Blackhawks vs. Lightning Live Stream Schedule, Odds and Pre-Game 2 Comments

The Chicago Blackhawks will look to take a 2-0 lead on the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final when the two clash tonight.

Chicago scored twice in the third period of Game 1 to pick up a 2-1 win. Teuvo Teravainen supplied the equalizer, while Antoine Vermette scored the game-winner a few minutes later.

The dramatic nature of the game illustrates the fact that the difference between the two teams isn't all that significant. With any luck, NHL fans will get at least five more similar clashes over the next two weeks.

Here's a look at the viewing info for Game 2, followed by what some of the key figures are saying ahead of the event.

When: Saturday, June 6 at 7:15 p.m. ET

Where: Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida

Watch: NBC

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra

Odds: Tampa Bay (-1.5), courtesy of Odds Shark

Losing one game, especially a game in which you dominated for stretches, isn't the worst thing in the world, especially when it's early in the series. Tampa Bay did let one get away Wednesday, but there's no need to begin pointing fingers and overreacting.

Lightning coach Jon Cooper was more than composed when speaking the day after Game 1. He believes a similar performance will yield a different result and that his team isn't intimidated in the slightest, per Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times:

Cooper also refused to begin panicking because one of his key players, Tyler Johnson, had a night to forget in the defeat, per ESPN.com's Katie Strang:

"

Guys go through the rollercoaster ride. I don't know anybody that can score at a pace that he was going on. Look at his line, though. He may not have scored, but his line scored. He's picking up assists, he's picking up points. He’s such a huge part of our team. There's not an ounce of worry about the fact that he's not scoring.

"

To a certain extent, Cooper is correct in that Johnson can't score every single night. However, his last goal came in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Final. Since then, he only has two assists to his name.

Maybe it will be enough for Johnson simply to set up his teammates and occupy the attention of Chicago's defense. But he and Tampa Bay's "triplets" line have played a pivotal role in the team's postseason success to date. He'll need to be better in Game 2 and beyond for the Lightning to kick things into high gear.

Questions do, however, remain about his handling of Lightning captain Steven Stamkos. The 25-year-old was only on the ice for 17 minutes and 17 seconds, which seems low for a player of Stamkos' importance.

"Some of the best games he's played, he's played 14, he's played 19, he's played 17," Cooper countered, per Bleacher Report's Dave Lozo. "It's about winning the game and what we need to do to win the game."

Stamkos, to his credit, admitted that he hoped to have played more but accepted that it just wasn't his night:

"

Obviously, I want to be out there. For whatever reason, it didn't translate [in Game 1]. You have a belief in yourself that you can be a difference-maker. It might take one shot, one shift, whatever. I have that belief. That's not my decision. It just didn't work out in that situation. I'm not dwelling on that. I just have to find a way to produce next game.

"

One thing Tampa Bay did well against Chicago, especially in the first period, was use its speed to stretch the Blackhawks. Ultimately, it only resulted in one goal, which wasn't enough to secure the victory.

Jonathan Toews said that his team needed a little while to find its footing in Game 1 and that it shouldn't be a problem going forward, per Larry Hawley of WGN-TV:

"

For the most part I think we found our game slowly as the game went on. I think when you manage to keep your game tight like that, especially if we feel we're outplaying a team, or it's 1-0, there's always a chance we can get a few bounces. We're definitely understanding of that and know we need to be much better the next one.

"

Another potential concern for Chicago is the sheer number of minutes accrued by Duncan Keith. Dating back to 2000, the veteran defenseman is second behind Chris Pronger for highest average time on the ice during one postseason, per NHL on NBC:

NHL.com's Dan Rosen talked to a handful of retired defensemen, one of whom was Pronger, to get their takes on Keith. Pronger praised Keith's efficiency of movement:

"

If you watch his first three to four steps, fast, quick muscles, and then he's gone, at that top gear already. But he also doesn't skate around endlessly going 100 mph. It's under control. There is a purpose for each movement with that quick-twitch closing speed. He's able to make a few quick strides and he's already on top of the opposition. And with his quick stick he's already taking it away, transitioning the other way, and gone.

"

It's doubtful that fatigue will become a serious issue for Keith in Game 2 unless the game goes into multiple overtimes, at which point fatigue will become an issue for everybody on the ice.

While you don't want to call the Stanley Cup Final over after two games should the Blackhawks win, that would be an extremely difficult deficit from which to come back for Tampa Bay. Chicago would have a two-game cushion with the series shifting to the United Center.

As long as the Lightning can have as quick a start in Game 1—and capitalize on said start—they should be able to even things up.