The Bruins and Blackhawks had never met in a Stanley Cup Final before Wednesday. Naturally, they marked the milestone occasion by sticking around a little while longer than the regulation 60 minutes.
As three periods became four, which became five, which became six and threatened to go on to seven, many Bruins and Blackhawks fans had to wonder if the game would ever end. It did, finally, when Andrew Shaw‘s deflection midway through the third overtime period ended an epic battle of a Game 1 with a 4-3 Chicago victory.
The game started like any other, with the normal amount of gusto for a Cup matchup. Milan Lucic continued his dominant postseason with the only goal of the first period, followed by the first goal of the second period. Before the Bruins could think about a runaway victory, Brandon Saad scored on a wrister to make it a game.
But it was still a game the Bruins controlled after Patrice Bergeron‘s power-play goal gave Boston a 3-1 advantage. The Bruins just relaxed too much, too early with their two-goal lead. Dave Bolland and Johnny Oduya needed just over two minutes to score a goal apiece and knot up the score, sending the game into a first overtime, then a second and a third.
Then, Shaw sent everyone to bed. Finally.
