Third overtime, 12:08, Blackhawks 4-3: The Blackhawks win.
Andrew Shaw tipped home a shot, and after 112 minutes of hockey, the Hawks have a 1-0 series lead.
Third overtime, 11:50, 3-3: Patrick Sharp just put a shot on net that Tuukka Rask appeared to have control of. He didn’t, but it was cleared.
Third overtime, 10:29, 3-3: This game should be over.
Kaspars Daugavins had a chance to win the game, but instead of one-timing a shot on his forehand right in front, he instead tried to move across the crease and to his backhand, but he ended up losing control of the puck.
Third overtime, 8:14, 3-3: Fatigue is starting to set in, it appears, not that it already hadn’t. We’re seeing a lot of play in the neutral zone, much of it sloppy.
Third overtime, 5:30, 3-3: Corey Crawford save on David Krejci. That’s all.
Third overtime, 4:00, 3-3: Boston is controlling the play in the first few minutes of 3OT, which means they’ll probably lose it very soon.
Third overtime, 1:30, 3-3: The Bruins’ power play is over.
Third overtime, 0:01, 3-3: The third period is underway, the Bruins are on the power play still.
End second overtime, 3-3: The Bruins came inches away from ending the game in the final seconds of the second overtime.
Zdeno Chara’s low shot from the point was tipped by a Bruins forward and it had Corey Crawford beat, but it hit the post. The rebound chance was there, but Crawford came up with another big save to keep the game tied.
We’ll have another overtime.
The Bruins have done everything but score in these two overtime periods. In the first OT, they had a flurry of chances around the net. In the second OT, they hit a post on the power play, Tyler Seguin couldn’t settle a puck and a couple of other chances were missed.
The good news, though, is that they still have some power-play time left as the third OT begins.
Second overtime, 19:07, 3-3: The Bruins are getting another power play.
The Blackhawks were just called for another too many men on the ice penalty, and they’ll get a chance to end it here in the second overtime.
Second overtime, 15:00, 3-3: Corey Crawford just picked a great time for two of his biggest saves of the night.
First, he stopped Daniel Paille with a kick save, which produced a long rebound. Torey Krug jumped onto that and blasted one from the point. Crawford stopped that, too.
Second overtime, 11:52, 3-3: Rich Peverley becomes the latest to come close to ending it.
He just flung a backhander at the net that Corey Crawford easily gloved.
Second overtime, 9:59, 3-3: We’ve hit the point in this overtime period where they come out and fix the ice for the second half of the stanza.
We’re still tied. We’re in a bit of a haze.
Second overtime, 8:51, 3-3: Chicago gets another chance from Bryan Bickell. He just put a shot at the goal from the left wing, but it was deflected away hitting Torey Krug who was stationed in the crease to Tuukka Rask’s left.
Second overtime, 7:00, 3-3: The Blackhawks just got their best chance of the second overtime, but Patrick Kane couldn’t do anything with it.
Michael Handzus found Kane right in front, but the pass was a little bit too close to his skates and he couldn’t quite corral it.
Second overtime, 3:00, 3-3: Tyler Seguin just got the best chance of this second overtime period after a long pass sprung him into the Chicago zone.
He was slowed just enough by the D-men, and he couldn’t quite settle the puck before putting a shot on goal that was stopped by Corey Crawford.
Second overtime, 0:10, 3-3: The second overtime has begun, with no sign of Nathan Horton on the Boston bench.
End overtime, 3-3: The Bruins outplayed the Blackhawks for much of the overtime period, but they couldn’t quite get one by Corey Crawford.
The B’s had a bunch of chances, including some mad scrambles around the net, but a combination of poor puck luck and heady play around the Chicago net from the Blackhawk defensemen kept the game going.
Nathan Horton did not return after suffering an apparent upper-body injury. Pierre McQuire said he’s heard rumblings that Horton has been battling an upper-body injury as of late. Someone on Twitter pointed out to me that it could stem from Horton’s fight with Jarome Iginla on April 20.
Overtime, 16:00, 3-3: The Bruins had seemingly a million chances on the power play, but they couldn’t convert.
Making matters worse is the fact that Nathan Horton was injured at some point during the power play. He went straight off the ice and straight to the dressing room and has yet to return.
Overtime, 12:08, 3-3: The Blackhawks may have just made a huge mistake.
They were just caught with too many men on the ice, and the Bruins will get the first power play of the overtime.
Overtime, 8:00, 3-3: This game came this close to being over.
Tyler Seguin left one off for Rich Peverley who put the shot on net. Seguin then crashed the net for the rebound, and he couldn’t jam it home. Then Dave Bolland cleared the rebound chance before Kaspars Daugavins could put it in the net.
Overtime, 5:21, 3-3: The Bruins continue to get chances, and Shawn Thornton almost won it. However, Thornton was stopped by Corey Crawford with some help from Johnny Oduya who slowed Thornton on a 2-on-1 with Daniel Paille.
Not long after, Dave Bolland got a chance in the slot for the Blackhawks. Jonathan Toews hit him with a great pass into the slot, but Bolland couldn’t get nearly enough stick on the puck.
Overtime, 3:00, 3-3: The Bruins showing good jump here in the overtime.
Brad Marchand got a breakaway, but he was caught by Brent Seabrook who got a stick on the shot and it went wide.
Overtime, 1:08, 3-3: The Bruins get a shot early on, but Corey Crawford gloves a long shot from Patrice Bergeron.
Overtime, 0:01, 3-3: Overtime is underway in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
End third period, 3-3: The Blackhawks’ third-period surge can’t quite put them over the top.
The Hawks had a great chance with a bunch of bodies in front of the Bruins’ net, and it looked like Marian Hossa was about to jump on a loose puck in the crease. However, David Krejci was able to bat it away, and the threat was avoided.
So, we go to overtime, tied 3-3 in Game 1.
Third period, 16:12, 3-3: Jaromir Jagr may never score another goal. He is snake bitten in the worst way right now, and he couldn’t quite finish off a flurry in front of Corey Crawford.
Seconds later, Daniel Paille got a breakaway after a pretty impressive stretch pass from Shawn Thornton, but Brent Seabrook was able to knock Paille off his skates and off the puck before Paille could get a solid shot off.
Third period, 13:39, 3-3: It took almost 14 minutes, but we have our first TV timeout of the third period.
The Bruins are getting outworked all over the ice right now, as the Blackhawks are feeding off of the rowdy home crowd.
While the David Krejci line continues to bust its collective butt, the Bruins aren’t getting nearly enough out of their other three lines. While depth has been a strength in the playoffs for Boston to this point, its lack of contributions from anyone but the top line is hurting them right now.
Third period, 12:14, 3-3: And we’ve got a tie hockey game.
Johnny Oduya just scored the game-tying goal with a blast from teh point that appeared to deflect off of Andrew Ference’s left skate and by Tuuka Rask.
With the way these two teams are playing right now, though, the Blackhawks deserve the bounces.
Third period, 8:00, Bruins 3-2: The Blackhawks aren’t gonna go away without a fight.
Torey Krug has looked like a rookie here in Game 1, and it finally costs him. The rookie defenseman just turned it over with an awful pass that was intercepted by Andrews Shaw. That created a 2-on-1 with Shaw eventually feeding Dave Bolland for the one-timer goal.
Third period, 6:09, Bruins 3-1: The Bruins are winning the special teams battle in a big way.
Patrice Bergeron just blasted a one-timer by Corey Crawford after a pass from Tyler Seguin.
That play all started when Jaromir Jagr won a puck battle along the boards before moving the puck to Seguin.
Third period, 5:51, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins will now try and use the power play as a means for adding an insurance goal.
Michael Frolik just tripped Zdeno Chara, and Boston gets its first power play of the game.
Third period, 0:01, Bruins 2-1: The third period is underway.
Second period reaction: That was a pretty exciting first period, and the Bruins’ first line continues to lead the way.
They started the period just the way they ended it with good hockey in all three zones. Milan Lucic just totally outworked Niklas Hjalmarsson for a puck along the boards in the neutral zone and just as importantly, Lucic kept with the play. He was eventually rewarded with a blast from the high slot that Corey Crawford got a piece of, but not enough, and the Bruins pushed the lead to 2-0.
However, where the Penguins folded last series, the Blackhawks fought back. The Hawks were way too soft on Lucic’s second goal, but they righted the ship from there, starting with a great effort from Brandon Saad. He fought through contact from Dennis Seidenberg on the sidewall to keep the puck alive in the Boston zone. Saad was eventually awarded for that with a pass from Marian Hossa, with Saad blasted by Tuukka Rask’s glove side.
I wrote in my Cup Final preview that we might be in for some ugly power plays on both sides, and the Blackhawks are making me look smart on that front. They entered this series with just a 13.7 percent success rate on the man-advantage, a number that is even lower after going 0-for-3 to begin the Final. Chicago got nothing on three power plays, including 1:17 of two-man advantage there in the second period. The Bruins are doing a good job of getting sticks and bodies in the passing and shooting lanes, but the Blackhawks aren’t necessarily making it difficult, either.
With it being a one-goal game and 20 minutes to play, we should be in for a doozy of a third period.
End second period, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins got a scare late in the second period when Patrice Bergeron limped off the ice after blocking a shot. However, the ever-important forward didn’t miss a shift and was right back out there at the end of the period.
The B’s lead 2-1 through 40 minutes.
Second period, 15:56, Bruins 2-1: Full marks to the Bruins’ penalty killers here in the second period.
They continue to dominate, even without Gregory Campbell, and the Blackhawks are now 0-for-3 on the power play through almost two periods. That’s not too surprising, however, as they entered the game 13.7 success rate on the power play through the first three rounds.
Second period, 12:53, Bruins 2-1: Andrew Shaw just did his job.
He got tangled up with Zdeno Chara in front of the Bruins’ net, and the B’s captain caught Shaw with what was called a high-stick. The Bruins must kill off yet another penalty.
Second period, 10:25, Bruins 2-1: The Bruins wer eable to avoid any sort of trouble on the 5-on-3 and then on the 5-on-4, as their penalty kill comes up huge again.
The Chicago power play isn’t much to write home about, but the Bruins did just enough to keep them off the board, and maybe this kill will swing the momentum.
The Blackhawks are surging, and now it’s the Bruins’ turn to push back again.
Second period, 8:20, Bruins 2-1: It will be 5-on-3 for 1:17.
The Bruins were caught in a bad line change, and they get another too many men on the ice penalty.
Second period, 7:37, Bruins 2-1: The game’s first power play goes to Chicago.
Nathan HOrton was called for interference, and the B’s penalty kill makes its debut.
Second period, 6:20, Bruins 2-1: The Blackhawks didn’t get here by accident, folks.
They’ve shown some terrific push-back here in the second period, and they obviously used the goal to build some momentum. They just took advantage of a gassed David Krejci line, and they upped the pressure in a big way before the Bruins were finally able to clear the zone without any danger.
Second period, 3:08, Bruins 2-1: The Blackhawks are at their best when they get the puck in deep and chase it down with the forecheck. They just did that and they’re within one now.
Brandon Saad gets on the board, as he takes a nifty pass from Marian Hossa and then beats Tuukka Rask glove side with a wicked shot. Saad started it all by fighting through obstruction from Dennis Seidenberg before eventually getting the puck to Hossa.
Second period, 0:51, Bruins 2-0: The David Krejci line. Again.
Milan Lucic won a puck battle off of Patrick Kane in the neutral zone, and he eventually takes a pass from David Krejci and blasts it by Corey Crawford.
The puck hit Crawford in the left arm and went by him.
Second period, 0:10, Bruins 1-0: The second period is underway.
First period reaction: All in all, you have to be pretty happy with the first period if you’re the Bruins.
The B’s took a pretty good surge from the Blackhawks to begin the game in front of a jacked-up Chicago crowd, and they withstood it. While the hits stat is somewhat arbitrary, the Blackhawks were outhitting the B’s 13-4 into the first TV timeout. From then on, the B’s hit back, tying up that stat at 17 apiece into intermission. The Bruins are also starting to get in on the forecheck and make life a little more difficult for Chicago’s defensemen. We saw that from a guy like Daniel Paille early in the period, and then we saw it again leading up to the Milan Lucic goal.
Speaking of, that line continues to sizzle for the Bruins. David Krejci did a tremendous job of sticking with the play and taking a hit behind the net, which set up the lone goal thus far. Krejci got it out to Nathan Horton, and he continued his incredible playoff run with a gorgeous pass to Milan Lucic who put home the goal. Horton is now an insane plus-22 through 17 playoff games.
Once again, the Bruins are doing their part to limit the opposition’s top players. Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews combined for 0 shots on goal, and Toews lost four of the seven faceoffs he took.
End first period, Bruins 1-0: It wasn’t necessarily a slow start to the period for the Bruins, but they have definitely found their stride as the first period comes to an end.
The Bruins are doing a good job of starting to apply pressure in the offensive end, and that’s actually slowing the Blackhawks’ potented offensive attack.
Boston, who holds an 11-8 edge in shots, takes the 1-0 lead into the first intermission.
First period, 14:09, Bruins 1-0: Let’s go back to that Bruins goal.
David Krejci absorbed a big check from behind the Chicago net from Niklas Hjalmarsson, but the Bruins forward was still able to move the puck.
Krejci had words with the Chicago defensemen after the play, as he had the last laugh after the big hit failed.
Krejci now has 22 points this postseason.
First period, 13:11, Bruins 1-0: The first goal of the Stanley Cup Final belongs to the Bruins.
David Krejci took a hit to move the puck behind the net, he got it to Nathan Horton and Horton made a gorgeous pass to Milan Lucic across the slot.
Lucic easily beat Corey Crawford for the series’ first goal.
First period, 10:21, 0-0: Much better shift this time around from the third line, as they get the puck in deep and eventually force a turnover, with which they couldn’t do much.
Corey Crawford hasn’t been tested very much in the early going, but he David Krejci just got a shot on net that Crawford easily stopped in his pads.
So far, the Bruins have done a good job of not letting Chicago activate through the neutral zone. The Blackhawks like to move the puck through middle of the neutral zone with long passes from the defensive end, but that hasn’t been there yet for Chicago.
Neither team is getting a ton of pucks to the net. The Hawks are outshooting the B’s 5-4 halfway through the first.
First period, 6:35, 0-0: If these two teams are feeling each other out, they’ve got a funny way of doing it.
The first few minutes have been pretty fast-paced and very physical. The two clubs have already combined for 17 hits (13 of those from Chicago), and there has already been some chippiness.
The Blackhawks had the best chance of the first minutes, as Brandon Saad had a scoring opportunity on a 2-on-1. He tried to beat Tuukka Rask up over the goalie’s right shoulder, but Rask got it with the shoulder pad.
The Bruins’ third line has been atrocious through a couple of shifts. They’ve turned the puck over far too often, and the Blackhawks are getting chances out of it. That needs to be better for the Bruins.
First period, 0:01, 0-0: Here we go. The Stanley Cup Final is underway.
7:55 p.m.: The Bruins and Blackhawks have taken the ice for pregame warmups.
According to the pregame skate, the B’s aren’t making any lineup changes. On the other side of the ice, the Hawks are sticking with Brandon Bollig, while Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane remain split.
So, in other words, no changes.
7:10 p.m.: This would be a pretty good time for Jaromir Jagr or Tyler Seguin to break out. That probably goes without saying, but whatever. At some point, the B’s are going to need something out of one or both of those guys.
They’ve combined for just one goal through the first three rounds, and if the B’s do get caught in an offensive battle with the Blackhawks, they’re going to need all the scoring depth they can get. They may get their chances, too, especially Seguin. He remains on the Bruins’ third lines, which means he might get some favorable matchups against Chicago’s bottom six.
As far as Jagr goes, it will be fascinating to see if he’s able to raise his game to another level with the entire hockey world watching. He’s playing in his first Stanley Cup Final in 21 years, and it may end up being his last chance at another Cup. How much does that mean to a 41-year-old future Hall of Famer whose career resume doesn’t need to be validate? We’ll find out, obviously. But if you’re a Bruins fan, you have to like what you’ve seen out of Jagr as of late. He’s getting the chances, and while he’s not burying them, some of that could be attributed to bad puck luck.
Don’t be surprised if one or both breaks out at some point in this series; the Bruins could certainly use it.
7 p.m.: There’s still a little bit more than an hour until things get underway in Chicago, where there’s something of a scary situation developing.
The weather in the Windy City is a little hairy right now. There are severe thunderstorm warnings in Chicago, and there’s concern that a tornado may hit the area.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman addressed the situation in his state of the league address, and he said that the league was looking at it. He also said that likely the only scenario in which power would be lost is if the entire city lost power. Bettman also said that the United Center staff is ready for anything that may occur and that they are staffed to handle any situation.
You may recall that a tornado hit Western Massachusetts on the night of Game 1 of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final between the Bruins and Vancouver Canucks.
5:15 p.m.: The Blackhawks wanted to jump-start both Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews heading into Game 5 of the Western Conference finals. They did so by pairing up the All-Star forwards. They’ll be separated in this series, to start at least.
According to the Blackhawks’ lines from morning skate, the Hawks will go in a different direction with those two, plus the addition of Brandon Bollig.
Here are the lines and defense combinations Chicago showed at morning skate.
Patrick Sharp — Jonathan Toews — Marian Hossa
Bryan Bickell — Michal Handzus — Patrick Kane
Brandon Saad — Dave Bolland — Andrew Shaw
Brandon Bollig — Marcus Kruger — Michael Frolik
Duncan Keith — Brent Seabrook
Johnny Oduya — Niklas Hjalmarsson
Nick Leddy — Michal Rozsival
4:30 p.m.: With a little less than four hours until puck drop, it’s time for a Game 1 link dump. If you’re looking to kill time before the Final actually begins, we’ve got you covered in a big way.
There’s a lot at stake for Zdeno Chara and Patrice Bergeron in this Stanley Cup Final.
The Bruins might have their hands full, yet again, with a high-powered offense.
Phil Esposito had some interesting things to say about this Cup Final involving two of his former teams.
Despite the Blackhawks’ offensive capability, this could end up being a defensive-minded series.
Myself and NESN Nation’s Dan Duquette Jr. break down the series in podcast form.
Cam Neely used OMG to describe the Bruins’ Game 7 win over the Maple Leafs.
Nathan Horton gets another chance at playing in the Cup Final after his 2011 appearance was cut short.
Jonathan Toews, like many other hockey players his age, grew up a fan of Jaromir Jagr.
Similarly, Duncan Keith was a Bruins fan growing up, thanks in large part to Ray Bourque.
The Blackhawks certainly respect the Bruins.
Finally, the Bruins have the Red Sox’ support heading into the Cup Final.
2:20 p.m.: The Bruins don’t look to be making any sort of lineup decisions based on the morning skate lines. That shouldn’t be too much of a surprise at all, especially considering the fact that they haven’t changed (aside from injury shuffling) in quite some time.
Regardless, here they are.
Milan Lucic — David Krejci — Nathan Horton
Brad Marchand — Patrice Bergeron — Jaromir Jagr
Kaspars Daugavins — Rich Peverley — Tyler Seguin
Daniel Paille — Chris Kelly — Shawn Thornton
Zdeno Chara — Dennis Seidenberg
Johnny Boychuk — Andrew Ference
Torey Krug — Adam McQuaid
1:20 p.m.: It’s not taking Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville long to make some changes, as he’s adjusting his lineup before the series even begins.
Quenneville will turn to Brandon Bollig for Game 1, with Bollig replacing winger Viktor Stalberg for the series opener. Bollig is a big guy, standing 6-foot-3 and weighing 223 pounds. He was pointless in 25 games this season for Chicago with 51 penalty minutes in those 25 contests.
Read more about the decision by clicking here.
8 a.m. ET: It’s here. The Stanley Cup Final is about to begin.
Just two years after lifting the Cup in Vancouver after a seven-game battle, the Bruins are right back where they want to be and playing for Lord Stanley’s chalice once again. The Bruins are set to open their latest quest for hockey’s greatest prize, and they’ll do it Wednesday night at the United Center in Chicago.
It’s a matchup that features the two best teams in hockey, with the emphasis on the word team. Both teams are deep, and both teams have plenty of talent, and it’s no surprise that they’re the two clubs remaining. Both got here with convincing conference finals wins, with the Bruins sweeping the No. 1-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in the East, as the Hawks dispatched the defending Cup champions Los Angeles Kings in five games out West.
Now the two final combatants will get their first taste of each other since October of 2011. The NHL’s shortened season eliminated interconference play, so this will be the first and only East-West matchup in the NHL this season. That will no doubt make at least some sort of feeling-out process, but it’s not like these two teams don’t know what they’re going up against. The Blackhawks won a Cup just three years ago, and the Bruins, as mentioned, are just two years removed from upending Vancouver in the Final.
The matchup will also mark the first Original Six Stanley Cup Final matchup since 1979, and it will also be the first time these two teams have met in the Final. It’s expected to be an evenly matched series that has all the makings of a classic.
Puck drop for Game 1 is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET on Wednesday night.
