If you had to guess who might come up with a key goal for the Bruins in Game 6, Milan Lucic would probably be near the top of the list. And sure enough, Lucic, who entered Monday with six playoff goals, including three in these Cup Finals, gave Boston a 2-1 lead with 7:49 to play.
It’s certainly a welcome change from the last time we saw Lucic, at the end of Game 5:
But what happened over the final 90 seconds of regulation may make Lucic and everyone else on the Bruins bench want to break their sticks five times over.
With the game seemingly in hand — and Blackhawks fans likely resigned to a Game 7 on Wednesday — Jonathan Toews and Bryan Bickell teamed up for a goal to tie the game at 2-2.
Then 17 seconds later, Michael Frolik redirected a Johnny Oduya shot off the post. The rebound then found the tape of Dave Bolland, who slammed it home for the series-winner. Bolland's third goal of the postseason capped off a stunning and devastating finish you had to see to believe — one the Bruins and their fans won’t soon forget.
Let the game begin
Can't speak for the players, but it sure looked the former players and famous fans were feeling good before the game:
Breaking noses, breaking ... news?
But it was less than cordial on the ice. As has been the case throughout this series, the hitting was hard and the competition fierce — but it could have been even nastier ... in the newsroom? You see, if the Bruins had forced a Game 7, Blackhawks fans who believe in karma would not have been pleased with a couple of Chicago-based reporters.
The reporters, representing WGN, decided to play the following prank on the citizens of Boston and paraded around Beantown with a fake Stanley Cup case before Monday's game:
Off and skating
And sure enough, the Eastern Conference champs got off to a good start.
In front of an anxious home crowd, the Bruins got 12 shots on ‘Hawks goaltender Corey Crawford in the first period, and one of them found twine, as Tyler Seguin and Chris Kelly teamed up off of an offensive-zone faceoff to give the Bruins a 1-0 lead with 12:41 left in the frame.
The Blackhawks’ offense, however, was less successful early, and only got six shots on net in the first 20 minutes. If anything, the only noteworthy moment for Chicago in the first period was a scary lowlight, when Game 1 hero Andrew Shaw took a deflected slap shot to the face, leaving him bloodied on the ice:
Fortunately for the Blackhawks, Shaw — like Boston's Nathan Horton in Game 5 — was stitched up and back on the ice for the start of the second period, and with his return came some good luck for the offense.
Just 4:24 into the second period, at the exact moment that Shaw emerged from the penalty box following a timeout for roughing, Jonathan Toews single-handedly took a neutral-zone faceoff into the Boston zone and beat Tuukka Rask five-hole to tie the game at 1-1.
That must have made Ronald McDonald happy:
Spotted on a bus stop in the Loop. LOVE! pic.twitter.com/d0X1vjWFiZ
— Lizzie Schiffman (@lizzieschiffman) June 24, 2013
Toews' goal — his third of the postseason — represented the only scoring in the second period, but it was hardly short on excitement. After 40 minutes, Rask has stopped 14 of 15 shots for Boston, including this dramatic "toe save" to preserve the tie:
Meanwhile, Crawford has stymied 17 of 18. And before this one ends, someone is going to have to bend. The question is, will it end the series, or force one more game for all the ice chips?
