Brandon Saad and Chicago Blackhawks level taut Stanley Cup finals

Brandon Saad fired in the 2-1 winner well into the third period and the Chicago Blackhawks made it an even 2-2 in the Stanley Cup Final against the Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday night.

Brandon Saad, right, of the Chicago Blackhawks begins to celebrate after scoring in his team's Game 4 win in the Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday night. Tasos Katopodis / Getty Images / AFP / June 10, Show more

Brandon Saad drove the net and had the puck poked away by Andrei Vasilevskiy. When he somehow found it again, Saad gave it a desperate backhand whack that just happened to send it right between Vasilevskiy’s moving pads.

Saad, who is of Syrian descent, refused much credit for his tiebreaking goal in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals. He knows that a few fortunate bounces have been the only differences in four games between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Tampa Bay Lightning, who seem determined to take this NHL championship series down to a fantastic finish.

Saad scored with 13:38 to play, and captain Jonathan Toews got his first goal of the series as the Blackhawks beat the Lightning and their rookie goalie 2-1 Wednesday night, knotting the finals at two games apiece.

The 22-year-old Saad’s latest clutch goal was the offensive highlight of a gritty, defence-dominated night at the United Center. Corey Crawford and the 20-year-old Vasilevskiy, the Lightning’s surprise starter, both had stellar moments before Saad beat his fellow youngster for the winner.

“I was really pretty lucky,” Saad said. “I just saw space going to the net. Tried to drive and create some chaos. Just try to get some wood on it and get to the net, and it found a way in.”

Chaos reigned again in the final minute for Crawford, who capped his 24 saves with a frantic last stand. Lightning captain Steven Stamkos had two golden chances to force overtime, but the Blackhawks survived.

Game 5 is Saturday night in Tampa.

The series is now a best-of-3, with Chicago needing at least one more win away to secure their third Stanley Cup banner in six seasons. Tampa Bay have home-ice advantage, but a fraction of the Blackhawks’ big-game credentials.

Despite their differences in experience, these teams are incredibly close: This is the first finals since 1968 in which each of the first four games was decided by one goal. Faced with the prospect of a 3-1 series deficit, the Blackhawks responded with championship grit.

Saad scored his eighth goal of the post-season – and his second in two games – with the same determination that has characterised the forward’s short, prolific career.

“No matter what the situation is, whether we’re down in a series or a hockey game, we tend to play our best when our backs are against the wall,” Chicago’s Patrick Kane said. “Not saying we had our best effort tonight, but we still found a way to win.”

Alex Killorn scored in the second period for the Lightning, whose four-game road winning streak ended.

They got solid work and 17 saves from Vasilevskiy in place of Ben Bishop, the 53-game winner scratched with an undisclosed lower-body injury after hobbling through Game 3.

Vasilevskiy played well, but couldn’t quite match Crawford, the 2013 Stanley Cup winner who regularly follows up poor stretches with big games for the Blackhawks.

“I can play under pressure,” Vasilevskiy said. “For me, it’s not something new. I was ready for pressure from fans and players.”

Tampa Bay pummelled Crawford with multiple scoring chances in the final minute with Vasilevskiy pulled for an extra attacker, but the veteran stopped them all. He got help from Brent Seabrook, who deflected a point-blank shot by Stamkos, keeping him without a goal in the series.

“We’re disappointed about the squandered chance tonight,” Stamkos said. “I thought we deserved better. We’ve just got to find a way to score more than one goal.”

Vasilevskiy became the fourth-youngest goalie to start a Stanley Cup finals game in NHL history and the youngest since 20-year-old Patrick Roy in 1986. Bishop got hurt during Game 2 and left it twice in the waning minutes, but he played in Game 3 and participated in Wednesday’s morning skate before the Lightning ruled him out.

“If you tell me we’re going to come in and he’s going to give up two goals, that’s a hell of a job in my book,” Tampa Bay coach Jon Cooper said. “That kid gave us every chance to win the hockey game. We only scored one. He showed at the pinnacle of the sport that he can play. That’s a pretty big achievement for a 20-year-old.”

Chicago didn’t manage a shot on Vasilevskiy’s net until 8:17 into the first period, finishing with just two shots in a tentative opening frame.

After putting two shots off Vasilevskiy’s posts early in the second, Chicago finally scored when Vasilevskiy gave up a rebound of Marian Hossa’s shot and Toews eventually slapped a loose puck under the goalie, who deflected it in for his 10th goal.

The Lightning answered five minutes later when Valtteri Filppula threaded a backward pass through two defenders and in front to Killorn for his ninth goal of the post-season.

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