Stanley Cup Game 5 Recap (Series: 3-2 Chicago)
Patrick Kane’s postseason up to now may best be described as streaky, but after his sparkling performance in Game 5 the former first pick’s value to the Chicago Blackhawks is as clear now as it was when he netted the goal that won them the Cup in 2010. Kane’s pair along with an empty netter from Dave Bolland were enough to give Chicago a 3-2 lead in the series and also a free shot at the all important fourth victory in Boston on Monday.
A decision by Joel Quenneville to put Kane alongside Jonathan Toews and Bryan Bickell for the last few contests has proved a wise one. His linemates played key roles on both goals and No. 88’s nose for the net put him in the right place at the right time. Firstly he capitalised to jam home following Johnny Oduya’s booming slapshot cannoning off the stick of Dennis Seidenberg, then was perfectly placed to backhand Bickell’s centering pass high up past Tuukka Rask. Although their star power won them the game collectively the Hawks put in an excellent shift, forcing a lot of turnovers without going up against Boston physically.
Zdeno Chara ripped a wicked one timer past Corey Crawford to pull his side to within one early in the third. The Bruins have lost their grip and are now the team that looks short on ideas, plenty of hits were thrown but they failed to unsettle their opponents this time around. Nine of the Boston’s thirteen Finals goals have beaten Crawford high on the glove side and they’ll continue to target that area, any quality chances have to come first though.
A major blow is the potential absence of Patrice Bergeron for the rest of the series even though the alleged moment it occurred was completely innocuous. Under the vague description of “upper body injury” he’s listed and described by Claude Julien as “day-to-day” for Monday night which is typically unhelpful. There’s question marks over the health of Toews too thanks to a big hit by Johnny Boychuk, Chicago’s captain made the bench for the third period but didn’t actually take a shift.
Boston prevailed from this exact situation in their 2011 Finals versus Vancouver however the Blackhawks can go out with the knowledge they are coming back home and can play without pressure because of that. I’m sure every neutral out there will be hoping for Game 7 on Wednesday even though we should consider ourselves spoilt by the quality of the series so far, hopefully a raucous TD Garden crowd can carry the Bruins.