You Can't Win a Game of Chess Without a Bishop

Brandon Saad throws his hands up to embrace the lively Blackhawk fan base at the United Center after scoring the goal which would be the game-winning goal of Game 4. The series is now tied 2-2 heading back to Tampa Bay.

By: Lamar "L.A." Smith

No lead has been safe between the Lightning and Blackhawks during the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals. In Game 3 the Blackhawks gave up a 2-1 lead in 13 seconds and would end up losing the game 3-2. In Game 2 the Blackhawks were up 2-1 again and loss the lead in a minute and 32 seconds, and eventually the team was down by the end of the period.

Game 4 was a bit different for the Hawks. After a goal by Brandon Saad with 13:38 left in the 3rd, the Blackhawks for the first time in the series were able to keep a lead. Chicago has led for only 11 minutes in this series before the final 13:38 of Game 4 and neither team has led in any of the games by more than 1 goal all series.

Corey Crawford was spectacular. Crawford had 24 saves and allowed only 1 goal by the Lightning. Tampa Bay has looked faster than Chicago has been more aggressive and looked extremely confident in the No. 1 scoring offense the team posted in the regular season. In a series where each team has scored 9 goals, every play and every shot counts.

Kane & Toews show up

Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews the Blackhawks two best players had one point in the series coming into Game 4 (an assist by Toews in Game 2) and have been outplayed by the stars from Tampa. Highlighting the Lightning's triplets lineup of: Tyler Johnson, Ondrej Palat and Nikita Kucherov. Toews and Kane put their stamp on this Chicago win which saw the dynamic duo's playmaking on both of the Blackhawks' goals. The first goal saw Toews score off a numbers advantage down the ice where he scored off a Patrick Sharp dish in front of the net. Kane gets the loose puck after Richards wins the faceoff towards the middle of the 3rd period. Kane finds a way to get the puck to Saad who finishes the play.

Blackhawks' Powerplay Killing Unit

Tampa Bay was 0/4 on power play opportunities during the game. All the credit has to go the Blackhawks' power play killing unit.

Led by Duncan Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson who played most of the penalty kill minutes with Hjalmarsson playing 5:10 on the ice and Keith playing 4:53 on the ice.

Chicago crowded the net and made Tampa Bay take long slap shots and not allow the Lightning to crash the net. The Blackhawks blocked shots and forced Tampa away from the net. This helped Chicago because the team struggled with only 2 shots on goal in the 1st period and this helped the team to keep the game at a 0-0 tie especially considering the team struggled to create offensive chances early on in the game.

Crawford Has a Big Game

Crawford came to play and he isn't a Stanley Cup winning goalie for nothing. Crawford played tough for Chicago all night with 24 saves including stopping a strong flurry of shots by Tampa to end the game when Tampa had an extra attacker during the last 1:29 of the game.

Crawford played with composure when Tampa Bay snipers crashed the net and he made important stops which helped the Hawks until the team captured the lead in the game. Crawford will need to continue to play well to help Chicago capture the team's second Stanley Cup in three seasons. The Lightning have proved an up-tempo game is to the Lightning's advantage.

The Blackhawks may have one of the fastest teams in the NHL but it is possible Chicago may have met a team who is faster.

Where's... Bishop?

Ben Bishop left at the end of Game 2 for unknown reasons, he played a strong Game 3 then he missed Game 4 completely due to unknown reasons. One is fully aware a magician never reveals his secrets but unless the Lightning plan on putting Criss Angel into retirement, one has to wonder what is really going on with the team's starting goaltender.

Andrei Vasilevskiy has played well in relief of Bishop having 5 saves and a win in Game 2. Vasilevsky followed his performance up with a solid Game 4 performance giving up 2 goals and recording 17 saves.

Hopefully Bishop plays in Game 5 considering the team has played awful at home going 6-5 at home during the postseason and seem to struggle in front of Bolt Nation. One could only believe Bishop possibly could be injured and the team does not want to go back to Chicago who is 8-2 at the United Center in the postseason down 3-2. Tampa did win Game 3 in Chicago though a Game 6 closeout game in Chicago is not to the Lightning's advantage versus a Stanley Cup savvy Chicago team.

The Game-Winning Goal

Kane was on the right side of Brad Richards who was in the faceoff circle. Richards won the faceoff and the puck was loose in front of Kane. Kane tapped the loose puck to Saad who skated hard to the left of the net. Saad slashed back across Vasilevskiy and tapped in a loose puck which went off the stick of the defender and slapped a wrist shot through the legs of Vasilevskiy. Saad used his speed and quickness on the play and was able to get the goal to win the game.

The Pick

The Blackhawks were able to slow down Tampa a bit and created more scoring chances in front of the net. Another plus was the Hawks' stars Toews and Kane finally made a strong impact in the series. Expect the duo to play well and Keith and the rest of the defensemen to play strong defense until the two get going in the game. I originally picked Chicago to win in 6 so Game 5 is a must win heading back to Bolt Nation. Hawks beat Bolts 3-2 in another close game in Tampa.