, when the Blackhawks won it with two goals in 17 seconds in Game 6-that could have been 4-0 or 5-0 early for the Bruins, except for Crawford.

Why doesn't Crawford receive more acclaim?

Maybe because there are so many stars on the team, the goalie gets overlooked. But his players believe in him, he makes big saves at big times, and doesn't let a bad goal here and there bother him. It took Corey five years in the minors to make it to the NHL. So he didn't come to Chicago with much fanfare. But he's a winner.

And the defense?

Terrific. A lot of people thought our top four guys might run out of gas with all the minutes they played, but they were great. Duncan Keith was fabulous, the best player in the series. Brent Seabrook is always steady. Johnny Oduya played really well, and Niklas Hjalmarsson-he's a warrior. Playing the off side, a left shot on the right, might actually help him defensively even if it restricts him a bit offensively. Nobody ever gets around him. He's the shutdown guy out there against the other team's best, and all those shots he blocks. Remember when Swedish guys were supposed to be soft? Not if you watch him.

Steven Stamkos, their most explosive player, never scored. Surprised about that?

Yes, but it's not like he didn't have chances. Chicago did hold them down, but it wasn't really an airtight series. Both teams had chances, including Stamkos in the last game. Maybe he was pressing. He's a great sniper, though.

Did depth determine the series outcome?

Probably. To be honest, their goalie, Ben Bishop, was hurting. So was Nikita Kucherov, and Tyler Johnson couldn't take faceoffs. Oduya and Andrew Shaw played hurt for Chicago. But look at Shaw, Marcus Kruger and Andrew Desjardins. They were on the ice late in games, at crucial times, last shift or two. The coaches showed a lot of confidence in them, trusted them, and they were terrific.

The Blackhawks have exhibited a knack for closing out series. Any theories?

Amazing. Their three Cups all were in six games. They rarely play a Game 7 in any series. And when they do, like against Anaheim, they finish with two straight wins, clinching on the road. It's a wonderful trait. Probably a combination of talent, poise and experience.

As the all-time leader in coaching victories, what's your take on Joel Quenneville?

He's got the right players on the ice all the time. He lets his players play, but if they're not going on a particular night, he makes changes right away. And his players like to play for him, especially his best players, which you have to have as a coach. Joel runs the team, he doesn't fool around, but his players have input. He listens. It's a very stable environment.

Tampa Bay wants to follow the Blackhawks' blueprint. See any similarities with the two franchises?

In Chicago, you have a great owner in Rocky Wirtz, who's turned the entire organization around. The product, the priorities. Hiring all sorts of scouts, building a farm system. Tampa Bay has an owner, Jeff Vinik, who's like Rocky. They love him. He's invested in the team, the building and the community. You don't see that often. Two markets where the owners are so popular.

Proud of your son, Stan?

He's got a big job, general manager of an Original Six team in a salary cap era. He's had to let go of some players, but he's made good decisions and spent money in the right places. And, again, he's got the backing. The Blackhawks got cap relief when Kane went down during the season, and Stan got the green light to trade for Antoine Vermette, who came up big.

If you're starting a team in the NHL, is Jonathan Toews your first pick?

I would say so. He has no weaknesses. He's got the ability, the demeanor, always says the right thing, never takes a night off, never takes a shift off. We had Steve Yzerman in Detroit. Same type of guy. Great substance. Jonathan is a leader, and he became captain around guys like Keith and Seabrook, who were there before him. But Jonathan has earned their respect, and he relies on his cabinet, which includes the veterans like Keith and Seabrook, who are also really solid people. Jonathan gives you everything you could want and has everything you could ask for. When Joel says it helps to have No. 19 in the room, that says a lot.