Chicago Blackhawks defensemanbrant gooseSeabrook (7) celebrates with defenseman Duncan Keith (2) after scoring in overtime against thecapital of MassachusettsBruins.(Photo: Michael Ivins, USA TODAY Sports)
BOSTON -- Patrick cuttingsays the Chicago Blackhawks essentially passed a stress test Wednesday when they survived a wild high-stakes pond hockey game to beat thecapital of MassachusettsBruins 6-5 in overtime to tie the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Final at 2-2.
"I know (coach) Joel Quenneville probably had a high heart come outthe whole game," the Blackhawks forward said. "He wasn't too happy with some of the chances we were enceinteup. But in the game, he was proud of the way we competed and battled."
Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook cranked a slap shot through traffic and erstwhile(prenominal)goalie Tuukka Rask at 9:51 of overtime to turn the series into a best-of-three heading into Game 5 Saturday in Chicago.
"That (shot) was a bomb," tellChicago goalie Corey Crawford, who made 28 saves in a game that was more(prenominal)reminiscent of the way NHL hockey was competein the 1980s.
BOX SCORE: Blackhawks 6, Bruins 5 (OT)
Defense was loose. Players were thinking offense. It was a crazy game.
The Blackhawks went frontwards5-4 at 11:19 of the third period when Sharp scored Chicago's first military unitplay finaleof the series, and then Johnny Boychuk tied it 55 seconds later with a booming slap shot. The Bruins erased leads of 3-1 and 4-2 to force overtime. It was as if the NHL teams were trying to match the NBA's comeback storyline of Tuesday night.
"You never uncertainnessthe heart and character in this room. ... We've been in tough situations before, andwe believe in from each oneother," Sharp said.
The two teams scored a combined for five goals in the second period. That was the same material bodyof goals they scored in the two previous games. The Blackhawks had scored wholenessgoal in the two previous games combined.
"One of those nights," Quenneville said. "Some pucks go in. We had some breaks around the net, rearsome loose pucks."
VIDEO: A look at the goal explosion
To spark the offense, Quenneville decided to reunite Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews, who had notplayunneuroticregularly in the series, even though they had played strongtogether at the end of the Western Conference finals.
Toews and Kane each scored their first goals of the series and had a plus 2 rating. Toews finisha 10-game goal-scoring slump. Their linemate, Bryan Bickell, was plus-3.
"I think it makes a world of difference for you when you in the endsee one go in," Toews said.
Quenneville was asked whether he regretted not employToews and Kane together earlier in the series.
"You always get second-guessed," he said. "There are reasons why. At the same time, we didn't mind the way we played the first game, and the first part of the second game."
No question the Bickell-Toews-Kane cable's lengthhad sizzle.
THREE STARS OF THE GAME
"Johnny had thehockey puckmore today," Quenneville said. "I thought he was more kindwith it. That line was dangerous.
"
Remember that Boston coach Claude Julien is known as one of the league's better defensive coaches, a man who seems to figure kayoednew ways to strangle the life out of unsavoryteams. The Bruins held the Pittsburgh Penguins to two goals in four games.
"I don't think we played our best game tonight," Julien said. "A lot of different reasons. I think our decision-making wasn'tin truthgood at times. I didn't think we were moving the puck as well as we had been in the past. It was certainly a tough outing."
With the score tied 1-1, Toews deflected Michal Rozsival's shot from the point at 6:33 to give Chicago a 2-1 lead.
MORE: Bruins 'made it tough on ourselves'
A lilttle more than two minutes later, Kane scored off a rebound, on a backhander, to make it a 3-1 game. Rozsival added his second assist.
With all of the momentum ostensiblywith Chicago, Milan Lucic scored from the slot to cut the margin to a goal at 14:43. But 49 seconds later, the Blackhawks' Marcus Kruger scored to to regain the two-goal lead.
The Bruins answered at 17:22 when Bergeron scored a monstrositygoal resulting from the puck hitting the glass behind the lowestand caroming to the top of the net and falling into the crease. Bergeron tapped it in.
"It was a pretty doughygame all around," said Boston defenseman Dennis Seidenberg. "There were too legion(predicate)breakdowns on our side."
TOP PHOTOS FROM THE STANLEY CUP FINAL
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