By Jordan Long
On this date in sports history, game 6 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final was played. A win by the Chicago Blackhawks would wrap up their 2nd Stanley Cup in 3 years. Boston was looking to force a game 7.
The Chicago Blackhawks finished the lockout shortened season with a record of 36 wins, 7 losses, and 5 overtime losses for a total of 77 points, the most in the NHL. In the 1st-round of the playoffs, the Minnesota Wild were no match for them, knocking off the Wild in 5 games. In the 2nd-round, they faced the Detroit Red Wings. It came down to game 7 which went into overtime. 3 minutes and 35 seconds into overtime, Brent Seabrook scored to lift the Blackhawks over the Red Wings to reach the Western Conference Finals.
Their opponent was the L.A. Kings. The Kings were eyeing a 2nd consecutive Stanley Cup Championship. The Blackhawks beat them in 5 games.
For the Boston Bruins, they completed the regular season with a record of 28 wins, 14 losses, and 6 overtime losses for a total of 62 points. They faced the Toronto Maple Leafs in round 1. It went to a game 7. Patrice Bergeron scored 6 minutes and 5 seconds into overtime which advanced the Bruins into the 2nd round. The New York Rangers were next up. The series took 5 games for Boston to move on. In the Eastern Conference Final, they swept the Pittsburgh Penguins.
In the Final, Chicago won game 1 in triple overtime. Boston responded with a victory in game 2 in overtime. With the series shifting to Boston, it was a tied series. Game 3, Boston shutout the Blackhawks 2-0. Game 4 was huge for both teams. If Boston won, they would have a stranglehold on the series. Chicago needed a win to tie up the series. Chicago skated away with a 6-5 overtime win to even the series. Game 5 was all Blackhawks with the final of 3-1. Chicago was 1 win away from capturing the Cup.
Game 6 featured the same goaltender matchup. Chicago went with Corey Crawford while Boston started Tuukka Rask.
Both teams had chances early and often to score. Crawford and Rask stood tall to make the saves. 7 minutes and 19 seconds into the 1st period, Boston took the lead when Chris Kelly scored. That would be the only scoring of the period.
The Blackhawks kept the pressure on in the 2nd period. It didn’t take long for them to tie the game up. Jonathan Toews lit the lamp 4 minutes and 24 seconds into the period. The teams headed into the locker room tied up at 1.
Boston took the lead back when Milan Lucic found a loose puck and put it past Crawford with 7 minutes and 49 seconds left in the contest. It looked like the series might head back to Chicago for game 7. Chicago had other plans. They pulled Crawford for the extra skater. The gamble paid off. Toews found an open Bryan Bickell near the front of the net. He shot it past Rask to tie the game up at 2.
At that point, overtime was next right? Nope. 17 seconds later the Blackhawks pressured the Bruins again. Dave Bolland found the puck on a rebound and it went into the back of the net with Rask out of position. That was the nail in the coffin as the Blackhawks won the game 3-2 to take home the Stanley Cup again. Chicago added another Stanley Cup Championship in 2015.
For Boston, this was a disappointing loss. They were so close to forcing a game 7. That wasn’t as upsetting as last year. Boston reached the Final and faced the St. Louis Blues. It even went to game 7. Unfortunately, they lost to the Blues. Today we remember the most exciting finish to a Stanley Cup Final in recent memory.
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