First, the Boston Bruins looked like they had the upper hand.
Then it was the Chicago Blackhawks. And that was just the first game of the Stanley Cup Final.
We’re now heading into Game 5 on Saturday in Chicago, and the changes in momentum have been numerous, not just overall in the series, but from game-to-game, period-to-period, shift-to-shift.
Take Game 4 on Wednesday night. The Blackhawks were victorious in a wild 6-5 overtime thriller. They had a pair of two-goal leads on the night, but the Bruins fought back to even the score.
The two teams combined for five goals in 11 minutes in the second period of Wednesday’s game.
Chicago then took the lead again in the third period, only to have Boston tie the game up again and force overtime, and a last-goal wins scenario.
“Yeah, I mean a lot of occasions, these finals especially, the momentum shifts and both teams have their moments,” Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask told reporters on Thursday.
“We just try to recognize what the situation is and not get too much carried away about the losses or wins and just try to stay even-keel and try to play our game as good as we can and hope that the result will be good.”
So, after Wednesday, which team has the momentum heading into the weekend?
Is it the Bruins, who have already won once in Chicago this series, or the Blackhawks, who found life in Game 4 after being shelled two days earlier?