Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

The Boston Bruins are currently leading the 2013 Stanley Cup Final by a tally of two games to one, and it’s all in large part thanks to former Buffalo Sabres forward Daniel Paille.

(more…)

Jun 12, 2013; Chicago, IL, USA; Chicago Blackhawks players leap off the bench after center Andrew Shaw (not pictured) scored the game-winning goal during the third overtime period in game one of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports

Wow.

Don’t have much more to say this morning than that, because anything else I say in an effort to describe last night’s triple-overtime battle between the Chicago Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins would be unnecessary, the work of a writer trying to fulfill his minimum word count.

Wow.  What a game.   Let’s hope we get about six more games like this baby!

So: what did we learn from last night’s epic game 1?

The NHL would have been hard-pressed to find two teams more evenly matched.

Solid goaltending.  Two teams whose offense can come from 6-7 different players on any given night.  Two defenses that ranked among top 3 in the NHL for goals allowed during the regular season.  And two Original Six teams, to boot?  I don’t know if the NHL deserves such a marquee match-up, considering the lockout and the league’s tendency to bite the hands that feed it, but Gary Bettman and company could not have hand-picked a better pairing.  I will be surprised if this series goes less than six games, and I expect to see almost every game to be decided to be 2 goals or less.  I don’t dare dream of more multiple-overtime games . . . but I sure would not be shocked if we got them!

Sudden-death overtime = greatest ending in professional sports.

But we already knew that, didn’t we?  Seriously, I would like to shake the hand of the man (or the hands of the men, whichever) who decided that playoff hockey should end with sudden-death overtime, instead of an overtime session that ran its full course regardless of whether a team scored.  Imagine if the NBA Finals used sudden-death overtime – it sure would make that opening tip-off pretty exciting, would it not?  I bet more NBA teams would actually d-up if they knew the next basket would win the game.  There is just no sport whose overtime/extra innings can equal the intensity, drama, exhilaration, and heartbreak of an NHL playoffs extra period.  Let’s hope we get two or three more just like last night’s during these finals!

Enjoy last night’s winning goal!