Mark Spector

Mark Spector is a columnist for sportsnet.ca

Chicago has plenty of firepower but it's David Bolland who tends to get under the opponents' skins.

CHICAGO -- Of all the predictions that didn't come through in Game 1 of this Stanley Cup final, and there were many, the one that did saved the Chicago Blackhawks' bacon.

"We've got six 20-goal scorers. It should be no surprise," Troy Brouwer was reminding us on Sunday morning as the media gathered around he and David Bolland on the off-day like the three Game 1 goals they combined on were the first of their NHL careers.

"Everyone can score on this team. Everyone has that ability to be a threat when they're given the opportunity," he said. "(The media) is making a big deal of it now, but we've been able to have that all season long."

Historically, the "New Hero Every Night" phenomenon is a common theme among hockey teams that come out on top. And as Philadelphia found out in Game 1, nobody has more guys ready to throw on the cape than this Blackhawks club.

On a morning after when players from both teams assured us they had waded into this Cup final with one of their worst efforts in weeks in a 6-5 Blackhawks win, we are reminded why it was that Chicago came out the best of the worst in Game 1.

It is because they have Marian Hossa, a first-line player in any other city, playing on their second line.

They play Brian Campbell, a defenceman adept enough to have commanded north of $7 million annually as a free agent, on their No. 2 defensive pairing.

When they go to the press box for reserves they extract not some sluggo from the Rockford IceHogs, but Tomas Kopecky, a player good enough to have played at the Olympics for a surprisingly strong Slovakia club.

And the face of it all is Bolland, the pesky, third-line centre who swallowed his pride and accepted the role of the resident stick man, despite scoring 130 points in his final junior season.

He not only neutralized Flyers No. 1 centre Mike Richards in Game 1, but Bolland's shorthanded breakaway goal was part of a two-point, plus-3 night. Richards, in 22:44 of ice time, had no points, just three shots on goal, and was minus-2.

"I just play tough on him. Everyone hates when … you're always around them, always in their skates, hitting their sticks, doing little things," Boland said. "A lot of guys hate it. Everyone hates it, really."

Let's face it: Everyone hates HIM, really.

He cheats on faceoffs. He whacks the stick out of your hands for no reason. He is relentless with his stickwork, slashing you, poking you, spearing you whenever he spies a chance. And they aren't love taps.

Bolland drove Joe Thornton to considerable distraction in the San Jose series, and Thornton's emotions finally spilled over when -- right in front of all four on-ice officials -- he gave Bolland a Paul Bunyan-esque two-hander on the wrist as the two readied to take a faceoff.

Before that, Bolland did the near impossible, pushing a Swedish skill player over the edge. Daniel Sedin simply lost it against Bolland, taking a string of minor penalties that crippled his club, and had his young daughter asking, "Why was Daddy in the penalty box so much?"

"He just snapped," said Bolland, laughing. "He didn't like it."

He didn't "like" what? Is Bolland like Sean Avery and Alex Burrows, who Google their opponent to find original material they can chirp into their ear come game time?

"I think it's more what I do," he says. "Just getting' in their face, being around them. When I was back in junior and they had a checking line against me, I hated that too. That guy was around, poking you, lifting your stick. Not even for any reason. It does get to be a bit of a nuisance, and I hated that."

Game 1, by Bolland's standards, was mighty tame.

"I think I slashed (Jeff) Carter's stick out of his hand, a little bit. I thought it was going to be nastier than that. It was pretty calm. I don't know what happened."

That, we are ready to predict, is sure to change.

"If it gets nastier, I'm OK. If not? I can play that game too."

That's the problem with this Chicago club. They can play any game, and they can usually beat you at it too.