Chicago, IL – Patrick Sharp had the only goal of the first period as the Chicago Blackhawks hold a 1-0 lead over the Boston Bruins after 20 minutes of play in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals.
The first solid chance of the game went to Chicago as Nick Leddy jumped into the play and let fly with a wrist shot from the left circle, but Tuukka Rask made the glove save six minutes in.
Chicago was given a power play at 6:51 when Andrew Ference was called for tripping, but the hosts were unable to take advantage.
Corey Crawford made his first good save of the game with 10:47 left in the period as he snagged a Jaromir Jagr wrister from the slot with the glove.
Just over two minutes later, the Blackhawks took the lead on Sharp's ninth of the playoffs.
Patrick Kane got the sequence started when he flew in on net from the right side and got a backhander on net then put his own rebound on Rask again. That started a mad flurry that saw Rask make two more saves, but Sharp chased down the puck at the right circle and his turnaround shot found its way through a maze and past a fallen Rask for a 1-0 lead with 8:38 left in the frame.
A wraparound from Jonathan Toews just over a minute later was reviewed to see if the puck crossed the line. It did apparently make its way across, but it was after the whistle had blown and the on-ice call of no-goal stood.
Crawford had to make just four stops in the first period to keep the Bruins off the board, while Rask finished the frame with 18 stops to keep his team in the game.
Chicago leads this series 1-0 after winning Game 1, 4-3, in triple-overtime on Wednesday.
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