The Original 6 match-up had it all: fists flying, sprawling saves, goal posts, a penalty shot, overtime - even a shootout, why not?
Tim Thomas and Nikolai Khabibulin faced a lot of rubber by night's end, combining for 69 saves on 71 shots. Thomas showed once again why he's the NHL's best netminder to date, and Khaby may be 35 years old, but he proved he has a lot of game left in him.
Chicago outshot Boston 18-6 in the first period but the score was 0-0 after one. The Bruins outshot the Hawks 8-1 in overtime but the score remained 1-1. Those were some of the momentum swings the 22,000+ in the United Center witnessed.
It was a relatively quiet night for the red light. Marco Sturm deflected a Zdeno Chara shot for a powerplay goal in the second; Jonathan Toews deflected a Patrick Kane shot for a powerplay goal in the third. Patrice Bergeron and Cam Barker picked up assists; end scoring summary.
Those two straight six-goal games for Chicago? Not against us, you don't, Captain Chara and the Bruins said. The Hawks experienced a healthy dose of trap, trap, trap, as Claude Julien's squad clogged the neutral zone and took away the speedy Hawks attack for much of the game, minus period one.
"The way they play with the trap, it's kind of like playing the Wild, there's not really much in the neutral zone," Kane told Blackhawks TV after the game. "Looking back, we probably want to get it deep more instead of on the rush, but we'll get them next time. We get them again this year."
Patrick Sharp fumbled the rubber on a penalty shot attempt in overtime, after the Hawks successfully killed a Barker penalty in OT. Talk about some serious extra hockey drama.
Blake Wheeler and Kane converted on their shootout attempts for a 1-1 tie going into the third round. Dave Bolland was stopped by Thomas, and P.J. Axelsson took care of the rest, with a flashy deke and backhand to give the Bruins the win.
Not the perfect ending for a night that honored Pierre Pilote and the late Keith Magnuson, retiring their No. 3 sweaters to the rafters. But you can't be unhappy with this point because it came against a very good team, and the Hawks remain unbeaten in regulation at home this year: 6-0-3.
Here's a few videos from the game because I was there tonight... Enjoy.
Toews goal: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7NCd2-85ey8
Entire shootout: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0O44OMyxHZM
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