BRANDON, Fla. — After Steven Stamkos stepped off the Tampa Bay Lightning’s practice rink on a 90-degree June day, the team’s captain made it clear he is well aware that he hasn’t scored a goal yet in his first Stanley Cup Final.
Stamkos and his Lightning teammates are determined to keep their cool and their focus when this even series with the Chicago Blackhawks begins its sprint to the finish with Game 5 on Saturday.
“Keep playing the game the right way, and eventually you’re going to get rewarded,” Stamkos said Friday.
Chicago’s Patrick Kane feels much the same way, both about his own no-goal Final and the Blackhawks’ game in general. Both stars are hoping for that breakthrough score this weekend at Amalie Arena, where the Lightning or the Blackhawks will end the 2-2 series tie and move within one win of the NHL title.
The Lightning and the Blackhawks realize the enormous stakes for Game 5 in a series that still hasn’t featured a two-goal lead for either team. They’re also attempting to direct that excitement into motivation instead of intimidation.
“You’ve got to get caught up in the moment,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “You have to embrace where we are.”
Chicago’s Duncan Keith and Tampa Bay’s Victor Hedman have embraced this moment better than anyone. Stamkos, Kane and the Final’s quiet forwards have been upstaged by these two star defensemen, who are turning in dominant playoff performances.
In a postseason missing a breakout offensive performance or a dominant goaltending run, Keith and Hedman are the co-favorites to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoffs’ MVP. Barring a spectacular pile of goals from a forward, the series winner seems likely to feature the first defenseman to claim the Conn Smythe since the Anaheim Ducks’ Scott Niedermayer in 2007.
Keith and Hedman are No. 1 and No. 2 in the NHL in postseason plus-minus ratings and total minutes. Keith is tied for the lead in playoff assists with 18 during his extended ice time, while Hedman has set franchise playoff records for assists and points by a defenseman.
Although they play the game differently, they’re filling a similar do-everything role for their respective teams.
“In a lot of ways, yeah, (Hedman) is a guy like Duncan,” Chicago captain Jonathan Toews said. “He makes, more times than not, the players he’s out there with better. He’s a catalyst when he’s in his own zone or in the offensive zone.”
