The Boston Bruins have recovered from their soul-crushing triple overtime loss in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals to the Chicago Blackhawks, thanks largely to the white-hot goaltending of Tuukka Rask.
In Game 3, the first game of the series in Boston's TD Garden, Rask stopped all 28 of Chicago's shots on goal en route to his third shutout of the playoffs. When asked about Rask's shutout, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville complimented the Bruins' stopper.
"We ran up against some of the best goalies in the league here," 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."
Beyond the stellar play of Rask, Bruins coach Claude Julien said, "We're playing the best hockey of the season right now. That's what you've got to do to give yourself a chance to win a Stanley Cup." The Bruins also caught a break when Blackhawks' star Marian Hossa headed to the locker room after warmups and did not play, thanks to an unspecified injury.
"I was as surprised as anybody else," 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."
Quenneville said Hossa sustained an "upper body" injury, but refused to elaborate more. "We'll say 'day-to-day.' We're hopeful he'll be ready for the next game. It was a game-time decision after the warmup there. That's when we made the call, after warmup."
Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara also left warmups to receive medical attention in the locker room, but he was said to just need stitches after a collision with a teammate. Chara didn't miss any game time.
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