The bad news started for the Chicago Blackhawks even before the first puck dropped.
Marian Hossa was not able to play as a result of an upper-body injury. Early reports indicated that the injury happened in the pregame warm-up, but head coach Joel Quenneville insisted that wasn't the case.
No matter when the injury occurred, it seemed as if the entire team slumped with the news that one of their three top scorers couldn't play. The result was a much-too-easy 2-0 victory for the Boston Bruins and a 2-1 deficit in the Stanley Cup Final for the Blackhawks.
Once the puck dropped, the Bruins set the pace, and the Blackhawks had to counter. They were not very effective in that area. When the Blackhawks had control of the puck in the offensive zone, most of their best chances went wide or were blocked by the Boston defense.
Chicago rarely tested Tuukka Rask. Quenneville said as much, via Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun-Times:
#Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville on #Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask: "Tonight I thought we made it rather easy on him."
— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NHL
Article written by Steve Silverman
Stanley Cup Final 2013: Lifeless Chicago Blackhawks in Big Trouble in Boston
June 17th, 2013 by Steve Silverman Leave a reply »
Advertisement