(Photo: Scott Stewart, USA TODAY Sports) (http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nhl/2013/06/22/boston-bruins-chicago-blackhawks-game-5/2449573/)
An overwhelming win for the Blackhawks tonight at the Madhouse on Madison.
First Period:
The game started with much momentum and intensity. The playing was pretty even but the Blackhawks made it clear they were the home presence. The Bruins excel at interfering with passes between the hawks’ defense and offense in the neutral zone. Still, Sharp had several good chances on Rask and finally with 2 minutes and 33 seconds left Kaner scored with assists by Toews and Johnny Oduya. Within the last few minutes of the first period the Bruins had two men bleeding. Hossa accidentally lifted the puck up into the face of Nathan Horton on the Bruins bench causing a small gash on his left eye. As Seguin attempted to salvage a saved shot to goal he was trampled a bit by the Blackhawks defenders in our goal causing a nosebleed.
Second Period:
The Blackhawks starting out strong offensively. The Bruins felt threatened after an injured Bergeron left the ice and Chara hoped to enforce his dominance by shoving Bickell against the glass. Within the first minute of the second period a tripping penalty was called on Bruin Nathan Horton for tripping Handzus and a penalty called on Handzus for diving. An exciting bout of four on four hockey ensued. Once the penalties were served the B-Hawks kept the pressure in the Bruins zone until Kane scored once more and the madhouse truly went mad with cheers, Chelsea Dagger sung by thousands all hoping for the return of “Hat-Trick Kane”. The first power play occurred soon after when Seidenberg was sent to the box. No goals were made, as the Bruins did a great job defending their zone from another sharp shot by the Hawks’ front line. While the Blackhawks clearly owned the ice the majority of the period I did begin to sweat a bit within the last few seconds of this period after continuos shots on Crawford.
Third Period:
Bruins started this period with a strong offensive push in hopes to even the score. Crawford proved his skill which was put into question earlier this weekend with some magnificent saves…until Chara scored with sixteen minutes left in the game. WIth revamped energy the Bruins continued to hold good spacing but weren’t taking the offensive risks they had to in order to win. Michael Frolik and Patrick Kane put continuous pressure on Tuukka Rask this period with some really close shots. Toews sat on the bench after taking quite a few blows earlier in the game including a nasty one by Boychuck. Desperate to tie the game in the final minute, Claude Julien pulled Rask from the net to add to a final offensive battle. The empty net instead served to the Blackhawks advantage when Bolland scored with a far shot and thirteen seconds remaining.
Hooked on Hockey 