OTD: Shinpads Strike Just Before Midnight
The Chicago Blackhawks have had some great instigators over the years. Adam Burish is always the first to come to mind. Dave Bolland loved getting under opponents' skin as well. However, one can argue that nobody took on the role of being an absolute pest for the Hawks better than Andrew Shaw.
He was never the biggest guy on the ice, far from it in fact, but Shaw was always in the middle of things. He went to the front of the net and took a beating. His mouth was always running. He feared no-one. Guys like him are crucial for success.
No stage is bigger than the Stanley Cup Final and Shaw did what he does best to end the fifth longest game in Stanley Cup Finals history and the third longest in franchise history.
On this date nine years ago, Game 1 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final went into triple overtime as the Boston Bruins and Blackhawks battled it out at the United Center, deadlocked at three.
Finally, with 7:52 left on the game clock of the third overtime, and 11:59 on the Central Standard clock, Shaw got to the front of the net and scored the biggest goal of his career, not with his stick, but with his shinpads. It took a double deflection to finally beat Tuukka Rask that night. Michal Rozsival's shot from the point was tipped by Bolland and went off Shaw's shinpads.
The first meeting of Original Six teams in the Cup Final since 1979 (Rangers-Canadiens) started off poorly for the Blackhawks as Milan Lucic scored the game's first two goals to give Boston a 2-0 lead just 51 seconds into the second period.
Just over three minutes later, Brandon Saad one-timed his first playoff goal past Rask, ending a scoreless streak of 149 minutes and 36 seconds for the Bruin netminder.
Boston would regain their two-goal advantage on a power-play marker by Patrice Bergeron six minutes into the third. The Hawks turned up the pressure on Rask and Bolland converted a nice feed from Shaw for his first goal of the playoffs less than two minutes later, to cut the deficit to 3-2.
Then defenseman Johnny 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.
The game never would have made it to the third overtime if not for an impressive performance by goaltender Corey Crawford. He made 29 of his 51 saves in overtime.
Rask gave up four goals, but still set a new career high with 59 saves, the most saves in a Cup Final game since Patrick Roy recorded 63 saves in a 1-0 shutout that clinched the 1996 Stanley Cup for the Colorado Avalanche.
Between Oduya�s game-tying goal and the Shaw game-winner in the third overtime, the two teams played 59:54 � 6 seconds shy of an entire game � of scoreless hockey. Just incredible.
| POLL | ||
Did you stay up to watch the entire game? | ||
| Definitely. Sleep is overrated | 18 | 50 % |
| Unfortunately no | 5 | 13.9 % |
| Too late for me | 6 | 16.7 % |
| I don't recall | 7 | 19.4 % |
| List of polls | ||
