The 2015 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2014–15 season, and the culmination of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs. The Western Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning four games to two to win their sixth championship in franchise history, and their third title in six seasons.
The Lightning, as the club with the better regular-season record, held home-ice advantage in the series. The best-of-seven series was played in a 2–2–1–1–1 format, with Tampa Bay hosting game 1, 2, and 5; and Chicago hosting games 3, 4, and 6. Amalie Arena in Tampa would have hosted game 7 had it been necessary. The series started June 3 and ended on June 15.
Tyler Johnson and Patrick Kane led the Stanley Cup playoffs in points scored with 23 points each.
Paths to the Finals
Tampa Bay Lightning
This was Tampa Bay's second Final appearance after winning the Cup in . Since their win in 2004, the Lightning had lost in the conference finals in 2011 in seven games to the Boston Bruins, one win short from reaching the Stanley Cup Final. The Lightning were eliminated in the first round in 2006, 2007, and 2014.
The Lightning entered the 2014–15 season with major re-signings during the offseason including centre Tyler Johnson, wingers Ryan Callahan and Ondrej Palat, and goalie Ben Bishop. In free agency, Tampa Bay picked up centre Brian Boyle and defenseman Anton Stralman from the New York Rangers and Brenden Morrow from the St. Louis Blues. The team made two trades to bolster the defense, picking up Jason Garrison at the 2014 draft and Braydon Coburn just before the 2015 trade deadline.
Tampa Bay compiled 108 points (50–24–8) during the regular season to finish in second place in the Atlantic Division. Centre and team captain Steven Stamkos finished second in goal-scoring during the regular season with 43 goals only behind Washington Capitals winger and captain Alexander Ovechkin, who recorded a league leading 53 goals. Early in the season, Head Coach Jon Cooper nicknamed the team's second line of Johnson, Palat and winger Nikita Kucherov as the "Triplets" because they were so in sync; at the mid-season in January, the three players led the League in plus-minus.
In the playoffs, the Lightning eliminated the Detroit Red Wings in the first round in seven games, the Montreal Canadiens in the second round in six games, and the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference finals in seven games. They became the first post-1967 expansion team to beat three Original Six teams on the way to the Stanley Cup Final and the only team in NHL history to face an Original Six team at every stage of the playoffs.
Chicago Blackhawks
This series marked Chicago's third Final appearance in six seasons; having won the Cup in both and . This was the team's 13th appearance overall, and they were seeking their sixth overall Cup championship.
The Blackhawks entered the 2014 offseason after being eliminated in the Western Conference finals in seven games by the eventual Cup champion Los Angeles Kings. On July 1 they signed free agent centre Brad Richards who had won the Stanley Cup and Conn Smythe in 2004 with Tampa. Approaching the NHL trade deadline in early March, Chicago traded for defenseman Kimmo Timonen from the Philadelphia Flyers, centre Antoine Vermette from the Arizona Coyotes, and centre Andrew Desjardins from the San Jose Sharks.
Chicago finished in third place in the Central Division, earning 102 points (48–28–6). Goalie Corey Crawford tied the Canadiens' Carey Price as the William M. Jennings Trophy recipient for allowing a league-low 189 goals during the regular season.
In the playoffs, the Blackhawks eliminated the Nashville Predators in the first round in six games, swept the Minnesota Wild in the second round, and defeated the top seeded and Presidents' Trophy runner-up Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference finals in seven games. They became the only team in NHL history to face a post-1990 expansion team at every stage of the playoffs.
Game summaries Number in parentheses represents the player's total goals or assists to that point of the entire four rounds of the playoffs
Game 1
In game 1, Tampa Bay struck first with a deflected goal by Alex Killorn at 4:31 in the first period. The Lightning nursed the lead into the third period with a strong conservative defensive effort, but Teuvo Teravainen and Antoine Vermette scored 118 seconds apart to win the game 2–1 for the Blackhawks. By assisting on Vermette's goal, Teravainen became the second-youngest player (at 20 years and 265 days) in NHL history, after Jaromir Jagr had two assists in game 1 of the Final (on May 15, 1991, at 19 years and 89 days), to have a multi-point game in the Stanley Cup Final.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st TBL Alex Killorn (8) Anton Stralman (7) and Valtteri Filppula (9) 04:31 1–0 TBL 2nd None 3rd CHI Teuvo Teravainen (3) Duncan Keith (17) and Andrew Shaw (6) 13:28 1–1 CHI Antoine Vermette (3) Teuvo Teravainen (5) 15:26 2–1 CHI Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st CHI Andrew Shaw Tripping 06:14 2:00 TBL Jason Garrison Cross-checking 16:48 2:00 2nd TBL Alex Killorn High-sticking 00:28 2:00 TBL Bench (served by Steven Stamkos) Too many men on the ice 09:48 2:00 CHI Kris Versteeg Goaltender interference 13:28 2:00 3rd None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 7 6 8 21 10 8 5 23
Game 2
Jason Garrison's power play goal at 8:49 of the third period proved to be the difference in Tampa Bay's victory in game 2. Lightning starting goaltender Ben Bishop had left the game moments earlier for reasons that were undisclosed at the time, but was later revealed to be a torn groin. He was replaced with Andrei Vasilevskiy who was credited with his first playoff victory. He also became the first goalie to win a Stanley Cup Final game in relief of an injured starter since Lester Patrick helped the New York Rangers defeat the Montreal Maroons in overtime of game 2 of the 1928 Stanley Cup Final, 2–1. Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st TBL Cedric Paquette (2) Ryan Callahan (4) and Victor Hedman (10) 12:56 1–0 TBL 2nd CHI Andrew Shaw (5) Marcus Krüger (2) and Andrew Desjardins (3) 03:04 1–1 CHI Teuvo Teravainen (4) – pp Marian Hossa (10) and Patrick Sharp (9) 05:20 2–1 CHI TBL Nikita Kucherov (10) Jason Garrison (4) and Braydon Coburn (3) 06:52 2–2 TBL Tyler Johnson (13) Nikita Kucherov (11) 13:58 3–2 TBL 3rd CHI Brent Seabrook (7) Jonathan Toews (10) and Johnny Oduya (5) 03:38 3–3 TBL Jason Garrison (2) – pp Victor Hedman (11) and Ryan Callahan (5) 08:49 4–3 TBL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st CHI Johnny Oduya Tripping 18:28 2:00 2nd TBL Alex Killorn Hooking 04:26 2:00 TBLBraydon Coburn Holding 09:24 2:00 3rd CHI Patrick Sharp Slashing 04:59 2:00 CHI Patrick Sharp High-sticking 07:17 2:00 TBL Andrej Sustr Delay of game (puck over glass) 13:08 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 11 8 10 29 12 10 2 24
Game 3
The series moved to Chicago for game 3. There was some debate on whether Ben Bishop or rookie goaltender Andrei Vasilevskiy for Tampa Bay, but regular starter Bishop started the game for Tampa Bay. For the third time in a row, Tampa Bay struck first, on Ryan Callahan's slapshot goal at 5:09 of the first. Brad Richards tied it up on a power-play goal and the teams were tied after the first period. The first period was dominated by Chicago, who outshot Tampa Bay 19–7. The second period was dominated by Tampa Bay, which outshot Chicago 17–7, but there was no scoring. In the third period, Brandon Saad gave Chicago its first lead at 4:14, but Tampa Bay countered on the next shift on a goal by Ondrej Palat to tie the score once again. Late in the third period, Victor Hedman led a rush down ice for Tampa Bay and passed to Cedric Paquette who scored to put the Lightning ahead again. The Lightning were able to defend their lead to win the game 3–2 and take a series lead two games to one.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st TBL Ryan Callahan (2) Victor Hedman (12) and J. T. Brown (1) 05:09 1–0 TBL CHI Brad Richards (3) – pp Marian Hossa (11) and Andrew Shaw (7) 14:22 1–1 2nd None 3rd CHI Brandon Saad (7) Marian Hossa (12) and Duncan Keith (18) 04:14 2–1 CHI TBL Ondrej Palat (8) Nikita Kucherov (12) and Tyler Johnson (10) 04:27 2–2 TBL Cedric Paquette (3) Victor Hedman (13) and Ryan Callahan (6) 16:49 3–2 TBL Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st CHI Brandon Saad Cross-checking 08:12 2:00 TBL Braydon Coburn Tripping 08:12 2:00 TBL Braydon Coburn Hooking 12:42 2:00 2nd TBL Nikita Kucherov Tripping 08:53 2:00 CHI Bryan Bickell Roughing 15:18 2:00 CHI Brandon Saad Goaltender interference 15:52 2:00 3rd None Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 7 17 8 32 19 7 12 38
Game 4
The Lightning chose to rest injured goaltender Ben Bishop for game 4 in favor of rookie Andrei Vasilevskiy. The Lightning protected Vasilevskiy with tight defensive play, allowing only two shots by the Blackhawks in the first period, which was scoreless. For the first time in the series, the Blackhawks scored the first goal, on a goal by Jonathan Toews at 6:40 of the second. Alex Killorn tied it for the Lightning at 11:47 and the game was tied 1–1 after two periods. In the third, the Blackhawks' Brandon Saad muscled his way to the goal and scored on a backhand past Vasilevskiy at 6:22 to put the Blackhawks ahead. The game's pace picked up as the Lightning tried to tie the score but the Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford made several outstanding saves to shut out Tampa Bay the rest of the way. The win tied the series at two games apiece. It was the first time since that the first four Stanley Cup Final games were all decided by one goal.
Scoring summary Period Team Goal Assist(s) Time Score 1st None 2nd CHI Jonathan Toews (10) Patrick Sharp (10) and Marian Hossa (13) 06:40 1–0 CHI TBL Alex Killorn (9) Valtteri Filppula (10) and Steven Stamkos (11) 11:47 1–1 3rd CHI Brandon Saad (8) Patrick Kane (11) 06:22 2–1 CHI Penalty summary Period Team Player Penalty Time PIM 1st CHI Brent Seabrook Interference 09:10 2:00 TBL Jason Garrison Interference 11:41 2:00 CHI Jonathan Toews High sticking 12:42 2:00 CHI Kimmo Timonen Hooking 16:33 2:00 TBL Alex Killorn High sticking 19:08 2:00 2nd CHI Brent Seabrook Cross-checking 07:19 2:00 3rd TBL Steven Stamkos Delay of game (puck over glass) 01:04 2:00 Shots by period Team 1 2 3 Total 9 8 8 25 2 12 5 19
Game 5
The series returned to Tampa for game 5 and Ben Bishop returned to the net for the Lightning. The Blackhawks scored first for the second consecutive game, this time on a miscue by Bishop and Lightning defenseman Victor Hedman. The two collided and Patrick Sharp skated to the empty net with the puck, scoring at 6:11 of the first, a lead they held until 10:53 of the second when Valtteri Filppula scored to tie the score 1–1. The teams were tied going into the third, but Antoine Vermette scored for the Blackhawks at 2:00 of third and the lead held up as the Blackhawks played tight defense the rest of the way. The Blackhawks took the lead in the series three games to two, to give themselves a chance to win the Cup at home, something the franchise has not done since . For the second time in Final history and the first since , wherein all five games that had to be played went to overtime, all games of the series through game 5 were decided by one goal, with neither team leading by more than one goal.