A weird Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final Saturday night ended just as Game 4 had: a score of 2-1, again in favor of the Chicago Blackhawks. The win puts Chicago up 3-2 in the best-of-seven series against the Tampa Bay Lightning – and on the brink of a third championship in six seasons.

Chicago opened the scoring early on, after a bizarre move from Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop handed the puck right to Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp. As Tampa defenseman Victor Hedman played the puck in his own zone, corralling it away from Sharp, Bishop left his net, surprising Hedman, before colliding with him heavily. With Bishop and Hedman out of the play, the puck popped loose right to Sharp, who shot it easily into the empty Tampa goal, putting Chicago up 1-0 only six-and-a-half minutes into the game.

Why Bishop felt it necessary to come so far out of his crease in an attempt to help Hedman, who didn’t need it, remains a mystery – especially considering his undisclosed injury (by all appearances, it’s to his left leg), has already sidelined him in this series. Whatever his motivation, the risk did not pay off.

However, that mishap wasn’t the only one in the opening minutes of Game 5. Only moments earlier, another goaltending blunder at the opposite end nearly resulted in an early Tampa lead.

Chicago goaltender Corey Crawford attempted to play the puck from behind his net, but his clearing attempt put the puck directly into the body of advancing Tampa forward Nikita Kucherov. To recover – and make a save – Crawford dove to intercept Kucherov as he moved toward the net, and in so doing upended him, causing Kucherov to fall head first into the post. Kucherov was slow to recover, and once he left the ice with what appeared to be an injured collarbone or shoulder, he did not return.

In the remaining minutes of the period, Chicago worked to capitalize on the resulting confusion on the Tampa bench, as coach Jon Cooper juggled his lines in Kucherov’s absence. Yet while the Blackhawks pressed, Tampa gradually recovered, ending the period looking more assured.

An lackluster power play from Chicago early in the second frame didn’t change the score, but led to over eight minutes of uninterrupted, end-to-end hockey in the first half of the period. The result was a more enlivened Tampa side. The Lightning gained momentum, shaking off the jitters caused by their first period scares. Crawford kept Chicago’s lead alive with a few key saves, but eventually, Tampa Bay’s tenacity paid off.

With just under 10 minutes left in the second, Lightning defenseman Jason Garrison rifled a laser pass cross-ice to forward Valtteri Filppula, who was standing just to Crawford’s left. His bad angle didn’t matter, as Filppula fired it past Crawford to bring the score even at 1-1.

Boosted by the goal, Tampa poured it on, and got another break when Chicago forward Brandon Saad took a slashing penalty minutes later. And while that power play never quite gelled, the Lightning left a sluggish Blackhawks side behind them as they returned to the dressing room at the second intermission.

Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, a familiar name put an end to that energy early on in the third period. Chicago forward Antoine Vermette – a late-season Blackhawks’ acquisition from Phoenix – has developed a knack in these playoffs for scoring game-winning goals. With just under two minutes past in the third, Vermette’s line-mate, Chris Versteeg, broke away into the Tampa zone. His first shot attempt died when Garrison, on the back-check lifted his stick niftily, but Versteeg’s second shot – from a worse angle – forced Bishop to cough up a rebound. Following the play, and standing on the doorstep as the puck bounced off Bishop’s right pad, was Vermette, who put away the garbage to make it 2-1. It would, again, prove to be the game-winner – his third of the playoffs.

Tampa came back strong immediately, pressing Chicago deep in their zone. Steven Stamkos, who was on the ice for roughly half the period, managed to let go a classic laser beam from his sweet spot just above the circle, but, as would prove to be the trend for the remainder of the game, Crawford was up to the challenge. Chicago hung on, and yet another call against Tampa with only nine seconds left to play for too many men on the ice (the sixth time the Lightning have been penalized for that infraction these playoffs) effectively sealed the win for the Blackhawks.

Kucherov’s absence up front for the Lightning had an immeasurable effect on the game, and coupled with Bishop’s nagging injury, it might have made the difference Saturday night. Still, perhaps it is in the simplest terms – the ones we can measure – that we see the true story of Game 5. Despite being out-hit, the Blackhawks had fewer giveaways (9 to Tampa’s 13) more takeaways (11 to Tampa’s 9) and more faceoff wins (36 to Tampa’s 26), while almost equaling the Lightning in shots (29 to Tampa’s 32). All that, and better possession throughout the game. Very often, a combination of those statistics in your favor leads to a win.

The action now moves back to Chicago for Game 6 Monday night, where the Blackhawks can win the series, and with it, their third Stanley Cup in five years.