CHICAGO: After two exhilarating but wildly contrasting games in Boston, the Stanley Cup Finals returns to Chicago today with no one quite sure what to expect from the Jekyll and Hyde Blackhawks and Bruins.
Defensive brilliance and stellar goaltending in one game, last shot wins in the next, the best-of-seven series has been both breathtakingly entertaining and unpredictable.
“I guess series like this can take some unexpected turns sometimes, and you saw that last night,” said Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews, who had a goal in Chicago’s 6-5 overtime win on Wednesday that leveled the best-of-seven series at 2-2.
“I’m not going to make any predictions for what happens in the next game, but obviously there’s a lot of things we want to carry into this game, Game Five, here.”
After a 4-3 triple-overtime win by Chicago in Game One the Finals turned defensive with Boston squeaking out a 2-1 overtime victory in Game Two and a 2-0 shutout win in Game Three.
While there had been scoring chances aplenty, it seemed goals would be hard to come by with Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask and Blackhawks counterpart Corey Crawford doing their part by putting on goaltending clinics.
But on Wednesday the two teams threw off their defensive shackles and turned on the offensive style with Chicago winning a 6-5 overtime shootout to leave fans wondering what is next.
“I guess it’s good for the fans to keep watching and keep them guessing for what’s next,” chuckled Blackhawks Patrick Kane.
REUTERS
