For the first time in 77 years, Chicago Blackhawks fans saw their hockey heroes win the Stanley Cup on home ice for their third Stanley Cup in six seasons with a 2-0 win over the Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 6 Monday the first time since 1938 when the team captured the championship in Chicago, Star winger Patrick Kane had a goal, his first of the Stanley Cup Final, and an assist on defenseman Duncan Keith goal to fuel the victory.
Goalie Corey Crawford ended with exemplary 23 saves, winning his fourth game of the Final in which he surrendered one goal or less. It was his second shutout of the playoffs, Keith the tireless defenseman, who broke 700 minutes played in the postseason during the game, opened the scoring with a brilliant individual effort in the second period, his third of the postseason. After the teams traded chances in a spirited second period, Keith finally broke through at 17:13 to give the Blackhawks the lead, Brad Richards got the play going with a pass to Patrick Kane on right wing. He stopped at the top of the attacking zone, allowing Keith to enter with a head of steam. Kane fed Keith, and the defenseman fired the puck through Cedric Paquette, using him as a screen.
Lightning goalie Ben Bishop made the save, but left the rebound, assuming Keith would not be allowed to get to the net. But he blew past Paquette, Andrej Sustr was caught flat-footed near the crease, and Keith put the puck over Bishop’s glove to score the game’s first goal, by the Third period, Kane scored his 11th of the postseason, and first goal since Game 6 of the Western Conference Final, on a great passing play between Brandon Saad, Richards and Kane, the latter two connecting on one-timer at 14:46, Later, Brian Boyle in the box for roughing, a 2-on-1 down low between Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews resulted in Toews nearly sending a puck home with the shaft of his stick on the ice.
The Lightning also had a close call, as Steven Stamkos rung the puck off the crossbar with about 12 minutes left in the period, a nightmarish night for the Lightning star, who also failed to score on a breakaway against Crawford, just needing to elevate the puck over his pad:
The Lightning, as they did all series, played valiantly, going shift-for-shift with the Blackhawks in a tight game.
