The United Center was once again rocking as Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals got underway. And, well, they had plenty to cheer about in the first period. Not so much for the Bruins, though. They were outplayed in every aspect of the game in the first period. Defense, offense, and yes, even goal. Crawford didn't give up a goal in the first and Rask did, not saying he did bad I'm just saying they were better in literally every way. And the goal wasn't Rask's fault either, it was scored when the Blackhawks took about 4 shots in rapid fire, and Rask stopped all of those but it bounced out to Patrick Sharp who was able to get it through the traffic and into the back of the net to give the Hawks the early lead. That was just one of many scoring chances in the first period as the Bruins were outshot 19-3. All in all, it was looking like a very long night for Boston and if not for Tuukka it could have easily been at least 3-0. But, to the Bruins credit, they didn't give up. They didn't focus on their effort in the first and just looked forward to the second. The really tightened up defensively, and although they were greatly outshot in the first, the Blackhawks only got 15 shots the rest of the game, including overtime. With the way the Bruins played in the first, Claude Julien was forced to shake up his lines to try and get anything going. And, well, it worked. He moved Seguin down to the fourth line to skate with Chris Kelly and Daniel Paille while Shawn Thornton moved up to the third line to take Seguin's place with Kaspris Daugavins and Rich Peverly. I don't know what Julien saw in the new fourth line combination, but it proved to be the difference in the game as that line would score both of Boston's two goals. The first one came in the second period when Paille grabbed a puck behind the net, he forced his way out front and threw a shot on goal. Crawford stopped that one but Kelly was right there for the rebound and he jammed it home to tie the game 1-1. After a scoreless third period we would head to overtime. Again. It is the fourth time in NHL history the first two games of the Finals have gone to OT. To find the last time it happened you have to go all the way back to....well, last season, when Los Angeles and New Jersey did it. It looked like it could be another long one with bad bounces for the Bruins after Jaromir Jagr, who has been snake-bitten all postseason, rang the post about 2 minutes into overtime. Once again, so close for Jagr and you could see him yell in frustration. But in the end, the Bruins would come out on top, with about 6 minutes left in OT Adam McQuaid would save a puck in the offensive zone, passed it over to Tyler Seguin, who then made a cross-ice pass to Paille who one timed it past the glove side of Crawford to send the Bruins back to Boston with the Stanley Cup Finals all tied at 1.
The Bruins definitely got better as this game went on. After a very bad first period, they slowly got better every period after and overtime was definitely their best. The Blackhawks, on the other hand, got worse as the game went on. The controlled play in the first then just seemed to get away from what they were doing. And we've got a new series, although the Bruins now have home ice advantage.
#BruinsIn6
~Anthony
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