TAMPA // Antoine Vermette scored the winner early in the third period on Saturday to lift Chicago to a 2-1 win over Tampa Bay that put the Blackhawks on the brink of their third Stanley Cup title in six years.
Chicago now leads the best-of-seven series 3-2 and could wrap up an NHL title at home for the first time since 1938 with a win over the Lightning in game six at the United Center on Monday.
Canadian Vermette scored his second game winner of the finals as he hammered home a rebound from the slot just two minutes into the third period.
Chicago forward Kris Versteeg took the initial shot and Tampa goalie Ben Bishop kicked the rebound right to Vermette, who was driving hard to the front of the net.
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It was the fourth goal, and the third game winner, of the post-season for Vermette, who also scored the go-ahead goal in a 2-1 victory in game one.
“It is nice,” said Vermette, who started the season in Phoenix before being traded to the Blackhawks in February. “You want to contribute and it is nice reward to get it done.
“This is a good group. A special team and I’m glad I’m here.”
This has been one of the closest finals in league history and Saturday’s game five was no different as for the third straight game the teams entered the third period tied.
Of the 23 teams that have won game five after a split of the opening four contests of the final, 16 have gone on to claim the Stanley Cup.
Forward Patrick Sharp also scored and goaltender Corey Crawford made 31 saves for the Blackhawks, who are chasing their sixth Stanley Cup title in franchise history after previous wins in 2013, 2010, 1961, 1938 and 1934.
“It will be crazy in town over the next two days. The buzz will be off the charts,” said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville of going back to the Windy City for game six.
Game seven if necessary would be Wednesday in Tampa.
Just four teams since 2001 have rebounded to claim the Stanley Cup after losing a game five. That includes the Lightning, who rallied to beat the Calgary Flames in seven games for their lone NHL title in 2004.
Valtteri Filppula scored the only Lightning goal and Bishop made 27 saves for Tampa Bay, who are a modest 6-7 at home in the playoffs.
Saturday’s contest marked the return of Bishop to the Tampa net from an undisclosed ailment. He had to leave game two in the third but was in net for a game three win before missing all of game four.
Bishop’s night got off to a rocky start as a collision with teammate Victor Hedman led to Chicago’s opening goal just over six minutes in.
Bishop skated out of his crease to clear the puck but ended up bumping into Swedish defenceman Hedman and the puck squirted through his legs right to Sharp who had an empty net to shoot at.
“It happens. Unfortunately it happened in game five of the Stanley Cup finals,” said Lightning defenceman Anton Stralman.
Tampa Bay received more bad news later in the first when they dropped down to 11 forwards after Russian Nikita Kucherov slammed into the post head first and had to leave the game.
Filppula scored off a wrist shot to tie it 1-1 halfway through the second after taking a nice pass from Canadian defenceman Jason Garrison.
Tampa swarmed the Chicago goal in the final minute looking for the equaliser but ended up shooting themselves in the foot by taking a too many men penalty with just eight seconds to go.
They had already pulled Bishop for an extra attacker when referee Wes McCauley called them for having seven skaters on the ice.
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
If you go
- The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
- The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
- The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm
Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh1 million
On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
Student Of The Year 2
Director: Punit Malhotra
Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal
1.5 stars
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
Racecard
5pm: Al Maha Stables – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 1,600m
5.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m
6pm: Emirates Fillies Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m
6.30pm: Emirates Colts Classic – Prestige (PA) Dh100,000 (T) 1,600m
7pm: The President’s Cup – Group 1 (PA) Dh2,500,000 (T) 2,200m
7.30pm: The President’s Cup – Listed (TB) Dh380,000 (T) 1,400m
Company%C2%A0profile
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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%3Cp%3EDeveloper%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Aspyr%0D%3Cbr%3EConsole%3A%20Nintendo%20Switch%2C%20PlayStation%204%26amp%3B5%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20series%20X%2FS%0D%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
MATCH INFO
Barcelona v Real Madrid, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
THREE
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The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Fines for littering
In Dubai:
Dh200 for littering or spitting in the Dubai Metro
Dh500 for throwing cigarette butts or chewing gum on the floor, or littering from a vehicle.
Dh1,000 for littering on a beach, spitting in public places, throwing a cigarette butt from a vehicle
In Sharjah and other emirates
Dh500 for littering - including cigarette butts and chewing gum - in public places and beaches in Sharjah
Dh2,000 for littering in Sharjah deserts
Dh500 for littering from a vehicle in Ras Al Khaimah
Dh1,000 for littering from a car in Abu Dhabi
Dh1,000 to Dh100,000 for dumping waste in residential or public areas in Al Ain
Dh10,000 for littering at Ajman's beaches
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UJDA CHAMAN
Produced: Panorama Studios International
Directed: Abhishek Pathak
Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla
Rating: 3.5 /5 stars
