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Lightning shoot for 3-1 lead against Blackhawks

Jun 10, 2015 - 2:33 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Chicago Blackhawks will try to steal the momentum back from the Tampa Bay Lightning when they host Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals on Wednesday.

Chicago is after its third Stanley Cup in six seasons, but the club desperately needs a win tonight to avoid falling behind 3-1 in the best-of- seven set.

The Blackhawks claimed Game 1 by a 2-1 count after scoring a pair of quick goals in the third period. Chicago has held leads in each of the past two games, but the Lightning came out on top in both tilts and are coming off a 3-2 win in Monday's clash at the United Center.

Game 5 of this series is scheduled for Saturday in Tampa. If they win again tonight, the Bolts could have a chance to claim the second Stanley Cup title in franchise history when the clubs meet this weekend at Amalie Arena.

Tampa has taken a 1-0 lead in all three games so far and grabbed the early edge in Game 3 thanks to Ryan Callahan's blast from the top of the right circle at 5:09 of the opening period. Chicago, however, would score the next two goals to take the lead for a brief moment in the third period before Ondrej Palat tied it at 2-2, scoring just 13 seconds after Brandon Saad handed the Blackhawks a one-goal cushion.

However, with time winding down in regulation and the score still tied, Victor Hedman charged into the neutral zone when Callahan hit him in stride with a pass. The Swedish defenseman blazed down the center of the ice before getting to the outside of Chicago's Brent Seabrook, taking the puck into the left circle and wheeling around to hit Cedric Paquette at the top of the crease for the go-ahead goal with 3:11 left.

"Two games we had the lead, but short-lived both times," said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville. "Two tough losses in a row."

Tampa Bay improved to 11-1 when scoring first this postseason.

Hedman recorded two assists in the victory, as he also set up to Callahan's first-period tally with a superb stretch pass from behind his own goal line. The two-assist performance helped Hedman set a pair of club playoff records. He leads Tampa in all-time playoff assists (21) and points (23) by a defenseman, passing Dan Boyle in both categories. The 24-year-old has 13 assists and 14 points in the 2015 playoffs.

Paquette, meanwhile, had another big moment in Game 3. The fourth-liner has now scored a goal in two straight games, adding offense to his more important role of making life difficult for Chicago star forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews.

Along with Paquette, Hedman also shared the spotlight with goaltender Ben Bishop, who left Game 2 with a mysterious ailment and was only announced as the starter over backup Andrei Vasilevskiy a few minutes before the puck was dropped.

Bishop appeared to be dealing with some sort of injury in Game 3, as he was slow to pick himself off the ice on a few occasions. Whatever was bothering the goalie, he pushed his way through it and made 36 saves for the victory. Bishop did some of his best work in the first period, allowing only one goal on 19 shots to keep his club in it despite a ferocious start by the Blackhawks.

"It's going to take a lot not to play in a Stanley Cup Final game personally," Bishop said about his ability to fight through adversity.

Brad Richards joined Saad as the other goal-scorer for the Blackhawks, while Corey Crawford stopped 29 shots in defeat.

Chicago defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk made his NHL postseason debut in Game 3, logging just over nine minutes of ice time in his first game since Nov. 6. Van Riemsdyk replaced David Rundblad on Monday and expects to play again tonight. Blackhawks blueliner Johnny Oduya was injured in Game 3 and only logged 9:01 of ice time over the final two periods, but Quenneville seemed optimistic about his availability for Wednesday.

"I think he'll be all right," Quenneville said of Oduya on Tuesday. "He looked all right today. We'll see how he is tomorrow."

Quenneville also spoke on Tuesday about the need for Kane and Toews to get on track offensively. Kane has yet to register a point in this series, while Toews, the team captain, has just one assist.

"Through three games, they've had their chances, had decent looks. But, you know, we're going to need our top guys to be productive. Like we always say, we don't care who scores for our team. But they usually lead the charge."

Monday's setback marked Chicago's second home loss this postseason, as it fell to 7-2 at the United Center this spring. The good news for Quenneville's team is the other loss came in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals against Anaheim. Just like the Lightning have done here in the Cup Finals, the Ducks grabbed a 2-1 lead in the series with the Game 3 road win, but Chicago recovered to win three of the next four games to take the series in seven.

Still, there is reason for concern for Chicago. After all, teams that have won Game 3 on the road when the Stanley Cup Finals are tied 1-1 own a 13-0 all- time record in those series.

Tampa is 8-3 overall as the guest in the 2015 playoffs and hasn't lost away from home since dropping Game 1 of the East finals to the New York Rangers.