The Boston Bruins knew that in order to capture the 2013 Stanley Cup, they’d need to win at least one game at Chicago’s United Center.
On Saturday, they did exactly that.
The Bruins got the all-important split in Chicago and wrestled home ice advantage away from the ‘Hawks with a 2-1 overtime victory over the weekend, sending the Stanley Cup Final back to Boston knotted a one game a piece.
Boston managed to survive a Chicago onslaught in the opening frame, as netminder Tuukka Rask stopped 18 of 19 shots faced (the Bruins, meanwhile, only put four shots on Corey Crawford).
From there, the B’s steadily put their mark on the game, upping the physicality while limiting the Blackhawks’ chances on goal.
And by limiting, we mean limiting: Chicago had 19 shots in the opening frame...and just 14 through periods two, three and overtime.
“Maybe we left something out there,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "[We] had everything right in that first part of the game; had some good looks, as well. [We] did what we were looking to do.
“But, hey, it’s a long game. You know, we got to be better than that.”
The series will now turn to TD Garden, where the Bruins have a long history of Stanley Cup Final dominance.
In 2011, the B’s mopped the floor with Vancouver in Boston, winning their three home games by 8-1, 4-0 and 5-2 scorelines -- a combined 17-3 count that represented one of the most lopsided home ice advantages in playoff history.
As you’d expect, the Bruins are excited about the opportunity to get things going at the Garden, but know they’ll need a better start in Game 3 than they had in Game 2.
“Once we simplified our game and got our feet going, that’s when things started happening for us,” Milan Lucic told CSNNE.com. “Hopefully we don’t wait a period in the next to actually wake up.”