Summary Game 2 is Saturday at the United Center.
CHICAGO (AP) - Chicago s Andrew Shaw scored on a deflection in triple overtime to lift the Blackhawks to a 4-3 victory over the Boston Bruins in a riveting Game 1 of the Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday.
Michael Roszival shot the puck from the right point into a cluster of players in front of the goal. It deflected off Dave Bolland and Shaw and slipped past Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask, ending the fifth-longest game in Stanley Cup history.
"We knew it wasn t going to be pretty," Shaw said. "It was a great shot, great shift. It was unbelievable. All the guys deserved this. It was a great battle for us."
The Blackhawks improved to 10-1 at home in the playoffs. Bolland and Johnny Oduya scored in the third period as Chicago overcame a two-goal deficit to force overtime, while Brandon Saad netted his first goal of the playoffs.
Milan Lucic had two goals and an assist for the Bruins, who had won five straight. Patrice Bergeron scored a power-play goal and David Krejci finished with two assists while Rask made an astounding 59 saves.
Game 2 is Saturday at the United Center.
"Get some rest, because we basically just played two games in one night here," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. "But based on how it went tonight, we ll have to be ready."
The hosts would have made it to the third overtime if not for an impressive performance by goaltender Corey Crawford, who stood his ground as the Bruins had repeated opportunities in the overtimes.
Shawn Thornton and Daniel Paille skated in for a 2-on-1 in the first OT, and Crawford turned away Thornton on the doorstep. He denied Rich Peverley and Tyler Seguin in rapid succession, and helped Chicago kill off two power plays when it was whistled twice for too many men on the ice.
The Bruins came so close to winning in overtime. Nathan Horton hit the post in the first extra session, and Zdeno Chara s slap shot deflected off Jaromir Jagr and then the inside of the right post at the very end of the second overtime.
Crawford had 22 of his 51 saves in the first two overtimes, and Rask was forced to make 18 stops. The action was so fast and furious that it took a toll on the players with Horton skating off during the power play with an injury
likely a serious one to leave the ice during that pivotal moment.
Boston scored the opening goal of the game in the first period when a missed check proved costl. Krejci threw the puck in front of the net to Horton, who passed to a wide-open Lucic.
Lucic scored his second and doubled that advantage in the first minute of the second period. He won the puck in a scrum along the boards, got a pass from Krejci and fired it into the right side.
The two-goal lead looked enough with Rask in net, but the Blackhawks found a way to get back into the game against the red-hot goaltender. Marian Hossa stole the puck from Dennis Seidenberg in the Boston end and fed Saad, who one-timed it past Rask at 3:08 in the second.
Boston restored its two goal lead at 6:09 in the third period as Bergeron scored on a slap shot which went off the stick of Blackhawks defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson. It was just the fourth power-play goal allowed by Chicago in 59 playoff chances.
The Blackhawks responded with more pressure on Rask, and pulled back to 3-2 right on 8:00 of the third period when Bolland converted a nice pass from Shaw for his first goal of the playoffs.
Then Oduya s long slap shot went off the left skate of Boston defenseman Andrew Ference and into the net for the tying goal with 7:46 remaining in regulation. Oduya s shot was going wide if it didn t hit Ference s skate.
"Not disappointed in our effort," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "There s certain things you re going to want to fix for next game. But as far as the game is concerned, it was a hard-fought game."
The sellout crowd of 22,110 cheered as Krejci and Chicago captain Jonathan Toews stared each other down for the opening faceoff of the first Stanley Cup finals between Original Six franchises in 34 years.
Game 1 came exactly five months after the official end of a long and bitter lockout. The labor dispute wiped out 510 games, but the sides managed to come together in time to save an abbreviated 48-game season and playoffs.
They were rewarded with a final playoff series between two big-market teams with passionate followings and scores of top players. Led by Jonathan Toews and a group of skilled forwards, the Blackhawks returned to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time since they won it all three year ago. Boston won the title the following season, and the same core of players is at the center of this year s playoff run.
