Game 2 will arrive in a hurry
Teams won’t get much rest after 3OT opener
CHICAGO – Long after the celebration was over, Marian Hossa finally made it home and managed to fall asleep around 3 a.m. The Chicago star woke up a few hours later, roused by a noisy neighbor.
“I think my neighbor decided he was going to drill in the morning. That was really unpleasant,” Hossa said Thursday. “You know, hopefully, he is going to get the message for next time, he won’t drill. Feel a little tired today.”
It’s OK, Marian. Everyone was a little tired after a rousing start to the Stanley Cup Final.
Chicago and Boston played three overtimes Wednesday night in the fifth-longest game in the history of the NHL’s marquee series. It finally came to an end – at the stroke of midnight, no less – when Andrew Shaw deflected Dave Bolland’s shot into the goal to give the Blackhawks the victory.
It was a deflating outcome for the Bruins, who also lost important forward Nathan Horton to an injury during the first overtime, while the Blackhawks seemed relieved that they didn’t have to sit on such a heartbreaking loss for two days before Game 2 on Saturday night.
“It’s one of those games being down 3-1, you come back to tie it 3-3, you feel like something was left on the table if you didn’t come back and win it,” forward Patrick Kane said. “The game went a long time. It’s definitely a good feeling winning in the third overtime when it does go that long.”
The winner of Game 1 has gone on to win the title in 56 of the 73 seasons since the NHL went to a best-of-seven format for the championship series in 1939. The Blackhawks won the first two games when they beat Philadelphia to win it all in 2010.
However, the Bruins dropped the first two games at Vancouver in the 2011 finals, and went on to win in seven.