Boston, MA – Brent Seabrook scored the winner 9:51 into overtime as the Chicago Blackhawks took a 6-5 win over the Boston Bruins in a wild Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals from TD Garden.
Patrick Kane threw a shot on net from the right wing that Tuukka Rask made a stop on, but the rebound came out to the left point. Bryan Bickell grabbed the disc there and tried to get it down low, but it bounced off of a couple of Bruins.
However, it found its way to the stick of Seabrook, who glided over to the right point and fired a shot on net that beat Rask cleanly to the stick side for the win and a tied series.
"I like shooting from that spot," said Seabrook. "But to be honest I was just trying to get it past their forward who was trying to block it. They do such a good job of blocking shots that I just wanted to get it through."
Chicago bounced back from losses in Game 2 and 3 to knot this best-of-seven with Game 5 set for Saturday night in Chicago.
"It was one of those nights where we got the bounces and the pucks went in," said Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville. "We had some nice plays off the rush and got some shots on the net. We had way more traffic in front than we did the last game."
Kane finished the game with a goal and an assist, while Michal Handzus, Patrick Sharp, Marcus Kruger and Jonathan Toews all scored for the Blackhawks, who had just five goals in the series coming into the game.
Corey Crawford made 28 stops in the victory, including a tough save on a Brad Marchand shot moments before Seabrook's goal.
Patrice Bergeron had two goals, while Milan Lucic, Rich Peverley and Johnny Boychuk all scored for the Bruins, who received 41 saves from Rask just two nights after he posted a 28-save shutout in Game 3.
"Our guys battled hard and played some good hockey to get us to overtime," said Boston head coach Claude Julien. "But I don't think that we played our best game tonight."
After the first three games saw a total of 12 goals, the offenses came alive on Wednesday as a five-goal second period was followed by a three-goal third period, with Bergeron tying the game at 4-4 just 2:05 in.
Jaromir Jagr was working the puck behind the net and regained control after losing it. He again lost the puck, but Bergeron pushed the disc back to Jagr before circling back out front. Jagr then returned it back to Bergeron in front where he one-timed it home for his ninth of the playoffs.
The Bruins got their fifth power play of the game at 8:51 when Toews was whistled for high sticking, but it lasted just 22 seconds as Jagr was called for high sticking as well after clipping Duncan Keith.
During the 4-on-4, Lucic tried to force a pass through Kane, but Kane picked it off and went in on a short break, forcing David Krejci to take a hooking call to give Chicago a 4-on-3 power play.
It briefly became a 5-on-3 after the Toews penalty expired and Chicago was unable to take advantage, but Jagr was just coming out of the box when the Blackhawks took a 5-4 lead.
Marian Hossa, who missed Game 3 with an upper-body injury, fired a shot on net from the high slot that Rask made a save on, but the rebound sat at the left and Sharp chipped it in for his 10th of the playoffs at 11:19.
It was Chicago's first power-play goal of the series as the team was 0-for-11 in the series coming into the game.
The Bruins needed less than a minute to again tie the game. A scrum along the left boards saw the puck forced out by Krejci as he got it to Nathan Horton, who sent a backhand pass to the high slot. Boychuk took a stride to his right and ripped a shot past the glove of Crawford for his sixth of the playoffs.
Neither side got on the board the rest of the way, forcing the fifth overtime period of this series.
Boston got the first power play of the game when Johnny Oduya was called for interference 5:18 in, but it was Chicago that took advantage.
Tyler Seguin tried to control the puck at the left point, but had his pocket picked by Brandon Saad and the play went the other way. Saad outskated Zdeno Chara and was able to send a touch pass over to the left wing where Handzus snapped it in off the left post for a short-handed goal and his third tally of the playoffs at 6:48.
Boston had its first good scoring chance when Daniel Paille and Peverley skated in on a 2-on-1, but was unable to get the shot off. However, Keith was called for hooking on the play and the Bruins' power play went to work with 7:15 left in the frame.
A right circle faceoff in their own zone was won by Chicago and Niklas Hjalmarsson sent it the other way for Saad, who tried to clear the puck but Andrew Ference kept it in at the left point.
Ference then tried to get the puck down low, but it deflected off a Blackhawks player. Luckily for Boston, though, it went to Peverley and he wristed it home from the top of the right circle for his second of the playoffs to tie the game with 5:17 left in the frame.
The Blackhawks grabbed a 2-1 lead at the 6:33 mark of the second when a right-point shot from Michal Rozsival saw Toews get a stick on it from the right side and the puck slipped under the left pad of Rask.
Chicago made it a 3-1 game with 8:41 gone thanks to Kane. Rozsival threw another shot on net from the right wing that was blocked, but the puck came out front and Bickell threw a backhand on net. Rask couldn't control the rebound and it went to the right side where Kane lifted in a backhander for his seventh of the playoffs.
Boston got one back at 14:43 when Sharp tried to get the puck out of the zone on a wraparound from the left side while Boston was pressuring. Chara, though, picked it off at the left point and sent it back in front, where Lucic got a stick on it then put in his own rebound for his sixth of the postseason.
The visitors answered 49 seconds later. A 2-on-1 rush saw Michael Frolik pass it from the right to the left down low. Kruger switched to the backhand and got the puck on net, but Rask stretched out the legs and got his left pad on it. However, Kruger stuck with the play and was able to lift his own rebound home from the right post.
Kane was called for hooking with 3:36 left in the middle stanza and Boston took advantage as a Chara shot from the high slot was tipped over the net by Bergeron. The force of the rebound off the end boards caused the disc to hit the top of the net before dropping in the slot where Bergeron chipped it in with 2:38 left in the frame.
Game Notes
Toews hadn't had a goal in his previous 10 games coming into Wednesday ... The Bruins were 2-for-5 on the power play while Chicago went 1-for-4 ... Chara, Rozsival and Bickell each posted two assists ... Boston fell to 8-3 at home in the playoffs, while Chicago improved to 4-5 on the road ... This series marks the first time Original Six franchises have met in the Stanley Cup Finals since 1979, when Montreal defeated the New York Rangers in five games ... Boston has won five of the six postseason meetings with Chicago ... Krejci, who posted an assist in the game, leads all skaters in the postseason with 24 points (9g, 15a)... Kane leads Chicago with 17 points (7g, 10a).
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