Momentum shifts to Bruins after victory
6/17/2013BOSTON — Tyler Seguin knew something had to be said.
And the Boston center was pretty sure it wouldn't be fit for public consumption.
After the Chicago Blackhawks badly outplayed the Bruins in the first period of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals Saturday night, Seguin ditched the microphone he had been wearing as part of the TV broadcast. Then he headed back into the dressing room so the team could hash out its problems in peace.
"It was really a mix of everybody saying something," Seguin said. "I definitely knew it was coming, so I threw my shoulder pads in the training room and put a towel over it so no one could hear what we were saying. I think we needed that team wake-up call."
Both teams were in Boston on Sunday but neither team skated on the off-day, instead choosing to conserve their energy after playing 10 periods while trading overtime victories that left the series tied at one game apiece.
"It's a lot about getting your rest," Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith said after arriving in Boston about an hour late because of air traffic. "It's not rocket science, you just get sleep and do as best you can and do all those little things to get ready to go."
Chicago took the first one, winning a triple-OT thriller after 52 extra minutes. Then the Blackhawks started Game 2 by sending 19 shots — to Boston's four — at Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask in the first period to take a 1-0 lead.
"Not much needed to be said after that first period," said Chris Kelly, who was one of the more vocal players in the dressing room. "I think Tuukka pointed out that was a pretty terrible period by our team. If it wasn't for Tuukka, it would have been a lot worse."
Neither Kelly nor coach Claude Julien nor any of the other Bruins would divulge what was said in the room.
But something snapped them out of their funk.
"Claude came in a little bit later, but I think we were all equally upset about that first period," said Daniel Paille, who scored at 13:48 of overtime to end it. "Definitely, Claude let us know and it was a way for us to wake up."
Whatever was said, the Blackhawks managed only 15 shots over the next two-plus periods to Boston's 24. For the game, the Bruins had 50 hits — 10 by Milan Lucic — to 34 for Chicago.
"They're in the Stanley Cup final for a reason," Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane said. "It's not like you're going to have the momentum or dominate for three periods. Obviously, we'd love that.
"We know momentum is huge in the playoffs. You want to keep it as long as you can."
Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said he didn't think the team lost momentum by having an extra day off before Game 1 on Wednesday and Game 2 on Saturday.
"We had a great first period," he said. "We did everything we wanted except get to two [goals]."