CHICAGO – There comes a point in every double or triple-overtime game like this one, where the amount of joy and momentum the winning team will accrue from victory is surpassed by the acute devastation that will befall the loser.
Where winning becomes more of a relief, and losing becomes something that might not be overcome.
So, when Michal Rozsival’s point shot was tipped by David Bolland, which then deflected off of Andrew Shaw and past impenetrable Boston goalie Tuukka Rask, the Chicago Blackhawks were not particularly concerned about the pedigree of the goal that gave them a 4-3, triple-OT win and a 1-0 series lead.
“For sure it wasn’t going to be a pretty one,” Bolland observed. “Whatever happens, it’s going to be an ugly goal.”
Ugly like an award-winning bulldog, that goal was a sight for 22,110 sore eyes at the United Center, who had gathered under warning of tornado. A game that was played as thunder shook the building during a wicked lightning storm, ended exactly at the stroke of midnight – four hours and 38 minutes after the puck had dropped on this Stanley Cup final.
“It sucks,” Rask said, “because you’re tired and you almost played two games. But at the end of the day, it’s a loss, and that’s the only thing that matters.”
There was 112:08 of hockey in the fifth-longest Stanley Cup game ever played, and a plethora of Grade A scoring chances throughout. Little known Kaspars Daugavins had the best chance in overtime for Boston and somehow failed to make the deposit.
In a rare show of defeat, he hung his head low on the bench as the next shift was played, so dear would that goal have been for a fourth-line plugger from Latvia who may never get a shot at a spotlight this bright again.
Some of us had openly pined for more games just like this, as we watched a playoffs peppered with 1-0 and 2-1 games, chanceless affairs with more shot blocks than saves required.
Well, this one had enough of everything.
Stellar goaltending: the shots were 63 to 54 for Chicago.
Unsafe leads: Boston led 2-0 on two Milan Lucic goals, and 3-1 in the eighth minute of the third period.
Physical play: Nathan Horton may be lost to the Bruins with an apparent shoulder injury, and there were plenty of hits on the night.
And unpredictability: this one gave the Bruins their first series deficit of these playoffs.
“You just have to tell yourself to find a way,” said Chicago defenceman Duncan Keith, whose 48:40 of ice time topped all skaters. “Everyone’s trying to catch their breath. You know it’s going to be one bounce. You just want to stick with it and make sure you’re being smart and assertive out there.”
In the old days, a team would find chemistry from a five-on-five brawl. Today, it’s more likely that an extended overtime will do the same trick, bonding a very good Blackhawks team even faster than before.
“I liked the older days, but the game has changed,” Bolland said. “It’s not a brawl now. It’s how many periods you go in the overtime.
“It builds chemistry. It builds … it just builds a team,” Bolland continued. “When you have ‘er going like this, guys going on all cylinders, running all four lines. It was good today.”
“We’ve got a team where, any night, someone could be the hero, be the star. I like to think we’re prepared for these situations,” said Chicago’s Patrick Sharp, who had eight shots on goal. “I think in the minors, we won the Calder Cup in Philadelphia, it was a triple-overtime game. In the NHL this is the longest I’ve ever played.”
And losing a game like this?
“I won’t speak for Boston, but it would be hard,” he offered. “But we expect Boston to be here all series long.”
In Chicago’s net, Corey Crawford quickly erased any perception that Boston had an edge in goaltending. He was asked to be better in the overtime periods than Rask and answered with authority – clearly more than enough goaltender for the ‘Hawks to ride to a second Stanley Cup in four seasons, should they be able to continue this level of play.
“I felt a little more zoned in, I think, in OT,” Crawford said. “You always have to make the next save or else it’s over. I just focused on everything to make sure the next one doesn’t go in.
“We traded some chances back and forth, but you just have to stick with it. If you miss or they come close, it doesn’t matter, you’ve gotta keep going.
“That’s the longest game I’ve ever played in, especially at a stage like this. It was so much fun to win that one.”
And so hard to lose.
Chicago has two days off to recover physically, and they’ll need every minute.
So will Boston, but they’ve got the mental aspect to heal from as well.