Blackhawks take lead in Stanley Cup Finals

The Chicago Blackhawks overcame a slow start to race past the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 in the opening game of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Trailing 1-0 deep into the third period, Tuevo Teravainen tied the contest with a wrist shot at 13:28 before Antoine Vermette came through with the game-winner with less than five minutes to play.

With the game looking like it would head to overtime, Chicago put pressure on the Lightning and when the puck came loose in their zone Vermette gathered and fired it past goaltender Ben Bishop to complete the comeback.

“We just had to stay patient and not get frustrated,” Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford told reporters after making 22 saves.

Crawford made a stop on a Ryan Callahan shot just before Chicago’s equaliser to keep his tem alive.

“I was a little more aggressive than usual. I just tried to take away any net he may have.”

Chicago’s outburst ended a shutout streak for Bishop who had held opponents scoreless for a total of 113:28, dating back to Game Six of the Eastern Conference final.

Bishop finished with 19 stops but the Lightning would lament their lost opportunity.

Both teams needed Game Seven wins in their conference final battles, but Tampa Bay’s playoff road has been particularly tough.

They needed seven games to take down Detroit in the opening series and six to beat Montreal before their seven-game thriller with the New York Rangers.

Game Two of the best-of-seven series is on Saturday in Tampa Bay.