Edmonton Oilers Is Mark Fistric a good fit for the Edmonton Oilers? Building the perfect Edmonton Oilers power play, Part 1

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1 SPORT-SCAN Boston Bruins Penalty-killer Paille steps up offense for Bruins Bruins like where they're at in series Rask shuts down Blackhawks as Bruins take 2-1 lead Bruins taking fight out of the Blackhawks Patrice Bergeron shines bright in Game 3 win Bruins are the team you love to love Pregame injury forces Marian Hossa out of Blackhawks lineup Top NHL prospects get the backstage treatment before Stanley Cup Final Tuukka Rask stands tall in shutout Bruins beat Blackhawks 2-0, lead Cup finals Tinkering of lines disrupts the Blackhawks Blackhawks still confident despite struggles Bruins beat Blackhawks, Paille, 3rd line push Bruins into series lead Penalty-killer Daniel Paille steps up offense for Bruins Bruins rookie D Hamilton biding time as rookie Gregory Campbell: It hurt a little bit Haugh: Blackhawks offense missing along with Hossa Pregame collision doesn t slow down Zdeno Chara Notebook: Brad Marchand, Andrew Shaw scratch surface Marian Hossa likely to return in Game Buckley: Campbell s heroics occupy special place in B s lore For Bruins, low scores a regular occurrence Bruins refrain: Kill em all Bruins praise defenseman Seidenberg, who had game-high 6 blocked shots, 4 hits in Game 3 Buffalo Sabres Huffington Post's Kanalley thrilled to take over Sabres' Twitter feed, move back to Buffalo Pegula backs Regier as Sabres' GM; owner 'concerned' about status of Vanek, Miller Sabres owner Pegula states his case for Regier Job with Sabres allows social media guru Kanalley to return home Calgary Flames High River's Knight thrilled to be traded to hometown Flames Chicago Blackhawks Hawks need to save face on faceoffs Amonte chides Hossa for missing game Hossa 'likely' to return for Hawks in Game Something has to change, starting with the top line Bergeron does it all for Bruins Hawks talk of town Hossa injury remains mysterious Hawks in state of denial Bruins praise Seidenberg Players say dust-ups in Game 3 just hockey Blackhawks Marian Hossa will likely play in Game Tough position, but Blackhawks Corey Crawford is tougher guy Valiant effort despite broken leg by Bruins Campbell typifies sport Relaxed Blackhawks not feeling the heat - but they should Center Bolland realizes he can t afford a 3-peat in Game Marian Hossa likely for Game 4, but Smith will be ready Bruins Patrice Bergeron doesn t drop draws Plenty of blame to go around for Blackhawks recent play Blackhawks best at rink when on the brink Game 4 key: Hawks must do little things better NHL 6/19/2013 DAILY BRIEF Blackhawks cont'd Verdi: At old Boston Garden, rats and excessive heat had their place More questions for Hawks as Game 4 looms Fans overreactions all part of playoff fun Seidenberg gives Bruins everything they need Bergeron making big difference for Bruins Blackhawks know Bruins provide tougher challenge than Red Wings Blackhawks need to be more aggressive offensively Hossa 'likely' for Game 4; Game 3 drama a ploy? Bruins fan makes suit out of rally towels Power outage: Blackhawks need to fix power play, pronto Colorado Avalanche Avalanche should launch alumni program to foster pride and camaraderie NHL Finals matchup of Original Six teams helps heal rift from lockout Avalanche to pass on Seth Jones to take forward, Joe Sakic says Detroit Red Wings Red Wings hope Darren Helm healthy enough to participate in July camp Pavel Datsyuk to stay with Detroit Red Wings through Good news for Pavel Datsyuk, Red Wings Three-year, $22.5M deal with Pavel Datsyuk gives Wings 'good feeling' Red Wings thrilled to have Pavel Datsyuk locked up long-term, believe he'll flourish into his late 30s Red Wings' Pavel Datsyuk signs three-year, $23-million extension, happy to be here for four more years Red Wings sign Datsyuk to 3-year extension Edmonton Oilers Is Mark Fistric a good fit for the Edmonton Oilers? Building the perfect Edmonton Oilers power play, Part 1 Florida Panthers NO SIGN, NO KNIGHT: Panthers Trade Prospect Corban Knight to Calgary Original Six storyline is being overplayed during Stanley Cup Finals Panthers acquire another fourth-round draft pick Los Angeles Kings Kings agree to six-year, $25-million contract with Slava Voynov Kings, Voynov agree to 6-year, $25M deal NHL: L.A. Kings re-sign defenseman Slava Voynov for six more seasons Long-term extension suits Voynov, Kings well Minnesota Wild You play Wild GM: Trades, free agency, buyouts, depth chart info

2 Montreal Canadiens Charges against former Hab withdrawn Julien would prefer avoiding the spotlight Assault charges withdrawn against former Hab Damphousse Nashville Predators Brief NHL audition earns forward a longer look from Predators Predators extend agreement with East Coast Hockey League affiliate New Jersey Devils Anthony Brodeur, son of Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, to play for Gatineau Olympiques New York Rangers New Rangers coach Alain Vigneault's personality comes through in hilarious clip from days behind Vancouver Can Vigneault asst. may join Rangers Ottawa Senators Welcome to the new home of the Ottawa Senators Ottawa Senators GM Bryan Murray looking for trade partners at meeting in Boston Ottawa Senators' arena becomes the Canadian Tire Centre July 1 Philadelphia Flyers Flyers talk to Kings about goalie Jonathan Bernier Flyers, Kings in Bernier talks Did the Flyers overpay Mark Streit? Flyers must fix identity crisis Agent: Flyers say Bryzgalov is staying Sources: Flyers interested in deal for Ducks' Ryan Source: Kings contact Flyers about goalie Bernier Sources: Briere informed he will be bought out Phoenix Coyotes Glendale City Council to hear Phoenix Coyotes options Pittsburgh Penguins Penguins notebook: Pens talking with Dupuis reps NHL insider: Penguins Shero seems ready to move Letang San Jose Sharks Logan Couture's contract extension worth $30 million Logan Couture agrees to contract extension with San Jose Sharks Couture's extension worth $30 million St Louis Blues Blues re-sign Chorney Toronto Maple Leafs Maple Leafs Ben Scrivens to march in Pride Parade Vancouver Canucks Gallagher Hat Trick: Canucks better get busy, Seidenberg s been a beast, and rare thoughts on Whitecaps goalte Washington Capitals Tim Hunter unlikely to return as Caps assistant coach Websites ESPN / Bruins have Kane well covered ESPN / Rumblings: Letang, Briere, coaches & more NBCSports.com / Report: NHL has Seattle plan ready for Coyotes NBCSports.com / Assault charges dropped against ex-nhler Damphousse USA TODAY / Bruins stay strong for Boston and each other USA TODAY / Could playing together break Kane, Toews out of slump? USA TODAY / Game 4 preview: 'Hawks must attack Rask for reward USA TODAY / Potential Phoenix Coyotes buyers working on arena deal USA TODAY / Rask Management USA TODAY / Pavel Datsyuk inks 3-year extension with Red Wings YAHOO SPORTS / Bigger and better: There's nobody in the NHL like Bruins captain Zdeno Chara Winnipeg Jets Bogosian too important an asset to let slip away SPORT-SCAN, INC

3 Boston Bruins Penalty-killer Paille steps up offense for Bruins By HOWARD ULMAN / AP Sports Writer / June 18, 2013 BOSTON (AP) His teammates always knew Daniel Paille was more than a speedy penalty killer who specialized in defense for the Boston Bruins. Given his chance on a rebuilt line, he s spreading that news in the Stanley Cup finals. Paille scored the winning goal in the Bruins 2-1 overtime victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 2, then picked up the first goal in a 2-0 win on Monday night. His next chance comes Wednesday night when Boston will try to improve on its 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. He s always been a great player for us, right wing Shawn Thornton, who played on the fourth line with Paille all season, said Tuesday. He has all of the tools. I think he s popped a couple of goals, so maybe people are taking notice right now. Paille spent the first two playoff series and most of the third on that line, which is relied on for its physical play and defense. But when center Gregory Campbell broke his right leg on the third game of Boston s sweep of the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference finals, coach Claude Julien had to juggle his lines. He kept Paille on the fourth line until the Bruins were dominated in the first period of Game 2 against Chicago. So, in the second period, Julien put Paille at left wing on a more offensive line with center Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin. That hunch to spark a listless team has resulted in three of Boston s four goals in the last two games. They just seem to be working well together. A lot of credit goes to them, Julien said. I'm just a little ticked off that I didn t put them together sooner. A first-round pick by Buffalo in 2002, Paille scored 35 goals in four seasons before being traded to the Bruins after playing just two games in Since then, he has 35 goals and 29 assists during the regular season. But so far, in this year s playoffs, he has four goals, including three gamewinners, and four assists in 19 games. I think I'm just happy that we got the win, Paille said after Game 3. Fortunately, it was the game winner and I'll be excited about it. (I'm excited that we won. He probably wouldn t have gotten the chance if Campbell hadn t been injured. After all, Julien is very slow to change the makeup of lines. I guess we found out the problem, Campbell said with a smile. Me and (Thornton) have been holding him back the last two years. Kelly and Paille also drew penalties that led to Patrice Bergeron s goal with 5:55 left in the second, giving the Bruins a 2-0 lead. The three of us are working hard and having fun, which is nice, Kelly said. It s always fun, but some days are more fun than others. In the first three rounds, the top two lines were outstanding. First-line center David Krejci leads the NHL in playoff points. But as the playoffs progress and opponents focus more on stopping the leading offensive players it becomes more important for the other forwards to produce. As you've seen throughout the playoffs, it s been repetitively the same guys scoring night in and night out, Campbell said. That s extremely hard as you move on and face better teams, better defensemen. For the top two lines to keep scoring on that pace is extremely hard. My point is that it takes four lines. Paille and Seguin may be the Bruins two fastest skaters. That s especially important against the Blackhawks, a speedier team than the Penguins. Seguin assisted on Paille s consecutive game-winning goals against Chicago. I think we are just putting pucks on net and reading plays, Paille said after Monday s win. I think we are managing the puck a little bit better. Just on my goal, you saw (Kelly) go in, and I went in and then I shot. I think we are just not giving (the Blackhawks) enough time to think with the puck and we are able to get it. His right leg in a cast after his surgery, Campbell has enjoyed the view of Paille. I've gotten the opportunity to watch him now that I'm not playing with him. Campbell said. Playoff hockey is really where he shines. I can relate to that. It s the simple things that might not draw a lot of attention during the regular season, but when it really matters in the playoffs, he s been there for us. Boston Globe LOADED:

4 Boston Bruins Bruins like where they're at in series June 18, :37 PM By Jeff Pini, Boston.com Correspondent BOSTON After playing 10 periods of hockey in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals, the Bruins delivered a solid regulation victory on home ice on Monday at TD Garden, a place where Boston has an 8-2 record in the playoffs and has not lost since Game 5 of the opening round against the Toronto Maple Leafs. You're always more comfortable at home, there's no doubt about that, coach Claude Julien said Tuesday afternoon. Having your fans behind you is always key. I think they always talk about that seventh player award; your fans are often the people that you, I guess, appreciate for being that. This is a building here that we deem as our home, a home that we don't want any other team to be comfortable in. A big part of the Bruins' wins so far in these Finals, and in the playoffs, has been the shutdown play of Boston s defensemen, especially the top pairing of Zdeno Chara and Dennis Seidenberg, who each played more than 25 minutes in Monday s win and logged a ton of time during the first two games in Chicago. It s crazy [the amount they have played]; I used to play those minutes on the lower levels growing up, defenseman Torey Krug said. It was tough then, so for them to do it at this level, against all the top players on the other teams, is definitely something special. Added fourth-line wing Shawn Thornton: All the way through [the game] all six defenseman were great. [Chara and Seidenberg] really played the biggest minutes, but you look at Johnny [Boychuck] and Andy [Ference], they played against top lines all season through. Chara, who collided with Milan Lucic during warmups and had to go to the locker room to get stitches before Game 3, has been playing exceptionally long minutes. I think it s amazing; you know [Chara is] such a big guy, but he s so mobile for his size, said Krug. You look at a lot of bigger guys around the league, they might not be able to move quite as well, but Zee doesn t get beat wide, and it s not just because of his size but because of his speed too. Another area that has led to success for Boston is its power play, which, during the regular season, was one of the least effective in the league. They scored just 18 goals in 122 power-play chances, fifth worst in the NHL. But the Bruins' power play has been much better, scoring nine times during this postseason run, including twice in the past three games. And even when the Bruins haven t put one in the back of the net with the man advantage in these playoffs, they have come much closer and have shown a lot more energy on the power play than they did in the regular season. I think what you've seen is when you add a guy like Jagr, when you put a guy [out there] like Krug, who is extremely good on the power play, you've plugged in some certain holes or added to that depth, said Julien. There's a lot of things that have happened, like at the trade deadline, guys [getting] called up, that's really kind of stabilized [and] helped us on the power play our power play right now is maybe not perfect, but it's a lot better. Since Gregory Campbell broke his leg in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals against Pittsburgh, Julien has had to shake up his bottom two lines in order to replace Campbell, but also had to solve the issue of the third line being the least productive by far for the Bruins this season. Starting in Game 2, when things looked bleak and the Bruins were fortunate to only be down 1-0 after the first period, Julien decided to shake up the bottom two lines, moving Daniel Paille up to the third line with Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin. That jump-started the team. That decision has paid immediate dividends, with the hunch line (a reference to Julien s coach s hunch that led him to put the three together in the first place) scoring the last three 5 on 5 goals for the Bruins, with Paille scoring two goals and an assist, Kelly scoring a goal with another assist, and Seguin adding two assists of his own. I just think [it s] the way they work together, said Julien. You know, you look at [Paille s] goal yesterday, [a] great forechecking job forces a turnover Once the turnover is there, pass to the slot, [and then] good shot. But also staying on top of the puck [was important]; we won two battles right after that shot in order to score that goal. Among the top scorers in these Stanley Cup Finals, perhaps none has been bigger, and more surprising, than Paille, who had just two goals in the first three series the Bruins played, but has scored the game-winners in each of the past two games. He's been big for our team, said Campbell. I've gotten the opportunity to watch him now that I'm not playing with him. He does a lot of things that really help out a team in the playoffs. Playoff hockey is really where he shines... It's the simple things that might not draw a lot of attention during the regular season, but when it really matters in the playoffs, he's been there for us. Heading into Game 4 Wednesday night, look for the series to continue to be very physical and tough, as seen in the final seconds of Game 3, where almost every player on the ice got involved in a rink-wide scrum, resulting in several last-minute penalties, including a double-minor to Chara and a fighting major to Brad Marchand. You know that s hockey, it happens at every game, it s indicative, I think of how the series will go from here, said Marchand about his scuffle with the Blackhawks Andrew Shaw. [This series is] tough; they have a lot of skill and talent they got some really good looks last game, but Tuukka was able to stand tall. We re just trying to work hard out there and play our game. Boston Globe LOADED:

5 Boston Bruins Rask shuts down Blackhawks as Bruins take 2-1 lead By JIMMY GOLEN / AP Sports Writer / June 18, 2013 BOSTON (AP) The puck bounced off the post and rolled across the crease, away from the goal line. The red light flashed briefly, but replays would confirm that Tuukka Rask s shutout streak was intact. For the last 122 minutes, 26 seconds of the Stanley Cup finals, the Bruins goalie has prevented Chicago from scoring. Rask made 28 more saves in Game 3 on Monday night to earn his third shutout of the postseason, leading Boston to a 2-0 victory over the Blackhawks and a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. We ran up against some of the best goalies in the league here, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. Tonight I thought we made it rather easy on him as far as traffic and finding and seeing pucks. I think we've got to be better at going to the net. After playing four extra periods in the first two games, the Bruins made an early night of it in Game 3 with second-period goals by Daniel Paille and Patrice Bergeron. Corey Crawford had 33 saves for a Blackhawks team playing without Marian Hossa, who was scratched just before gametime. Game 4 is Wednesday night in Boston before the matchup of Original Six franchises returns to Chicago for a fifth game. The teams split the first two games there, with the Blackhawks winning Game 1 in triple-overtime and the Bruins stealing home-ice advantage on Paille s goal in the first OT of the second game. Obviously, you go triple-overtime, (then) overtime the next game, it takes a lot of energy out of you, Rask said. But we'll take a regulation win, for sure. This time the intrigue came before the opening faceoff instead of after the end of regulation. Hossa and Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara both left the ice after warmups. But while Chara needed just some stitches after a collision with teammate Milan Lucic, Hossa was dropped from the lineup with an unspecified injury. I was as surprised as anybody else, Bruins coach Claude Julien said. I can definitely tell you they lost a pretty important player on their roster, but that doesn t mean we change our game. I think it s important we stick with what we believe in. Julien said Chara slipped and had a little gash over his eye. Nothing serious, the coach said of his captain and No. 1 defenseman, who still managed to lead the team in ice time. Quenneville was less forthcoming with information on Hossa s malady, sticking to the standard NHL diagnosis: Upper body. We'll say day-to-day. We re hopeful he'll be ready for the next game, he said, adding that it did not happen during warmups, as had been reported on the team s Twitter account and the TV broadcast. It was a game-time decision after the warmup there. That s when we made the call, after warmup. Hossa, who has three game-winning goals in the playoffs this year, was tied for the team lead with 15 playoff points and was third on the Blackhawks with 17 goals during the regular season. It was a loss the Blackhawks couldn t afford. Not with Rask stopping everything that came his way. The backup to Conn Smythe-winner Tim Thomas in the Bruins 2011 Stanley Cup run, Rask didn t face as difficult a test as in the first period of Game 2, when the Blackhawks sent 19 shots at him but managed just one goal. The Bruins outshot Chicago and led 2-0 after two periods. The Blackhawks had a 10-9 edge in the third, including a late flurry on a 6-on-4 a power play with Crawford pulled for an extra skater that led to Bryan Bickell s shot off the post with 42 seconds left in the game. The puck caromed off the right post as play continued for another 30 seconds before the whistle blew and the game degenerated into fisticuffs. Chara was on top of Bickell, pounding away, and Andrew Shaw got the better of Brad Marchand. By the time it was all sorted out, the benches were a little emptier and the scoring column for Chicago was still blank. You re playing the last five minutes of the game, you know they re going to throw everything at you that they possibly can, Rask said. Got the penalty there. Got a little lucky there, one save off my blade and the post. After a scoreless first period, the Bruins made it 1-0 when Paille slapped in the puck at 2:13 of the second, falling to one knee for extra power. It stayed that way until late in the second, when the Bruins picked up their first power plays of the game on two nearly identical sequences, with a Bruin racing to the net and a Blackhawk undercutting his skates and sending him crashing into the left post. Boston set up its offense during the 11-second two-man advantage, and just five seconds after it expired but before Dave Bolland was able to get back into the play Jaromir Jagr slid one across the middle, past Lucic in the center to Bergeron on the other side; he settled it and then knocked it in. It was Jagr s 197th career playoff point in 199 games, moving him into sole possession of fifth place on the NHL s all-time postseason points list. Notes: Jagr had been tied with Paul Coffey on the career postseason scoring list.... Two of Jagr s playoff points came on goals scored against the Blackhawks when they were swept by the Penguins in 1992 final.... Boston s Gregory Campbell, who broke his leg blocking a shot in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals, attended the game.... The Bruins have killed off 27 straight penalties in the playoffs.... Boston s David Krejci entered the game tied with Chicago s Andrew Sharp for the most goals in the postseason with nine. The Bruins center entered the game leading all scorers with 23 points.... The Bruins are attempting to win a Cup for the second time in three seasons for the third time in their history. They also did it in 1939 and 41 and again in 1970 and The Bruins won their seventh straight home playoff game.... The Blackhawks fell to 3-5 on the road in the postseason.... Ben Smith, who played just one game this regular season and none in the playoffs, replaced Hossa in the lineup. Boston Globe LOADED:

6 Boston Bruins Bruins taking fight out of the Blackhawks By Kevin Paul Dupont Globe Staff June 18, 2013 The Penguins know this migraine. So do the Rangers. The Bruins moved one giant step closer to a Stanley Cup championship Monday night on Causeway Street, once more blending their painful, punishing cocktail of stifling defense and air-tight Tuukka Rask goaltending (28 saves) for a 2-0 win over the Blackhawks. What a pain it must be to play the Bruins right now. They allowed the Penguins only two goals in four games in the Eastern Conference finals. They shut down everything and everyone Pittsburgh had to offer. Sidney Crosby disappeared. Evgeni Malkin never came out of the fog. Ditto for Kris Letang and everyone else in the Penguins lineup. And now it s happening to the Blackhawks. Different laundry, same bad wash. The Western Conference champs worked into triple OT to squeeze out a 4-3 victory in Game 1, and now they ve lost two in a row, 2-1 and 2-0, putting only one shot behind Rask despite squeezing off 120 shots in 133:48 worth of meat-grinding hockey. Yeah, they had shots, but most of them were from the outside, said Rask, who inched ever closer to clinching the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason MVP. And we took away all the rebound opportunities. Therein is pretty much Boston s two steps to a championship this postseason. They keep shooters to the outside, and punish one and all who attempt, or even hope, to bring pucks to the net. It breaks the spirit, backs, and will and dreams of their opponents. The Bruins won the Cup two years ago with the same formula, but they didn t execute nearly as proficiently. They needed to clinch three of those series (Montreal, Tampa Bay, and Vancouver) with Game 7 wins. This time around, after another No. 7 to edge by Toronto in Round 1, they ve rubbed out the Rangers in five and the Penguins in four. Monday night it felt like they rubbed out the Blackhawks in three. Where is the pushback? We asked the same after Games 1 and 2 in Pittsburgh, but it didn t come. It never came. Not in Game 3. Not in Game 4. Neither Pittsburgh s big stars nor its role players ever turned it into a series. Now we re asking the same after three games of the Cup Final. Where is Jonathan Toews? No points. Where is Patrick Kane? A lone assist. Where are defensemen Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook? Goose eggs for both. There is no pushback. It s as though the entire Chicago squad enrolled in Anger Management 101 before the Final and aced the course with flying colors varying shades of black and gold. I think it s the energy in the game, the effort, said Boston coach Claude Julien, who believes this is the best his club has played in the postseason. You see our guys, like I said, backchecking, [creating] layers, so when somebody makes a mistake, you have somebody covering up. We re blocking a lot of shots [17 Monday night, 75 for the series]. The commitment is totally there. It is also totally in Chicago s faces, and its heads, its hands. The Bruins are just too heavy. The Blackhawks may be faster and some of their forwards more skilled. They opened the season without a regulation loss in their first 24 games (21-0-3) and they were not shutout in the regular season. But that doesn t matter now. The Bruins gathered up the stat sheets from those games, crumpled them up, and rendered them as inconsequential as Toews, Kane, et al. I think when you get to this stage, players start feeling it, said Julien, noting it s nearly impossible for a club to summon such thoroughness during the regular season. They go above and beyond. That s what you re seeing from our team right now. Game 3 was a carryover from Game 2, in which the Bruins rallied to win in OT after opening with perhaps their worst period of the season (the Blackhawks fired 30 shots, the Bruins only five). In Game 2, the Bruins began to skate and hit in the second period, did more of it in the third, even more in the OT. As they grew bigger, the Blackhawks grew smaller. The Blackhawks had a decent first period Monday, then quickly began to shrink again once Danny Paille, left wing on the Misfit Toys Line, connected for the 1-0 lead with 2:13 gone in the second. From that point on, over a time of 37:47, the Blackhawks mustered 18 shots on Rask, only eight more than they managed in the opening 22:13. They never scored on the power play (now 0 for 11 in the series) and they were hammered brutally at the faceoff dot, where the Bruins won a nearly inhumane 71 percent of the drops. Patrice The Thief Bergeron put on a puck-drop clinic, winning 24 of 28 draws (86 percent). On the other side, late-season pickup Michal Handzus went 0 for 10 and Dave Bolland 1 for 8. In a series this tight and this heavy, puck possession is key. After 71 percent of the drops, the Blackhawks were chasing. And they kept chasing. The poor power play and the poorer faceoff record, noted Chicago coach Joel Quenneville, were key elements of the loss. It s a tight game and scoring is going to be challenging, said Quenneville, asked if the grind is tougher against Boston than it was against Los Angeles in the conference final. But we ve got to be ready to play that kind of game. Let s look to get that first goal and try to sustain it. It s not like we want to go outrace [the Bruins], and exchange high-scoring chances off the rush. That s what they want to do. We have to be ready. We [have to] play a patient game, capitalize, get opportunities, and hopefully we get the power play going. It has to come from somewhere or it s over for the Blackhawks. Maybe the power play comes around. Maybe Rask falls down six times the way he did once against the Rangers. Maybe the Blackhawks win faceoffs, reboot their temerity to get to the net. But that s a tall order now for a team growing shorter by the shift. Boston Globe LOADED:

7 Boston Bruins Patrice Bergeron shines bright in Game 3 win Center scores on the power play and dominates in the faceoff circle By Michael Vega Globe Staff June 18, 2013 With Tyler Hawkins s pounding drum beat and Dave Grohl s scorching vocals weaved into a video montage of the Bruins greatest hits, checks, and smackdowns of this postseason, the feral music of the Foo Fighters whipped the TD Garden crowd of 17,565 into a good and proper frenzy by the time the Black and Gold took the ice for Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday. When Patrice Bergeron skillfully potted a power-play goal at 14:05 of the second period, taking Jaromir Jagr s masterful cross-crease pass and pinging it off the left post and past Blackhawks goaltender Corey Crawford, the accompanying fog horn blast came as sweet music to the delirious crowd. It was certainly resonant for Bergeron after he helped orchestrate a dismantling of the Blackhawks in an impressive 2-0 victory to give the Bruins a 2-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final. Compared with Saturday s Game 2, when the Bruins slogged their way through the first period before earning a 2-1 overtime victory, this was a decidedly better game from start to finish. Against a team like Chicago, you ve got to go hard every shift, you can t take a shift off, said Bergeron, who skated 32 shifts, the most of anyone on either team, in 19 minutes, 49 seconds of ice time. Our start was something that we talked about and we carried that on in the second and third period as well. Bergeron s goal, which was his seventh of the postseason, followed one by Game 2 hero Daniel Paille at 2:13 of the second, and served to dispirit the Blackhawks. The Bruins were on the man advantage for the first time in the game at 12:00 when Dave Bolland was sent off for cross-checking on Chris Kelly s net rush. Then, with time running out on that power play, the Bruins drew another penalty when Niklas Hjalmarsson was called for tripping Daniel Paille, giving Boston a two-man advantage. We had [10] seconds on the 5-on-3, so we had to make something happen quick, said Bergeron. The Blackhawks managed to survive being two short, but they were unable to overcome having to go another two minutes a man down. Bergeron made the visitors pay with Boston s second power-play tally of this series. The Bruins have converted 9 of 54 power play opportunities in this postseason. We talked about the play and we made it work, Bergeron said. Of course, it helped to have Jagr feed him the puck with a hard tape-to-tape pass. They re making me happy, even if I m not scoring, Jagr said of his teammates after he picked up his eighth postseason assist on Bergeron s tally. It doesn t really matter if I score or not. They re trying to make me happy or important, even if I don t score. It s the first time I ve felt that way in my hockey career. Asked about his pass to Bergeron, Jagr said, It was a big goal. To be up 2-0 instead of 1-0, it s a huge difference. But when he put it on his blade, was Jagr confident Bergeron would finish? Every time I touch something right now, it s nothing guaranteed, Jagr said. I feel like I m cursed or something. Yeah, it was a great pass, said Bergeron. I was expecting the puck to come, but it was a perfect play. I had to kind of settle it down a bit. It was a hard pass. It was a great pass and I just had to put it in, thankfully I was able to do that. When he wasn t burying his chances, Bergeron was burying the Blackhawks in the faceoff circle. He won 24 of his 28 faceoffs, including 10 of 11 in the first period. It s something we take a lot of pride and we talk about a lot, Bergeron said. They have some very good centermen, so it s not just about the four centers, it s about everyone. And, Monday night, everyone contributed in perfect harmony. I thought we did a decent job, it wasn t perfect by any means, Bergeron said. But at this point of the year you ve got to take the wins and move on and focus on Game 4. Boston Globe LOADED:

8 Boston Bruins Bruins are the team you love to love By Dan Shaughnessy Globe Staff June 18, 2013 Before this Stanley Cup Final is over, the Bruins will be our Boys of Summer on skates. And at this hour they are a feel-good team on a par with the 1967 Red Sox, the 1970 Bruins, and the Patriots. There was a rainbow over Causeway Street when fans filed into the West End ice palace before Game 3 Monday night. By the end of the evening, Garden legions were thinking about the silver chalice that is the pot of gold in the National Hockey League. On the latest date an NHL game has ever been played in Boston, the Bruins defeated the Chicago Blackhawks, 2-0, to take a 2-1 series lead in the Cup Final, which resumes Wednesday night at the Garden. If the Bruins win Game 4, they will have a chance to hoist the Stanley Cup on the ice of the United Center in Chicago Saturday night. Call JetBlue and American Airlines ASAP. OK, that would be getting ahead of ourselves. But it s easy to get swept away by the Black-and-Gold tide washing over New England in the spring/soon-to-be-summer of The Bruins are the team you love to love. More than a month ago they were down and out in the third period of that seventh game at home against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Then they staged the greatest Game 7 comeback in Stanley Cup playoff history and they have not looked back. In the words of club president and ultimate Bruin Cam Neely, they have no rearview mirror. So we are not shocked by the shocking event unfolding in front of our tired, rink-shaped eyes. We saw these Bruins dominate the Rangers in five games. We saw them demolish the heavily favored Penguins in a fourgame sweep. Now they have rallied from a stake-through-the-heart, tripleovertime loss in the first game in Chicago. They have won two straight against yet another favored opponent. They have won seven consecutive playoff games at home. We are a hockey town on the brink of summer. While the talking heads at ESPN drone on about Doc Rivers, we are listening to the dulcet tones of Doc Emrick. While others envy the golden pipes of Chicago s opera-starturned anthem singer Jim Cornelison, we rally at the sight of Rene Rancourt s triple fist-pump. Claude Julien is pulling the strings more effectively than Claude Rains in Casablanca. Julien s new line of Daniel Paille, Tyler Seguin, and Chris Kelly is a latter-day incarnation of Phil Esposito, Ken Hodge, and Wayne Cashman. Patrice Bergeron wins every faceoff and the Bruins kill every power play. Jaromir Jagr is skating like a guy with Take that, Mike Milbury in the back of his mind. Tuukka Rask is having a better playoff series than Tim Thomas enjoyed two years ago when the Bruins won the Cup in Vancouver in seven games. A couple of Bruins were asked if they were sensing a closeness to another Cup. Yes and no, said Seguin. It gives you even more incentive being two games away, but we need to stay focused. We re just trying to enjoy this one tonight. Absolutely not, countered Kelly. All we ve done is put ourselves in a better position. They can say that they are only three games away from winning the Cup. They re a great hockey team. The Blackhawks are supposed to be a great hockey team. They won the Cup three years ago and set an NHL record when they came out of the gate without losing any of their first 24 games in regulation. They recovered from a 3-1 series deficit against Detroit. They overwhelmed the defending Stanley Cup champs from Los Angeles. They went 10-1 in their first 11 home playoff games. But something changed after Chicago dominated the first period of Game 2. The Bruins came out flying in the second period of Game 2 and have crushed the Hawks spirit over the last five periods. The Blackhawks are taking on the look of the Penguins. They can t believe how hard it is to score against the Bruins. A couple of fights broke out Monday in the closing seconds. The Bruins are playing better defense than the Patriots. They don t allow good chances. Rask kept them in Game 2 with spectacular work in the first period, and his defenders have made it relatively easy over the last five periods. They box you out, they ve got big bodies, and they block shots, said somewhat frustrated Chicago coach Joel Quenneville. It is a mistake to think this series is over. We know better. But the Bruins are just two wins away from another Cup and they are playing textbook, almost perfect hockey. They even managed to get it done without overtime in Game 3. Friday is the first day of summer and the Stanley Cup is within the grasp of the Bruins. Life is good. Boston Globe LOADED:

9 Boston Bruins Pregame injury forces Marian Hossa out of Blackhawks lineup By Nancy Marrapese-Burrell / Globe Staff / June 17, 2013 Blackhawks forward Marian Hossa suffered an injury during warm-ups and was a late scratch from the Game 3 lineup. In his place was former Boston College standout Ben Smith. Coach Joel Quenneville had already made one change, putting another Hockey East product, forward Viktor Stalberg of the University of Vermont, into his lineup and scratching Brandon Bollig. Stalberg played 11 minutes 2 seconds over 14 shifts, all but 59 seconds of it at even strength. I think it was a pretty even game all around, said Stalberg, who had one shot on net in the Blackhawks 2-0 loss. There were chances both ways. It s just a matter of scoring those goals when you get the opportunities. I thought I had pretty good legs out there. I feel like I was skating and creating some chances. I felt like I was trying to do everything I could out there. You ve got to find a way to score and get those chances, too. Smith made his 2013 postseason debut. Smith had been skating with the Black Aces, the extra players who are on hand with the team. Smith, 24, logged 10:23 of ice time over 13 shifts and had one shot on goal. I was just told I had to warm up, that I was in, said Smith. So I just kind of scrambled to get ready and get warm. That s kind of been the whole thing this seven, eight weeks with the Black Aces. They tell us to stay ready. You never know when your opportunity is going to come and it just happened tonight. After a couple of shifts, I settled in. Smith, who played in just one regular-season contest for Chicago, suited up for 54 games with the Rockford IceHogs of the American Hockey League, where he scored 27 goals and added 20 assists. He impressed his teammates with his contributions after such a long layoff. I thought [Smith] did a great job jumping in at the last minute, said forward Patrick Sharp. We are a deep team so we were confident. Stalberg was a regular contributor in the regular season, logging a little more than 14 minutes per game. In the playoffs, though, his ice time has dwindled to just under 11 minutes. He sat out the first two games against Detroit and the first two against the Bruins. In 16 games, he has just three assists and no goals. As great as it is to make the Final, sitting was difficult. You re enjoying it, obviously, but at the same time, it is frustrating, said Stalberg before the game. You ve played every game for the last 2½ years or three years and then you re sitting out. It s frustrating and you re angry about it but you can t let it affect you too much. You can t let it show, either. You don t want to be a distraction for the guys who are playing. You try to do everything you can for the team. But I m happy with the year I ve had and what I ve done for this team. I feel like I m part of everything and that s just how it is right now. It was Bollig s turnover that led to Daniel Paille s goal in overtime of Game 2. I think Bollig gave us a couple of real strong games, said Quenneville. You can talk about the last play. Certainly, you like the predictability of his game. I thought he did a nice job. Nothing doing The Blackhawks are 0-4 in Game 3s this year. They lost in the first round to Minnesota, in the second to Detroit, and in the third to Los Angeles. The Bruins, on the other hand, are 4-0, and Claude Julien is 13-1 with the Bruins in Game 3s... Quenneville s 84 postseason victories are the most among active coaches and rank seventh all-time. Boston Globe LOADED:

10 Boston Bruins Top NHL prospects get the backstage treatment before Stanley Cup Final By Emily Kaplan Globe Correspondent June 18, 2013 The four teenagers dressed in suits stood in the center of the Bruins locker room Monday morning. They kept their hands in their pockets and glanced around at the spectacle. They saw dozens of camera crews jostling for position and scrums of reporters swarming Boston players by their lockers. The four teenagers didn t say much. They shifted their focus from locker to locker with doe-eyed stares. Seth Jones, Nathan MacKinnon, Darnell Nurse, and Jonathan Drouin are the four top-rated North American prospects in the upcoming NHL draft. In a few years, maybe even sooner, they could be the ones sitting at the lockers, fielding questions before a Stanley Cup Final. For now, they absorbed the scene in awe. I couldn t believe how cramped it was, said Nurse, a 6-foot-4-inch defenseman. I was getting all sweaty, and I had some breathing room. I could see some of the players were getting frustrated. Some of those players have been in Nurse s position. Bruins defenseman Dougie Hamilton received the same backstage treatment to the 2011 Finals. Forward Tyler Seguin was invited to the 2010 Finals. Seguin, now 21, approached the foursome before he scooted toward his locker. You know when I did this, he told the group, I got to meet [Chicago forward] Patrick Kane. And when Hamilton did it? He met Seguin, here in the same locker room before Game 3 of the Final against Vancouver. Kind of weird when you think of it like that, said Hamilton, who has played in seven playoff games this season. I don t remember much about that day. Don t even really remember who I talked to or what they said. Just remember being overwhelmed by it all. Hamilton recalled walking toward the podium where coach Claude Julien was set to address the media. He gaped at the rows of empty chairs and couldn t believe reporters would fill every seat. He and the other three prospects took turns taking photos of each other standing in front of Julien s podium. Hamilton s photo has since been deleted. It didn t come out good, said Hamilton. Too blurry. What did last was Hamilton s impression after watching Game 3. He couldn t believe how loud TD Garden was. The fans stood for 10 minutes straight in the first period, Hamilton said. And I had never seen anything like that in my life. The four new prospects have interesting backgrounds. Jones, a 6-4 defenseman projected to be picked first by the Colorado Avalanche, is the son of former NBA player and onetime Celtic Popeye Jones. Nurse s uncle is former Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb. In a few years, these teenagers whose baby-faced skin contrasted greatly with the overgrown playoff beards on the Bruins and Blackhawks might be household names. That s something that seemed overwhelming to MacKinnon. It s crazy to think that [Seguin and Hamilton] were in our position just a few years ago, MacKinnon said. It seems like those guys have been playing in the NHL forever. Hamilton said he never envisioned being on a Stanley Cup Final team only two years after being drafted. It s something that never crossed my mind, said the defenseman, who played in 42 regular-season games this year and who turned 20 Monday. He s probably had more opportunities and ice time than a 19-year-old could ever imagine when he came to us, said Julien. He s played a lot of power plays, he s done a lot of things. MacKinnon said most players he met gave him the same advice: Just enjoy the experience. It s difficult, MacKinnon said, when these few weeks leading up to the June 30 draft are so overwhelming. MacKinnon is missing his high school graduation and prom. But I couldn t find a date, the Nova Scotia native said. Maybe next year I would. The thing that struck Jones most about his tour was sitting in on the teams morning skates. The foursome sat together in the 100 level, again showing the same doe-eyed stares and stiff demeanor. When I pregame skate, maybe I don t skate as hard as I can, Jones said. I try to save my energy. But you see them out there and they are going 100 percent. They got off the ice and they are dripping in sweat. That intensity is something Jones hopes to experience soon. Boston Globe LOADED:

11 Boston Bruins Tuukka Rask stands tall in shutout More polished effort pays off By Fluto Shinzawa Globe Staff June 18, 2013 Tuukka Rask recorded his third career postseason shutout in Monday night s Game 3. Rask stopped all 28 shots that Chicago sent his way. The Blackhawks never made Rask work for his blanking. The Bruins prevented the Blackhawks from generating any kind of offensive rhythm. When the night was over, Rask had a virtually dry uniform to accompany his shutout. Tonight was great, Rask said. If you take the first period out of the last game, I thought the last two periods in that game were really good. Today we continued to do that. They had shots. But most of them came from the outside. We eliminated a lot of those rebound opportunities. I think that s something that every team likes to do. We succeeded today. The only heat that Rask saw was in the game s final minute. The Bruins were protecting a 2-0 lead. Corey Crawford was pulled for an extra skater. With 45 seconds remaining in regulation, Bryan Bickell snapped a puck off the right post. Luck seems to find good goalies. Rask wasn t as busy as he was in Games 1 and 2. But he was efficient when the puck came his way. Rask was square to Chicago s shooters and controlled his rebounds well. There were moments in the first two games at the United Center where Rask didn t steer pucks out of danger. In Game 3, he rarely deposited rebounds into harm s way. They shot high shots from off the wing, and I was able to just catch a lot of them with my glove, Rask said. Then a few loose pucks were laying around there. Our D or forwards took care of that. It helps when we get the puck quick and just move it forward. It helps our breakouts a lot. Collision course At the end of warm-ups, Zdeno Chara is usually one of the first players off the ice. Chara completes his session with several full-speed whirls through the neutral zone. Chara s warm-ups nearly ended in disaster. Chara collided with Milan Lucic, who had his back turned. Both players hit the deck. Both of their helmets popped off. Chara got the worst of the collision. The captain required pregame work to close a cut on his head. Chara didn t miss any time because of the injury, leading the Bruins with 25:47 of ice time. Chara had one shot and three hits. Chara and Dennis Seidenberg played most of their shifts against Jonathan Toews, who centered Marcus Kruger and Michael Frolik. Thornton stays ready Shawn Thornton considers himself a slump buster. But not in the right way. When Thornton s former linemates leave him behind, their scoring touch returns. That s what happened in Game 2 s 2-1 overtime win in Chicago. Daniel Paille and Chris Kelly started the game on the fourth line, with Thornton as their right wing. But when Paille and Kelly moved up to the third line with Tyler Seguin in the second period, the Bruins offense returned. Kelly scored the tying goal in the second period. Paille netted the overtime winner. Thornton, meanwhile, was parked on the bench. Thornton played only 4:56. I don t care, Thornton said with a smile before playing 6:27 and being penalized for roughing in Game 3. We re winning games. That s all that matters. Whoever we play with and however many minutes we get, we try and contribute while we re out there. That other stuff s out of our control other than the effort we put in. If we put in enough effort to have success, maybe we ll get out there a few more times. Segs, Kells, and Piesey were pretty good last game. In the triple-overtime 4-3 loss in Game 1, David Krejci played 38:41 to lead all Bruins forwards. Thornton logged only 9:55 of ice time. A reduced postseason role is not new for Thornton. The right wing was a healthy scratch for parts of the 2011 Stanley Cup Final and Eastern Conference Final. But Thornton s in a different situation now. Gregory Campbell, his usual center, is out for the playoffs because of his broken right leg. The fourth line of Paille, Campbell, and Thornton, which played with its sharpest pace against the Rangers in the second round, is no longer. The new fourth line of Thornton alongside Kaspars Daugavins and Rich Peverley has yet to find its identity. It was especially difficult for the Bruins to roll out Thornton in the multiovertime games. Julien had to shorten his bench in regulation. In overtime, Thornton had gone double-digit minutes between shifts. The Bruins could have used Thornton to spell his teammates. But Julien is wary about sending out players when they ve been sitting for too long. There s definitely been some times where you re sitting on the bench for 10 minutes. Fortunately for me, I ve been doing that for 16 years, Thornton cracked. I m used to it. You try to keep yourself ready whatever way you can, whether it s riding the bike between periods or seeing me hop up and down on the bench like an idiot. Whatever it takes to stay ready for when you re out there, because you want to be effective when you re out there. Campbell joins team Campbell was unable to travel to Chicago with the team for Games 1 and 2. He underwent surgery on his broken right leg last Monday, the day before the Bruins traveled to Chicago. Team doctors did not want Campbell traveling so soon following surgery. But Campbell was at TD Garden for Game 3. Campbell is scheduled to make his first public comments on Tuesday since suffering the injury on June 5. Every time that someone goes down, you always want to play for that player, and right now it s Soupy, Paille said. We know he s done everything he could to help us get to where we re at. We always want to make sure that it wasn t for nothing. No lineup changes The Bruins didn t make any changes from their Game 2 lineup. Matt Bartkowski, Dougie Hamilton, Wade Redden, Aaron Johnson, Carl Soderberg, Jay Pandolfo, and Jordan Caron were the healthy scratches... Daugavins played only 6:30. He was called for roughing in the first period when he threw a forearm at Andrew Shaw s head... Shaw and Brad Marchand went off for fighting late in regulation. Few punches landed... Seidenberg led all players with six blocked shots. Boston Globe LOADED: