The rubber is starting to hit the road in the 2013 Stanley Cup Finals and the current 1-1 tie between the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks will be broken on Monday night. Surely, Game 3 will include at least one overtime, so the two evenly-matched teams are preparing for another marathon.
Tuukka Rask was phenomenal in Game 2 as the stout Bruins goaltender weathered a barrage of shots in both the first and second periods. Patrick Sharp scored the game’s first goal in the first period, yet Boston’s defense was able to regroup and didn’t allow a single puck to get by Rask. After seven goals in an unforgettable Game 1, the offensive attacks both looked stagnant on Saturday with a lowly three goals trickling in.
Heading to Boston, both squads are going to focus on pressuring the opposite goaltender, but without a great game from Jonathan Toews Chicago has no hopes to reel in the win. Toews has scuffled this postseason with just one goal, yet that all could change if he is able to slide one past Rask on Monday.
For Boston, its defense has been its best offense.
With the ability to jar pucks out of the zone and block would-be goals, the Bruins’ defensemen have done an incredible job handling a few of the NHL‘s top scorers. Turnovers may not seem like a huge deal in the stat sheet, but if Boston can continue to force Chicago to make mistakes, then the Bruins’ scoring opportunities are endless. Even still, this series is as close as they come and one team will walk out of TD Bank Garden on Monday night — or maybe Tuesday morning — with its head held high.
