Blackhawks vs. Lightning: Game 2 Score and Reaction from 2015 Stanley Cup Final

The Tampa Bay Lightning evened up the 2015 Stanley Cup Final series at one apiece with a 4-3 victory in Game 2 over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday at Amalie Arena.

Chicago's dynamic two-way defenders, such as Brent Seabrook—who had the Blackhawks' final goal on Saturday—and Duncan Keith, are known for stepping up as offensive catalysts. Game 2 saw Tampa Bay defenseman Jason Garrison play a reminiscent hero role.

Garrison let a slap shot rip that screamed past Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford and the bodies setting screens in front to create yet another lead change in what was a thrilling, back-and-forth affair.

The NHL's official Twitter account had the highlight:

ESPN Stats & Info raised an interesting point about Garrison's breakthrough on the power play with 11:11 left in the game:

As was the case in the opening contest, Tampa Bay got on the scoreboard first, courtesy of Cedric Paquette's goal at the 12:56 mark of the first period.

A nice hustle play by star forward Ryan Callahan set the sequence in motion. Callahan beat out a potential icing call and kept the puck alive long enough for traffic to gather in front of Crawford, who couldn't track the shot that slipped under his arm.

Dave Lozo of Bleacher Report was rather critical of Crawford:

"

Corey Crawford with any bit of traffic in front of him is basically you in net just learning to play for the first time.

— Dave Lozo (@DaveLozo) June 7, 2015"

Sportsnet's Chris Johnston reacted to the Lightning drawing first blood with a sharp observation:

But as has been the case with Chicago's experienced nucleus, no one panicked. The visitors began to take control in the second, scoring two goals in a span of just over two minutes at 3:04 and 5:20.

Andrew Shaw lit the lamp on a loose puck from in front of the net, and a brilliant shot on the power play by Game 1 hero Teuvo Teravainen gave the Blackhawks a 2-1 edge:

Contributions from Paquette and later Garrison were welcome surprises. To bridge the gap between their exceptional efforts, Tampa Bay needed its marquee players to step up. This happened not long after Teravainen put Chicago on top.

Nikita Kucherov notched the equalizer on the heels of Teravainen's tally, just 92 seconds later. Then, it was Tyler Johnson's turn to get in on the fun, as he scored his 13th goal of the postseason with 6:02 remaining in the second.

The Lightning's official Twitter account highlighted the significance of Johnson's go-ahead score:

Johnson said prior to Game 2 that he had to play better.

"As the playoffs go on, it gets harder to score," said Johnson, per NHL.com's Corey Masisak. "But our line, right now, we're playing just average. We're not doing as well as we should. We know that. So it's time for us to step up."

Uproxx's Pete Blackburn captured the gritty goal and criticized Crawford for letting it squeak by:

The home team would still be further challenged by the unwavering Blackhawks, who saw Seabrook on the attack yet again for another timely goal 3:38 into the third period.

Unfortunately for Chicago's Patrick Sharp, he was whistled for two penalties in the third. The last one proved costly, as the NHL's top goalscoring club from the regular season capitalized on the second man advantage with Garrison's game-winner.

The Blackhawks did their best in the closing minutes, pulling Crawford for an extra attacker. Captain Jonathan Toews had a close-range shot turned aside by Andrei Vasilevskiy, who spelled Ben Bishop for the Lightning late between the pipes, but Chicago failed to come away with much more out of a late timeout.

TSN's StatsCentre referenced how the 20-year-old Vasilevskiy had struggled in net prior to his stellar showing to help Tampa Bay get a series-saving win:

The circumstances surrounding Bishop's exit were mysterious. Yahoo Sports' Nick Cotsonika relayed a bit of insight afterward:

Joe Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reported what Vasilevskiy had to say about his sudden opportunity to finish the evening on the ice:

ESPN.com's Pierre LeBrun feels the remainder of the battle for Lord Stanley's Cup will be competitive:

No matter what happens in the upcoming games of this Stanley Cup Final, it figures to be a long series. Both of these teams don't give up and can bounce back from just about anything, displaying such resilience in both the regular season and playoffs.

Game 3 is back in Chicago on Monday, which is a far quicker turnaround than the layoff between the first two contests. It will be interesting to see whether Tampa Bay's offensive onslaught from Saturday carries over on the road against the Blackhawks' thin blue-line rotation, which features only four core defensemen.

Another factor to watch for is how well the Lightning's momentum travels to the Windy City. They eased up with just two third-period shots in Game 2, the United Center will be a most hostile environment, and this young Tampa Bay nucleus has never been on a bigger stage.