The Chicago Blackhawks are riding high after a great overtime win against the Boston Bruins in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals and now the team has back home ice advantage with the series 2-2 after the thrilling 6-5 victory on Wednesday night.
The Blackhawks started off the season on a record streak after opening without losing a game in regulation and now they will try to continue that with a Game 5 victory at home. The team lost home ice after dropping Game 2 at home and after the Game 3 shutout the Blackhawks needed a bounce back game and they got it with a clutch goal from Brent Seabrook in overtime. The Blackhawks scored in all three periods and had three goals in the third period to take a lead before Boston came back.
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Chicago had a number of leads that the Bruins were able to catch up on, including at 1-0, 3-1, 4-2 and 5-4 before Boston scored to tie the game and send it to overtime. The Blackhawks got six goals from six different players in Game 4 and that will be a big boost for them heading into Game 5, especially the goal from Jonathan Toews, which was his first of the series after scoring just one the rest of the playoffs. Chicago also got goals from Michal Handzus, Patrick Kane, Seabrook, Marcus Kruger and Patrick Sharp in the victory and that scoring will be key going forward in the series.
The Bruins have been playing very well over the past two games while getting two victories over the Blackhawks, including in the 2-0 victory in Game 3 that saw a shutout from Tuukka Rask. The Blackhawks needed to get back into things in Game 4 and now the series is back tied at 2-2 heading into Game 5 and Chicago has the advantage with two of three games at home. Boston has a deep roster and they showed why in Game 4, getting goals from Patrice Bergeron, Johnny Boychuk and Milan Lucic and they will be looking to rebound on Saturday. The Bruins already proved that
The goaltenders for both teams have played very well over the postseason and in the Stanley Cup finals and Corey Crawford will need to continue that in Game 5 after allowing five goals in the victory. Rask has been the best goaltender in the playoffs and was leading in save percentage heading into the finals series. Rask had 41 saves despite allowing six goals, while Crawford had 28 saves in the win. The performance was a welcome change for the Blackhawks since losing 2-0 in Game after 28 saves from Rask and now the Blackhawks have the momentum heading into Game 5.
The two teams have had issues holding onto leads in the series, including in Game 1 when the Bruins had a 3-1 lead in the game and ended up going to triple overtime before losing. Game 4 had more of the same before Seabrook scored in overtime and now in Game 5 both teams will be looking to take a 3-2 advantage in the series. The Bruins did a good job of quieting the crowd in Chicago in Game 2 and now the team will try and do the same in Game 5. The Bruins will need David Krejci to step up after leading the team with 24 points and 15 assists through the postseason, while Patrice Bergeron is tops with nine goals. The Blackhawks have Patrick Kane leading with 17 points, while Patrick Sharp is tops with 10 goals and Duncan Keith has 10 assists.