I am tired: A recap of one heck of a hockey game

Me and my friend sat down in front of the TV at just after 8:00 PM on Wednesday June 12th. We did not go to bed until the game concluded 5 hours later and on completely a different day.

Not only was Wednesday night/ Thurday morning  the first time seine 1979 that the NHL would finish the year with an original six cup final but it was also the latest into the month of June that an NHL cup final would ever start. Yet it was what it took to decide that crucial Game One that really opened eyes.

When it all ended, the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins had played the 5th longest game in NHL history, they had played for five hours and had seen over 100 minutes of actual in game action. Nevertheless, this game shouldn't have gone that long, it should have been over before we even got to the second period, it should have ended in the third and it should have ended multiple times before Andrew Shaw won it in the third OT.

 Beginning 13 minutes into the first period, hard-nosed Bruin winger Milan Lucic came off the Chicago goal line firing an off balanced shot over the arm of Cory Crawford and into the back of the net. Luchic would score once more before Chicago could get anything back and when he did it seemed for a little while that Boston was going to run away with this game. They didn't. Slowly but surely the Hawks would crawl back into the game as they over came both 2-0 and 3-1 deficits before Johney Oduya managed a rifle a shot past Rask to tie the game with seven to go.

Slowly but surely the Bruins pounded the tiring Blackhawks out shooting their opponent 29 to 24 through all three periods of over time. Yet when it all ended, that triple OT loss to Chicago would go down as a day of squandered opportunities and historic performances. Milan Lucic: 2 goals and 5 points, the 2 goal lead he built lost before the game even hit the 30 minute mark. Tuukka Rask: racked up a career high 59 saves through a grueling 6 periods of play. And finally Patrice Bergeron: his team went from 2-1 up to 3-1 up off a beautiful goal early in the third yet even then they squandered the lead allowing 2 goals in less than 5 minutes to erase that hard fought for lead and send the contest to OT.

Hopefully it was a fluke, hopefully Nathen Hornton who went down late in the first OT will manage to play in Game Two, hopefully then if the Bruins can snag a 2 goal lead in the third period, this time they wont give it up. Hopefully the Boston Bruins will win Game Two. The only problem is that is easier said than done.