Another spring championship round, another wild Game 6 comeback that leads to a title. Last week it was the Miami Heat, this week it was the Chicago Blackhawks. Trailing 2-1 with 1:16 left in the third period last night in Boston, the Blackhawks scored twice in regulation and with it won the 2013 Stanley Cup.
The Chicago Blackhawks moved within one win of the Stanley Cup with a 3-1 win in Game 5 over the Boston Bruins, a game that was well-played on both sides, while showcasing Chicago’s overall team versatility.
After two consecutive grinding, defensive-oriented games, the ice opened up in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals last night in Boston, and the Chicago Blackhawks won a wide-open goalfest 6-5, as the series saw its third game go to overtime. Chicago evened the series two games apiece, and while reclaiming home ice doesn’t have the same impact in hockey that it does in the NBA, the Blackhawks can now win the Cup by winning Games 5 & 7 in front of their home fans in the Windy City.
Unlike the first two games, which were fraught with missed opportunities, intrigue and storylines layered upon one another, this was pretty straightforward. While it would be a stretch to say the Bruins dominated, they maintained reasonable control of the game, got both goals in the second period and then coasted in relatively free of drama.
NBC is getting its money’s worth from these Stanley Cup Finals. After a three-overtime opener on Wednesday won by the Chicago Blackhawks, the network got another round of extra advertising time last night, as it took the Boston Bruins nearly fifteen minutes into overtime to get a 2-1 win that evens the series.
The Stanley Cup Finals got off to start that gave viewers both thrills and bleary eyes by the time it was over. In the end, the Chicago Blackhawks rallied from a 3-1 deficit in the third period, tied the game and then went into the third overtime to beat the Boston Bruins in Game 1.
The Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks begin the final leg of the championship journey on Wednesday night when the two Original Six franchises open the Stanley Cup Finals. It’s the first time a pair of NHL originals have met for the Cup since 1979, a year Montreal won its fourth straight title over the New York Rangers. TheSportsNotebook does its final series preview of the season, as we see if Chicago is worthy of their status as the 8-5 favorite to win it all.
One night after the Boston Bruins punched their ticket to the Stanley Cup Final, the Chicago Blackhawks locked up their chance to hoist sport’s greatest trophy. Game 5 against the Los Angeles Kings looked like it would be an easy coronation, ended up as drawn-out confrontation, but still ended in celebration for Chicago.
The Boston Bruins are going to the Stanley Cup Finals for the second time in three years, and this time it’s on the back of Tuuka Raask. The Bruin goalie completed a series where he spearheaded a defensive effort that not only shut down the potent Pittsburgh attack, but in the final two games, Raask saved 77 of 78 shots. The kid from Finland came of age in this series, and he’s the biggest reason Boston is the champion of the Eastern Conference.
The Los Angeles Kings got themselves back into the NHL’s Western Conference Finals with their clutch Game 3 win over Chicago while the Pittsburgh Penguins weren’t as fortunate in a gut-wrenching double-overtime loss in Boston last night. Los Angeles got another break when the league office stepped in and issued a key suspension for tonight’s crucial Game 4, so it’s this series that our NHL analysis will start.
The Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins may have drawn first blood in the opening games of their respective conference finals against the Los Angeles Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins. But Game 2 saw Chicago and Boston simply open up the veins of their opponents and watch them bleed out, as each struck early and often for victories that put them in commanding 2-0 series leads.
One of the NHL’s conference finals went to form yesterday, and another saw the underdog strike first. The Chicago Blackhawks nipped the Los Angeles Kings, but the other favorite, the Pittsburgh Penguins, were outplayed at home by the Boston Bruins. Let’s rehash how Chicago and Boston drew first blood in their best-of-seven series and look ahead…