Bruins-Blackhawks Live: Daniel Paille Wins Game in Overtime, Series Tied 1-1

Final, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins win.

Daniel Paille ripped one by Corey Crawford, and the Bruins are headed home tied 1-1 in the series.

Overtime, 13:34, 1-1: Brad Marchand just became the latest Bruin to have a scoring chance. He had all the time in the world to take a shot in close, but he waited a second too long, as Duncan Keith got his stick in the way to block the shot.

Overtime, 11:45, 1-1: After another scramble in the Chicago zone, the Bruins aren’t quite able to jam home any loose pucks. Once again, it’s the new Chris Kelly line applying the pressure.

At the other end of the ice, Tuukka Rask made a save on Brandon Saad.

Overtime, 10:11, 1-1: The Bruins just caught something of a break.

The B’s iced the puck, but we’re midway through the overtime, so the ice crew comes out to work on the playing surface.

The Bruins, until this icing, have tilted the ice in a big way in the overtime. The two teams are actually tied 5-5 in shots on goal, but it certainly hasn’t felt that way.

Overtime, 8:00, 1-1: The Bruins have done everything but score so far in the overtime. They just had an incredible rush that ended up with the puck bouncing over the cross bar and down the back of the net after great pressure from David Krejci, Tyler Seguin and Milan Lucic.

Overtime, 5:10, 1-1: The Bruins just dominated the last minute or so, but still nothing to show for it.

Corey Crawford made a big save on Chris Kelly.

Overtime, 1:30, 1-1: Jaromir Jagr hit the post because of course. He’s been snake bit all postseason. Unbelievable.

Overtime, 0:10, 1-1: The (first) overtime has begun.

End third period, 1-1: Zdeno Chara carried the puck into the Chicago zone and looked to have at least half of a shooting lane. However, he passed that up to carry the puck around the net, and that didn’t work out.

We’re going to overtime. Again.

Third period, 17:30, 1-1: The Bruins get a decent chance in front of the Chicago net when Jaromir Jagr flips a backhander on goal from the slot that was deflected.

On the ensuring faceoff, Johnny Boychuk put a quick shot on net that hit Corey Crawford more than Crawford stopped it.

Third period, 15:31, 1-1: It’s starting to feel like we’re destined for overtime play. The ironic thing is that it’s kind of based on the perception that both teams are getting tired.

These guys have played a ton of hockey, and we’re starting to see what we saw in the second and third overtimes in Game 1 — a lot of play in the neutral zone and no real scoring chances.

We’re just a break or a bounce away from changing that, though.

Third period, 11:25, 1-1: Just as important as the Bruins’ uptick in offensive competence has been their improved defensive play. They’re limiting the turnovers in their own end, and they look much crisper in their own end right now.

After allowing 19 shots on goal in the first period, the B’s have limited Chicago to just eight since then.

Third period, 9:27, 1-1: We just had a few minutes of non-whistle play, which would explain the dearth of updates here.

However, the Bruins are starting to bring it here in the third period. Tyler Seguin is playing like a man possessed right now, and he’s starting to becoming a thorn in Chicago’s side. He set up David Krejci for a fantastic chance, but Corey Crawford made the save. Crawford also turned away an attempt from Brad Marchand, who took a pass from Jaromir Jagr after some nifty stickhandling.

Seguin, Daniel Paille and Chris Kelly have been clicking since Claude Julien put them together.

Third period, 2:00, 1-1: The Bruins couldn’t do much of anything on the power play.

Third period, 0:01, 1-1: The third period is underway with the Bruins on the power play.

Second period reaction: The Bruins are lucky to be tied 1-1, all things considered. They have been outplayed for the better part of 40 minutes, but they have done a solid job of at least staying in the game. They’re starting to get their chances, and they finally cashed in on one in the second period.

The B’s tightened up defensively in the second period, but they were still kind of sloppy with the puck if that makes any sense. They’re still making mistakes coming out of their zone, but they’re making sure the Blackhawks don’t get any legitimate chances out of those turnovers.

The Bruins might be starting to wear down the Hawks with the physical play. The B’s have been registered for 39 hits, a number that might be a little bit high, but it’s still worth nothing. If you’re the Bruins, you hope that the hits start taking their toll at some point as you might wear down the faster Hawks just a little bit. One of the biggest discrepencies we’ve seen through two periods has been team speed. If the Bruins can do anything to even that out a little bit, they should be doing whatever it takes.

The start of the third period is huge. The Bruins will have 1:22 of power play time to start the period, and if they can at least generate some chances and create some momentum, that might go a long way in deciding this game. You do not want to go to overtime in this one if you can avoid it given what happened Game 1, so this is a very important period for the Bs’ that can be swung with a good minute or two to begin the period.

End second period, 1-1: The second period comes to a close, with no real power-play chances for the Bruins. They will have 1:22 of power-play time to begin the third period.

Second period, 18:57, 1-1: Brad Marchand came this close to tying the game. Marchand almost scored on a shorthanded breakaway, but he hit the post as he was slashed from behind by Brent Seabrook, an apparent penalty that went uncalled.

A few seconds later, though, Johnny Oduya tripped Marchand to give the B’s a power play after killing the Dennis Seidenberg penalty.

Second period, 2:49, 1-1: Brandon Saad is quite the player for the Blackhawks.

He just took advantage of a long rebound on a Nathan Horton shot that missed the net and took off down the ice. Saad just about beat the Bruins down the ice, but Dennis Seidenberg caught him and tripped him up.

Chicago is going back on the power play.

Second period, 5:00, 1-1: Unbelievable. The Bruins have tied it up.

The new and improved line of Chris Kelly, Daniel Paille and Tyler Seguin gives the Bruins their first goal after Kelly bangs home a rebound in the slot after some good forechecking from both Seguin and Kelly.

Second period, 14:43, Blackhawks 1-0: There’s not much to talk about at this point.

The Bruins continue to be real sloppy with the puck with some awful breakouts. They’re struggling to even get the puck into the Chicago zone at this point.

Second period, 12:38, Blackhawks 1-0: The latest chance for the Blackhawks came when Johnny Boychuk made an ill-advised turnover in his own end.

That eventually led to a scoring chance for Marian Hossa, but Tuukka Rask was able to close the pads and deflect it aside.

The Bruins have registered 34 hits so far, including nine from Milan Lucic.

Second period, 10:25, Blackhawks 1-0: The Bruins were able to kill the penalty. Progress?

Second period, 8:15, Blackhawks 1-0: The Blackhawks are about to go back on the power play. Johnny Boychuck was just called for holding.

Second period, 7:24, Blackhawks 1-0: The fact that the Bruins are still only down 1-0 is becoming more and more surprising by the minute.

They aren’t getting much of anything from any line, and they look all sorts of disjointed. They also look slow. Very slow. Chicago is beating Boston to every loose puck, and they’re giving the B’s fits in the Bruins’ zone, as they’re keeping the puck in and generating chances.

If you’re looking for anything resembling a positive for the B’s other than Tuukka Rask, it would probably be Tyler Seguin. After a poor play on Chicago’s goal in the first, Seguin has bounced back in the second. He’s skating hard and trying to make plays, which is a lot more than most of his teammates can say right now.

Second period, 3:30, Blackhawks 1-0: The Bruins weren’t able to do much of anything on the power play.

They got a shot on goal, which is actually a step in the right direction after the first period, but still nothing doing in terms of legitimate scoring chances.

Second period, 1:20, Blackhawks 1-0: The Bruins are going on the power play.

Dave Bolland was called for tripping.

Second period, 0:30, Blackhawks 1-0: The second period is underway.

First period reaction: The Bruins better get their collective heads out of you know what after one of their worst periods of the playoffs. They were outplayed in every aspect of the game in the first 20 minutes, and they are incredibly lucky to be down just 1-0.

Sometimes stats can be misleading. In this case, however, they kind of tell the whole story.

The Bruins were outshot 19-4, which is prety alarming to begin with. It gets worse, though. Patrick Sharp (six shots on goal) and Marian Hossa (five shots on goal) both outshot the Bruins on their own. The B’s attempted five shots on the entire period, while the Blackhawks had 11 shots (in addition to their 19 shots on goal) that were either blocked or missed the net. That is insane.

If it weren’t for Tuukka Rask, this game would be over already. Rask had saves on Nick Leddy, Patrick Sharp, Michael Frolik, Sharp again and Marian Hossa, with all of those shots representing legitimate scoring chances. There wasn’t much the Bruins goalie could do on game’s only goal, either. The B’s couldn’t clear the puck, Tyler Seguin was beat to the puck by Sharp and the rest was history.

End first period, Blackhawks 1-0: The first period mercifully comes to an end for the Bruins after arguably their worst period of the postseason.

It could be a lot worse if you’re looking at it from the Bruins’ point of view. They were totally outplayed and outworked in the first period, but Tuukka Rask was huge in the first with 18 saves.

First period, 16:03, Blackhawks 1-0: It only took 16 minutes, but the Bruins finally get a good shift in the Chicago zone.

It came from a line of Chris Kelly, Jaromir Jagr and Brad Marchand who put pressure on the Blackhawks, but didn’t get any real good scoring chances.

First period, 12:32, Blackhawks 1-0: The Blackhawks put the puck in the net again — but they aren’t taking the 2-0 lead.

The play was reviewed after the puck squirted through Tuukka Rask’s pads and over the line, but the whistle had already been blown.

First period, 11:22, Blackhawks 1-0: Chicago strikes first.

Tuukka Rask did all he could to stop a flurry of shots, but he couldn’t do it all. Rask made a couple of saves to begin the play, but the Bruins couldn’t clear the puck out of the zone.

That eventually allowed Patrick Sharp to score through traffic from the right faceoff circle, and Chicago has the 1-0 lead.

First period, 10:12, 0-0: Shortly after the Bruins killed off the Andrew Ference penalty, Jaromir Jagr got another scoring chance.

The winger unleashed a wrist shot from the high slot, but Corey Crawford gloved it with his best save of the night. Then again, he’s only faced three shots, so…

First period, 9:30, 0-0: The Bruins were able to kill the penalty.

Tuukka Rask made a nice save on Patrick Sharp who had his original shot blocked by the stick of Adam McQuaid, but Sharp batted the deflection out of the air and Rask made the save.

First period, 6:51, 0-0: Andrew Ference was just called for tripping, and Chicago gets the game’s first power play.

They’re 1-for-21 in their last seven games on the man-advantage.

First period, 13:51, 0-0: The Bruins look to be bringing their physical game tonight. They’re hitting everything they can right now, and they’ve already logged 10 hits in the first six minutes or so.

Tuukka Rask just got his first real test of the evening as Nick Leddy got a chance from the left wing, but the Chicago defenseman had his wrist shot gloved by Rask to keep the game scoreless.

We’ve seen just one shift from Nahan Horton and the rest of the David Krejci line, and that came after the the Patrice Bergeron line had already skated two shifts. We’ll have to see if Horton’s injury means less ice time for that trio.

First period, 0:01, 0-0: The game is underway. The Bruins are looking to even the series.

8:17 p.m.: The roster reports have been released for Game 2, and Nathan Horton is officially in for the Bruins. Both teams are going with the same lineups.

8:07 p.m.: We’re just about 15 minutes from Game 2. The winner of Game 2 has won eight of the last 10 Stanley Cups. That’s not necessarily a huge issue for the Bruins who are one of the two teams to win despite losing Game 2. In fact, the B’s lost the first two of the 2011 Cup Final in Vancouver before coming back to win the Final.

That being said, the Bruins would be best-suited to just take care of business tonight and send it back to Boston all squared.

7:54 p.m.: First, the rest of the awards.

Hart Trophy: Alex Ovechkin
Norris Trophy: P.K. Subban

OK, on to guys who are actually still playing hockey. The Bruins and Blackhawks just took the ice for pregame warmups. Both Nathan Horton and Jaromir Jagr (he took the morning skate off) are on the ice for the skate. So it would appear there are no worries.

According to the pregame line rushes, the Blackhawks appear to be going with the same lineup. That doesn’t mean a lot at all. Joel Quenneville proved in Game 1 how willing he is to change things up. So it won’t be surprising at all if the Chicago lines change by the end of the night.

7:27 p.m.: The NHL is currently in the midst of giving out the rest of its regular-season awards. Here are the winners that have been announced so far.

Vezina Trophy: Sergei Bobrovsky
Calder Trophy: Jonathan Huberdeau
Ted Lindsay Award: Sidney Crosby

7:10 p.m.: Let’s get to a couple of things that have to do with matters outside the Stanley Cup Final.

First of all, Sidney Crosby  — or his agent at least — is crying foul or something regarding Zdeno Chara. According to the Crosby camp, Chara intentionally targeted Crosby’s messed-up jaw during the Eastern Conference final. The transgression took place in Game 1, and it’s the perceived reason Crosby and Chara had a dust-up at center ice at the end of the second period. However, Crosby’s meeting with Tuukka Rask may have had something to do with it as well.

You can get more details on that by clicking here.

6:50 p.m.: We’re about an hour and a half from the start of Game 2, a wait that will almost certainly feel like 10 and a half hours (these 8:20 start times are the pits).

If you’re still bored and waiting around for hockey, there’s pregame coverage on NESNplus going on literally right now. So put that on. While you’re at it, check out this story about Patrice Bergeron and the lofty praise his head coach Claude Julien had for his center.

5:50 p.m.: Not only is Nathan Horton playing in Game 2, he says he doesn’t feel any pain.

He told reporters Saturday morning in Chicago that he feels fine, insisting his shoulder isn’t bother him.

Read more about Horton’s diagnosis of Horton by clicking here.

1:10 p.m.: Nathan Horton will play Game 2 for the Bruins, that’s according to Horton himself.

Horton met with the media following the Bruins’ morning skate, and he told reporters that he’ll be in the lineup as Boston looks to even the series before heading home.

12:50 p.m.: There’s good news for the Bruins on the injury front, at least according to a notable morning skate development.

B’s winger Nathan Horton was on the ice for morning skate, and he was taking line rushes on his normal line with David Krejci and Milan Lucic. That would seem to indicate that Horton will be in the lineup for Game 2 despite leaving Game 1 after reaggravating a shoulder injury.

10 a.m. ET: The Bruins and Blackhawks had two days tor rest between Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, which is a good thing considering what we saw in the series opener.

The B’s and Hawks will get back after it Saturday night in Chicago after playing a Game 1 that will go down in history as one of the best games in Stanley Cup Final history. The triple-overtime thriller was eventually won by the Blackhawks late in the “sixth period” when a double deflection eventually hit Andrew Shaw to beat Tuukka Rask.

While Boston came away the loser, there was plenty of reason for optimism for the B’s. The Bruins held a 3-1 lead at one point, and the game might not have even reached overtime had it not been for Andrew Ference’s skate. The game-tying goal came in the third period when Johnny Oduya scored after a puck deflected off of Ference’s skate to tie the game in the third period. The Bruins also had a handful of chances in the overtime periods, including a Zdeno Chara shot being deflected by Jaromir Jagr and off the post as well as a misplay by Kaspars Daugavins when the game-winning goal looked to be right on his stick.

The Bruins were also hindered some by a shortened bench. First-line winger Nathan Horton left in overtime after reaggravating a shoulder injury. It’s an injury that’s been reportedly bothering Horton for quite a while, and it certainly looked painful. Horton’s status is uncertain for Game 2, but Claude Julien was hopeful Horton would play, and the winger actually practiced with the B’s on Friday, so there’s reason to believe he may be back in there for Game 2.

Puck drop for Game 2 in Chicago is slated for just a little bit after 8 p.m.