3 takeaways from Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final

Weird and wonderful.

Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Tampa Bay Lightning and Chicago Blackhawks had a little bit of everything, and the result also ensured that we'll have quite the series.

Here are three takeaways from Game 2.

Hey! You can earn a win without a save - but Vasilevskiy had to make a few anyway

In the most important game played this season, we learned, or at least received confirmation, that a goaltender can earn a win without, well, really doing anything at all.

Thing is, Andrei Vasilevskiy did.

Ben Bishop mysteriously left, returned, and then once again exited Tampa's virtual must-win with an undisclosed injury, ailment, or sickness, forcing the Lightning's rookie netminder into five saves, and, in turn, his first playoff win.

It was a situation - an absolute oddity - unlike anything we've seen in a Stanley Cup Final game, but the goaltender of record wasn't at all a concern for fans of the Lightning. Vasilevskiy had been extremely shaky in appearances in relief of Bishop this postseason, albeit most of them in throwaways.

But against the Blackhawks - the same Blackhawks who thrive on opportunity and don't skip over the low-hanging fruit - couldn't capitalize on a late power play, and failed to benefit from Tampa's misfortune.

Chicago's defense survived the gauntlet

It wasn't too long ago now that the Anaheim Ducks believed in their heart of hearts that every body slam thrown, and subsequent chunk taken out of the Blackhawks defender, was going to propel them into a championship series.

They had their strategy, and the Lightning have theirs.

The Bolts did outhit Chicago again in Game 2, but the Blackhawks were only walloped 62 times total in their trip to Tampa Bay - which probably feels like shinny for Duncan Keith et al.

Now, the best laid plans against the Blackhawks typically meet the shredder (ahem Anaheim), so a concerted effort to up the physicality might not be a strategy moving forward for the Lightning. And hey, they're in this series now!

But are the Blackhawks wearing down? That concern can probably be put to rest.

Drouin isn't Johnson, but he might need to be

Aside from Jon Cooper's suspect(ish) usage, and a superstar not receiving as much time in the sandbox as other superstars, much of the pre-game chatter centered around the injury status of Tyler Johnson, and playing status of Jonathan Drouin.

The reason for this was almost immediately apparent. Johnson was limited early, removed from the faceoff dot, and his constraints appeared to throw the Lightning out of sorts.

On the other side, Drouin showed the good and the bad immediately. He was absolutely buzzing on his first shift, landing a hit on Keith and earning a scoring chance. But a shift or two later, he committed a pair of turnovers, forcing Bishop into an important stop on Jonathan Toews, and earned a stern talking to from the coach.

Johnson scored a goal - a big one - but he isn't quite his Conn Smythe-contending self. And it's also apparent that the Lightning will need more to earn a result in Chicago.

Can Drouin deliver an added punch, or will he fade away quietly again like in Game 2? He received just seven shifts after the first period.