Toews' Goal In OT Gives Blackhawks 1-0 Win Over Lightning
CHICAGO (AP) -- Jonathan Toews scored his first goal of the season 17 seconds into overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 1-0 victory over the Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday night in a rematch of last June's Stanley Cup Final.
Corey Crawford made 21 saves for this first shutout this season and 13th of his career in Chicago's third straight victory.
A determined Toews netted the winner when he barreled into the Tampa Bay zone, and muscled between Anton Stralman and Valtteri Filppula to the net. Rookie goalie Kristers Gudlevskis stopped Toews' initial chance, but the Chicago captain knocked in his own rebound.
Gudlevskis made 31 saves is his second NHL start, and first appearance since April 2014, as coach Jon Cooper gave No. 1 goalie Ben Bishop the night off. Bishop was in the net for every minute of Tampa Bay's first eight games and earned his 100th NHL win on Friday night in the Lightning's 4-3 overtime victory at Winnipeg.
Gudlevskis, a 6-foot-3, 23-year-old Latvian, was recalled from Syracuse of the AHL before the contest. He got the nod over Kevin Poulin, who was placed on waivers Saturday after not appearing in a game this season.
The Blackhawks played their second game without top defenseman Duncan Keith, who underwent right knee surgery last week. The two-time Norris Trophy winner had a meniscal tear repaired and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Keith scored a spectacular tiebreaking goal in the Blackhawks' 2-0 victory in Game 6 that earned them the Stanley Cup for the third time in six seasons.
This rematch was as tightly played as that series, when all but the final game was decided by one goal.
Both goalies needed to make only a couple of tough saves in a scoreless, choppy first, but the pace picked up late in the period.
Chicago started to carry the play in the second, outshooting Tampa Bay 10-4, but tested Gudlevskis only a few times. The rookie was up to all the chances, including when he dropped to the ice to stop Patrick Kane on a breakaway with 1:15 left.
Tyler Johnson had Crawford beat, but hit the right post on a one-timed, 15-foot attempt from the slot 1:15 into the third period during the final seconds of a Tampa Bay power play.
But the Blackhawks dominated most of the third, and outshot the Lightning 30-21 through regulation.
Crawford made a diving glove save to stop Tampa Bay's Erik Condra, who pounced on a loose puck in front with 2:34 left, to keep it scoreless and send the game to overtime.
NOTES: Lightning C Brian Boyle missed his second straight game with an undisclosed injury. Before the game, Cooper said Boyle was "nicked-up." ... Gudlevskis' one previous regular-season game was a 3-2 victory over Columbus on April 11, 2014. He made two playoff relief appearances later that month against Montreal before spending the 2014-15 season at Syracuse ... Andrei Vasilevskiy, who backed up Bishop during the second half of last season, has been sidelined since Sept. 3 following surgery to remove a blood clot near his collarbone ... Tampa Bay D Victor Hedman played in his 400th NHL game ... The Blackhawks and Lightning meet one more time in the 2015-16 regular-season, on Jan. 21 in Tampa.
(© 2015 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)