The Blackhawks’ return couldn’t match the dramatic finish of their championship-clinching win over the Boston Bruins on Monday night at the TD Garden. Chicago secured its second NHL title in four seasons when Bryan Bickell and Dave Bolland scored 17 seconds apart in the last 1:16 of regulation of Game 6 for a stunning 3-2 win over Boston.
“We thought we were going home for Game 7. You still think you’re going to overtime and you’re going to try to win it there. Then Bolly scores a huge goal 17 seconds later,” said Chicago forward Patrick Kane, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason’s most valuable player. “It feels like the last 58 seconds were an eternity.”
The team that set an NHL record with a 24-game unbeaten streak to start the lockout-shortened season won three straight after falling behind 2-1 in the finals, rallying from a deficit in the series and in its finale. Corey Crawford made 23 saves, and Jonathan Toews returned from injury to add a goal and an assist in the first finals between Original Six teams since 1979.
“I still can’t believe that finish. Oh, my God, we never quit,” Crawford said. “I never lost confidence. No one in our room ever did.”
Trailing 2-1 with Crawford sent off for an extra skater, the Blackhawks converted when Toews fed it in front and Bickell scored from the edge of the crease to tie the score. Congrats on clinching the championship game in such a heart-stopping manner, I’m sure you truly broke the hearts of some true Bruins fans out there.