The NHL Playoffs have been battling with the NBA finals for some excitement and finally on Tuesday basketball got some overtime action and that could be in store again on Wednesday as the Chicago Blackhawks take on the Boston Bruins in Game 4 on Wednesday night.
The two teams have battled hard and after the Bruins took Game 2, they also were able to win Game 3 to keep home ice advantage after winning one on the road. Goaltender Tuukka Rask was fantastic again for the Bruins, as he stopped 28 shots in a 2-0 shutout of the Blackhawks. The game finished with some fighting and now the Bruins have the chance to take a 3-1 series lead after coming into the Stanley Cup finals on a hot streak.
The Blackhawks started the season on a record streak, but they have come into contact with a deep and aggressive team and now Boston has all the momentum with the series 2-1 heading into Game 4. The Blackhawks will be desperate for a win to get home ice back on their end, but they will need to figure out a way to get past Rask, as he is on his way to a finals MVP award based on how he has been playing.
In the previous game the team could not find a way to score and he posted yet another shutout, just like he did in multiple games against the Penguins, as they scored just two goals in that series. The Game 3 matchup was intense and the Bruins got goals from Daniel Paille, who scored the game winner in overtime in Game 2, as well as Patrice Bergeron, who scored his seventh of the playoffs. The Bruins have been getting scoring from up and down the roster and they took advantage of the absence of Marian Hossa, who sat out the last game but is expected to be back on Wednesday night.
Corey Crawford finished Game 3 with 33 saves, but he allowed two goals in the second period and that was all the Bruins needed in the game to win. The game on Wednesday starts at 8 PM and will be on NBC after the last matchup was on the NBC Sports Network and after the way the Bruins played, the Blackhawks will need to figure out how to score on Rask to even up the series again. Patrick Sharp and Patrick Kane need to step up, as does Jonathan Toews and Bryan Bickell.
The fight at the end of Game 3 might actually be a good thing for Chicago, as it might be just what they needed to pump themselves up heading into Game 4. The two teams are fairly matched and while it appears that the Bruins have all the momentum, the Blackhawks have proven over time that they can stage a comeback from a deficit. The team was down 3-1 to the Red Wings earlier in the playoffs and were able to rally for a series win after forcing a Game 7 and after Brent Seabrook scored in overtime, the team was through to the West finals. This time they will have to try and do it again.
