Lightning vs. Blackhawks Game 6: Date, Live Stream Schedule, Start Time and Pick

The 2015 Stanley Cup Final has not been about momentum but rather which team can make that one extra play to win. The Chicago Blackhawks are one win away from a title entering Monday's Game 6, while the Tampa Bay Lightning are no strangers to having their backs against the wall.

This series will mark the third elimination game the Lightning have faced this postseason. They won the last two games against Detroit in the first round and shut out the New York Rangers in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Final.

Of course, the Blackhawks have been in the driver's seat like this before. They clinched their last two titles (2010, 2013) in Game 6 wins, though this is their first chance to do it at home since 1938.

Date	Location	Start Time (ET)	Network	Live Stream
Monday, June 15	United Center in Chicago, Illinois	8 p.m.	NBC	NBC Sports Live Extra

Road Is Where the Heart Is

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

The Lightning have been hard to figure out during the Stanley Cup playoffs. They finished the regular season with an NHL-best 32-8-1 home record, but Mike Kelly of TSN noted that their Game 5 loss dropped them below .500 at Amalie Arena in the postseason:

While that is discouraging for the Lightning, the good news is they get to go on the road for Game 6. Two of their three wins in elimination games have come away from home (Game 6 vs. Detroit, Game 7 vs. New York).

There's been no discernible reason for the Lightning's dominance on the road. They have won overtime games, one-goal games in regulation and two contests by four goals.

In fact, neither team has been intimidated by the road since the playoffs started, as indicated by Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times:

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The Hawks are 6-5 on the road in this postseason, winning a Game 7 in Anaheim and beating Nashville without home-ice advantage. The Lightning are 8-4 on the road this postseason, winning a Game 7 in New York and beating Montreal without home-ice advantage. All the old cliches are still true — it’s nice to play in your own building, to hear the cheers of your own fans, to have the last change, to put your stick down last in the faceoff circle.

But home ice is a luxury. It’s no longer a necessity. Certainly not between these two teams, each of whom already has won a game in the other’s rink.

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The Blackhawks have only closed out one series at home in the playoffs thus far, defeating Nashville in the first round. They did avoid elimination at home against Anaheim in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final before going to California in Game 7.

Chicago is the more experienced team and will be ready in front of a raucous crowd, but the Lightning have to feel like they are in control because of how well they have fared on the road up to this point.

The Fault in Our Stars

Scott Audette/Getty Images

Among the storylines that have developed in this Stanley Cup Final, like the one-goal games and Ben Bishop's mystery injury, the one that stands out the most is the lack of impact from star players on both teams.

Jonathan Toews has started to heat up with two points in the last two games, but Patrick Kane and Steven Stamkos are missing in action.

Kane has been saying all the right things as his Blackhawks inch closer to a third Stanley Cup in five years, offering this assessment of his game to reporters:

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Obviously you want to help the team win in any way possible. If that’s scoring goals, great. If not, and it’s doing other stuff, setting up plays, playing good defensively, then that’s what it is this time of year. You know, all out for the win. That’s what we got to be concerned about, not individual stuff.

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Through five games, Kane and Stamkos each have a plus/minus rating of minus-one with one assist.

The Blackhawks have been able to get by in the last two games without their star winger getting involved in this series.

Tampa Bay has to be more concerned about Stamkos' lack of impact in the series, something that seems to be weighing on him based on comments after Game 4 to Stephen Whyno of The Canadian Press (h/t Yahoo Sports).

"I expect more from myself," Stamkos said. "No one said this was going to be easy."

It's certainly not easy at this time of the year, but Stamkos is Tampa Bay's best offensive weapon. He had 72 points and 43 goals in the regular season and 17 points in 20 playoff games prior to the Stanley Cup Final.

It takes a great team to win a championship, but stars have to step up on the biggest stage. That hasn't happened for either team yet, which is why each game thus far has been decided by one goal and neither team has scored more than two goals in three of the five games.

The Pick

Scott Iskowitz/Getty Images

Even though this series feels designed to reach seven games, Tampa Bay goalie Ben Bishop's play occasionally causes squeamish feelings. This play from the first period in Game 5 shows Bishop at his most baffling:

The Lightning and Blackhawks have been so evenly matched to this point. Chicago has outscored Tampa Bay 11-10 in the five games. It wouldn't be a surprise to see the Lightning right the ship on the road to force a winner-takes-all matchup on Wednesday in Florida.

Yet if there is one game in which the Blackhawks seem poised to win, it's Game 6.

They could have folded after Tampa Bay seemed to find an offensive rhythm with seven combined goals in the second and third games. Instead, Corey Crawford and the defense have stepped up to hold the Lighting to two goals in the past two games.

Toews is getting more involved in the offense with a goal in Game 4 and assist in Game 5. Kane doesn't have to be the biggest factor for Chicago to win, while Stamkos does for the the Lightning to stay alive.

There's no reason to think this won't be another one-goal game, but the Blackhawks will hold serve on their home ice to celebrate with the Chicago crowd.

Blackhawks 3, Lightning 2