The Boston Bruins turned the tables on the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals Saturday night.

The New York Times
By JEFF Z. KLEIN Published: June 16, 2013 

Game 2: Bruins 2, Blackhawks 1

Returning to Overtime, Bruins Find Way to Tie Series With Blackhawks

Harry How/Getty Images

Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask with some company in the crease in Game 2. He made 33 saves to help the Bruins gain home-ice advantage as they head to Boston.

CHICAGO — After being dominated for more than a period and a half, the Boston Bruins turned the tables on the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals Saturday night. The Bruins controlled most of the game’s final 40 minutes, and Daniel Paille’s overtime goal gave them a 2-1 victory that evened the series at one game apiece.

Paille’s open wrist shot from the top of the left circle at 13 minutes 48 seconds of overtime sailed past the glove of Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford, completing the Bruins’ difficult comeback. Boston will host Game 3 on Monday.

Describing his feelings after scoring the winner, Paille, a tenacious third- and fourth-line forward, said: “Just relief that the game was over and that we were able to go back 1-1. We’re happy with our result tonight.”

The Blackhawks completely dominated the Bruins in the first 34 minutes, with 23 shots on goal to Boston’s 6. Counting shots that were blocked or missed the net, Chicago attempted 46 shots to Boston’s 8.

“If somebody would watch the first period, I would’ve said, ‘Oh, give them the Cup right now,’ ” Bruins forward Jaromir Jagr said.

“We definitely were in survival mode,” said goalie Tuukka Rask, who was superb in stopping 33 of 34 Chicago shots.

“It was hard to watch and hard to coach,” said Claude Julien, the Bruins’ coach. “But in the second period we got better, and the further the game went on, the better we got.”

The game’s length, 73:48, was short in comparison with Game 1, which the Blackhawks won by 4-3 in the third overtime after 112:08 of playing time. In that game, Chicago clawed back from a two-goal deficit.

The two clubs have played more than 185 minutes in the finals — more than three full games packed into two.

Despite the one-sided play early in Game 2, the Blackhawks led by only 1-0, on Patrick Sharp’s goal at 11:22 of the first period.

“At the time, I think we were happy with the way we played,” Sharp said. “Scoring first was big; the building was into it. We were using our legs and skating, and for whatever reason that didn’t sustain itself.”

Sharp’s goal came on a play that exemplified Chicago’s iron grip on the game at that point.

Chicago swarmed the Boston goal after a giveaway by the rookie defenseman Torey Krug, with Patrick Kane shooting twice and Michal Rozsival once within six seconds. The puck popped into the air, and the Bruins’ Kaspars Daugavins batted it away — to Sharp on the right wing. Sharp spun and fired as his teammate Michal Handzus was draped over Rask and a pile of Bruins lay scattered in the goal mouth.

As the United Center crowd celebrated Sharp’s ninth goal of the postseason, Julien stood on his bench, gesturing angrily to the referees about the replay on the video board, which appeared to show Handzus impeding Rask’s ability to stop Sharp’s shot.

Seventy seconds later, the Blackhawks appeared to score again, as Jonathan Toews pushed the puck across the goal line while Rask lay sprawled from post to post. But after a long review, the league’s replay officials in Toronto ruled that a referee’s whistle had blown a moment before the puck crossed the line.

After that, Chicago kept the pressure on, thwarted only by Rask’s unflappable goaltending.

But suddenly, at about the 14-minute mark of the second period, the momentum turned. The Bruins started taking shots again, and at 14:58, they tied the score.

Tyler Seguin and Paille pressured Chicago defenseman Nick Leddy behind the Blackhawks’ net. Paille stole the puck and centered it to Chris Kelly, who had not scored a goal or recorded an assist in 17 previous playoff games. This time, he scored.

“Everyone would love to score and score consistently,” Kelly said. “For whatever reason, I haven’t. I try to stay positive.”

Now it was the Bruins’ turn to dominate. In the game’s final 40 minutes, they outshot the Blackhawks by 22-11.

In overtime, both teams had great chances. It ended when Seguin found Paille open with a fine cross-ice pass, and Paille’s quick wrist shot beat Crawford and clanged in off the goal post.

The puck came to Seguin, “and I just popped open,” said Paille, who finished the night with a goal and an assist. “He saw me pop out, and I had to shoot the puck quick, get it off my stick. I was able to pick it off the post.”

This is the second straight season in which the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals have gone to overtime. Last year, the Los Angeles Kings beat the Devils twice in overtime in Newark en route to a six-game series victory. 

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