The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning, 2-0, in Game 6 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals and cop their third title in six years.
The gmae was one of the closest matches in NFL history. Moreover, it was the first time in the team's history that the Chicago was able to win the title right on their very own turf.
Played before a crowd of 22,424 at the United Center, Duncan Keith and Patrick Kane conspired for the winning points of the Blackhawks. Not to be overlooked however as the defensive effort of Corey Crawford who as able to do the dirty work on the defensive end, fending of 25 attempts to help the Hawks to win the tight contest.
"We hadn't won it at home before; it's a great feeling," winger Marian Hossa said. "We love this city, we love the crowd, they're spoiling us every year with sellouts. We're just so happy to be able to give this back to the city and the people who love the Blackhawks."
For the Lightning, having to play with two key players nursing injuries simply proved too much.
Ben Bishop had been playing hurt through the series and it was later on learned that the mystery injury was actually a torn groin. Despite the handicap, Bishop still managed to account for 30 saves. Unfortunately that effort wasn’t enough on the defensive end to forge the series into a decisive game 7.
Aside from Bishop, another player was playing hurt. Tyler Johnson was playing with a broken wrist, something the centre had incurred earlier on in the series. The injuries to Bishop and Johnson were noticeable though it should take nothing away from the fact that the Blackhawks are a proven and play-off tested squad.
Sans the goals of Keith and Kane, the Lightning tried mightily to live another day. In the end however, the Lightning simply didn’t have enough push to keep the Hawks at bay.
“To win at home, that's what we wanted. We had a big challenge in front of us before this game and we definitely wanted to do it at home, in front of our fans. It was huge” said forward Marian Hossa.
Defenseman Duncan Keith, the one who broke the ice in Game 6, was voted as the Conn Smythe Trophy most valuable player of the series.
“It's a lot of feelings of happiness,” Keith said, “but there's some relief we got the job done. We can take a breath now.