Chicago Blackhawks Win The Stanley Cup

The Stanley Cup Finals didn’t see either team hold so much as a two-goal lead at any point ... until the final five minutes of the deciding Game 6. The Blackhawks got the insurance goal they needed, and stoned the Lightning for the rest of the way to win the Stanley Cup.

Playing at home, the Blackhawks looked to be the better team throughout, and Lightning goalie Ben Bishop certainly had a lot more to do than his counterpart Corey Crawford. That’s not to say the Lightning didn’t have their chances—Steven Stamkos pinged a shot off the post in the first period and later couldn’t control a bouncing puck on a breakaway, finishing the series with a miserable single point—just that the Blackhawks always looked more likely to score. And with just a few minutes left in the second period, Duncan Keith finally did:

The third period was really just more of the same, with the Blackhawks defense expertly snuffing out each and every Lightning attack, with the occasional smart save from Crawford. And after the Lightning finally pushed too many forward, the Blackhawks got a 3-on-2, and Brad Richards completed an absolutely dirty no-look pass to Patrick Kane for the 2-0 lead.

The Lightning got a power play and played much of the final few minutes with an empty net, but besides one final, symbolic Steven Stamkos whiff on a seemingly open goal, the game was Chicago’s. The win gives the Blackhawks their second Stanley Cup in three years, and third in the past six years. Congratulations Chicago.

E-mail or gchat the author: kevin.draper@deadspin.com | PGP key + fingerprint | Photo via AP