Blackhawks 4, Bruins 3 (3OT): Andrew Shaw scored 12:08 into triple overtime as host Chicago outlasted its Original Six rival in the series opener, which was the fifth-longest game in Stanley Cup final history.
After the Blackhawks were whistled for their second too-many-men-on-the-ice penalty, Bruins captain Zdeno Chara nearly ended the contest in the waning moments of the second overtime as his shot caromed off the skate of teammate Jaromir Jagr before bouncing off the right post. Chicago ended the wild affair as defenseman Michal Rozsival's shot from the point deflected off Dave Bolland in the slot before skimming off the leg of Shaw and into the net.
Blue-liner Johnny Oduya forged a 3-3 tie with 7:46 remaining in the third period while Bolland and Brandon Saad netted their respective first goals of the postseason. Corey Crawford finished with 51 saves for Presidents' Trophy-winning Chicago, which improved to 10-1 at home in the playoffs.
Milan Lucic scored twice to record his third career multi-goal postseason performance and assisted on Patrice Bergeron's power-play tally in the third period. David Krejci notched a pair of assists to increase his league-leading point total to 23 and Tuukka Rask turned aside a career-high 59 shots for the Bruins, who will look to rebound in Game 2 on Saturday.
After Bergeron's blast from the left faceoff circle gave Boston a 3-1 lead at 6:09 of the third period, Chicago answered just 1:51 later by taking advantage of rookie defenseman Torey Krug's ill-advised clearing attempt up the middle of the ice. Shaw deftly slid a cross-slot feed to Bolland, who deposited it past Rask. Oduya knotted the contest just over four minutes later, when his blast from inside the blue line caromed off the left skate of Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference and deflected past the outstretched pad of Rask.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Prior to Chicago's victory, the road team had won all seven triple-overtime games in Stanley Cup final history. ... The last triple-overtime contest in a Stanley Cup final came in 2008, when Pittsburgh posted a 4-3 triumph over Detroit in Game 5. ... The contest was the longest Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final since May 15, 1990, when Petr Klima scored 15:13 into the third overtime to lead Edmonton past Boston. ... Every series in the 2013 playoffs has featured at least one overtime contest. The last time that happened was 1987. ... Original Six rivals were competing in the Stanley Cup final for the first time since 1979, when Montreal defeated the New York Rangers in five games to win its fourth consecutive championship. ... Boston RW Nathan Horton, who had an assist, exited the contest in the first overtime with an upper-body injury. ... Saad's first career postseason goal ended Rask's shutout streak at 149 minutes and 36 seconds, dating back to the second period of Game 3 of the Eastern Conference final versus Pittsburgh. ... Jagr was making his first appearance in a Stanley Cup final since 1992 - a span of 21 years. The length of time between appearances is the longest for a player to vie for a championship in the four major North American team sports. Jagr also faced Chicago in 1992 while with Pittsburgh.
Boston | Chicago | |
Milan Lucic 3 | Points | David Bolland 2 |
Milan Lucic 2 | Goals | David Bolland 1 |
David Krejci 2 | Assists | David Bolland 1 |
Patrice Bergeron 1 | Power Play Goals | N/A |
N/A | Short Handed Goals | N/A |
Tuukka Rask .937 | Save Percentage | Corey Crawford .944 |
Tuukka Rask 59 | Saves | Corey Crawford 51 |
Team | Shots | Goals | Power Play | Penalty Kill | Penalty Mins | Face Offs Won |
Boston | 54 | 3 | 1-3 | 3-3 | 6 | 58 |
Chicago | 63 | 4 | 0-3 | 2-3 | 6 | 56 |