The Latest: Chicago Beats Tampa 2-1, Evens Final at 2-2

BlackhawksCHICAGO (AP) — Jonathan Toews and Brandon Saad scored, Corey Crawford withstood a furious barrage in the closing minute and the Chicago Blackhawks beat the Tampa Bay Lightning 2-1 to tie the Stanley Cup Final at 2-2 on Wednesday night.

Toews scored his first goal of the series in the opening period. Saad broke a 1-1 tie in the third when he knocked in his own rebound and Crawford made it stand as time expired.

Game 5 is Saturday in Tampa, Florida.

The Lightning had a big opportunity at the end of the game, but Steven Stamkos fired wide from point blank range.

Andrei Vasilevskiy, a surprise starter in place of Ben Bishop, had 17 saves. The 20-year-old Vasilevskiy, making his first career playoff start with Bishop dealing with some sort of groin or leg injury, was sharp in net.

But Saad’s goal at 6:22 was the difference.

He came in from the left side and got stopped by Vasilevskiy’s stick. He then corralled the skittering puck and knocked it between the goalie’s legs to put Chicago on top.

Tampa Bay outshot Chicago 25-19, but couldn’t cash in against Crawford and went 0-4 on the power play.

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