Blackhawks Parade June 29, 2013

Blackhawks Parade

The Chicago police said more than two million people turned out to celebrate the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup win. Fans dressed in the team’s colors, red and black, started streaming into the city early Friday and by midmorning were lined up along the parade route. Later fans streamed into Grant Park, where a huge throng waited for players to speak.

Blackhawks Parade June 29, 2013

Commissioner Gary Bettman will try to close a deal Monday allowing NHL players to compete in the Sochi Olympics next winter. He said the league would meet in New York with the players’ association, the International Olympic Committee and International Ice Hockey Federation.

Blackhawks Parade June 29, 2013

The Blackhawks' run for the cup was definitely worth celebrating. Blackhawks entered the postseason with the No. 1 seed in the Western Conference and lost just six games en route to the Stanley Cup Finals. Once there they engaged in a highly entertaining series that featured five overtimes in three of the six games. The series clincher was no different in terms of entertainment. The game seemed to be headed to a seventh game with Boston up 2-1 with less than two minutes left in the third period, but the Blackhawks scored back-to-back goals from Brian Bickell and Dave Bolland to give Chicago the 3-2 lead with 58 seconds left. It was a devastating finish to a well-deserved championship, and a moment that is sure to go down in Chicago sports history.

Blackhawks Parade June 29, 2013

Stanley Cup 2013 | Blackhawks won Stanley Cup | Patrick Kane June 24, 2013

Stanley Cup 2013 | Blackhawks won Stanley Cup | Patrick Kane June 24, 2013

Stanley Cup 2013 | Blackhawks won Stanley Cup | Patrick Kane June 24, 2013

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Stanley Cup 2013 | Blackhawks won Stanley Cup | Patrick Kane June 24, 2013

Two goals. Seventeen seconds apart. A second Stanley Cup victory in four seasons for the Chicago Blackhawks. Seventy-six seconds away from defeat and a trip home for a decisive seventh game, Bryan Bickell tied it.

Then, while the Bruins were settling in for another overtime in a series that has already had its share, Dave Bolland scored to give Chicago a 3-2 victory in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup finals on Monday night.

The back-to-back scores in about the time it takes for one good rush down the ice turned a near-certain loss into a championship clincher, stunning the Boston Bruins players and their fans and starting the celebration on the Blackhawks' bench with 59 seconds to play. "We thought we were going home for Game 7. You still think you're going to overtime and you're going to try to win it there. Then Bolly scores a huge goal 17 seconds later," said Chicago forward Patrick Kane, who won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the postseason's most valuable player.

"It feels like the last 58 seconds were an eternity." The team that set an NHL record with a 24-game unbeaten streak to start the lockout-shortened season won three straight games after falling behind 2-1 in the best-of-seven finals, rallying from a deficit in the series and in its finale.

Corey Crawford made 23 saves, and Jonathan Toews returned from injury to add a goal and an assist in the first finals between Original Six teams since 1979. "I still can't believe that finish. Oh my God, we never quit," Crawford said. "I never lost confidence. No one in our room ever did." Trailing 2-1, Crawford went off for an extra skater and the Blackhawks converted when Toews fed it in front and Bickell scored from the edge of the crease to tie the score. Perhaps the Bruins expected it to go to overtime, as three of the first four games in the series did. They sure seemed to be caught off-guard on the ensuing faceoff. Chicago skated into the zone, sent a shot on net and after it deflected off Michael Frolik and the post it went right to Bolland, who put it in the net. "It's unbelievable man," Crawford said.

Stanley Cup 2013 | Blackhawks won Stanley Cup | Patrick Kane June 24, 2013

"So much hard work to get to this point. Fantastic effort by everyone on the team." The Blackhawks on the ice gathered in the corner, while those on the bench began jumping up and down. It was only a minute later, when Boston's Tuukka Rask was off for an extra man, that Chicago withstood Boston's final push and swarmed over the boards, throwing their sticks and gloves across the ice. "In 2010, we didn't really know what we were doing. We just, we played great hockey and we were kind of oblivious to how good we were playing," said Toews, who scored his third goal of the playoffs to tie it 1-1 in the second period, then fed Bickell for the score that tied it with 76 seconds to play. "This time around, we know definitely how much work it takes and how much sacrifice it takes to get back here and this is an unbelievable group," Toews said. "We've been through a lot together this year and this is a sweet way to finish it off." The Bruins got 28 saves from Rask, who was hoping to contribute to an NHL title after serving as Tim Thomas' backup when Boston won it all two years ago. "It's obviously shocking when you think you have everything under control," Rask said quietly, standing at his locker with a blue baseball cap on backward and a towel draped over his shoulders. The sold-out TD Garden had begun chanting "We want the Cup!" after Milan Lucic's goal put the Bruins up 2-1 with eight minutes left, but it fell silent after their team coughed up the lead. "Probably toughest for sure, when you know you're a little bit over a minute left and you feel that you've got a chance to get to a Game 7," Bruins coach Claude Julien said. "And then those two goals go in quickly."

Stanley Cup 2013 | Blackhawks won Stanley Cup | Patrick Kane June 24, 2013

The arena was almost empty -- except for a few hundred fans in red Blackhawks sweaters who filtered down to the front rows -- when NHL commissioner Gary Bettman handed the 35-pound Cup to Toews, who left Game 5 with an undisclosed injury and wasn't confirmed for the lineup until the morning skate.

The Chicago captain skated the Cup right over the crease in which the Blackhawks mounted the comeback and in front of the fans in Blackhawks sweaters who lined the front row behind the net. Toews banged on the glass while the remaining Bruins fans headed up the runways. He then continued the tradition of handing it from player to player before the team settled to the side of the faceoff circle for a picture with the trophy they will possess for the next 12 months. The Blackhawks opened the season on a 21-0-3 streak and coasted to the Presidents' Trophy that goes to the team with the best regular-season record. But regular-season excellence has not translated into playoff success: Chicago is the first team with the best record to win the Cup since the 2008 Detroit Red Wings. The Blackhawks went through Minnesota in five games and Detroit in seven, rallying in the Western Conference semifinals from a 3-1 deficit and winning Game 7 in overtime. They got through the defending NHL champion Los Angeles Kings in five games to return to the Cup finals, where Boston was waiting.

The Blackhawks won the first game at home in three overtimes but dropped Game 2 -- another overtime -- and fell behind 2-1 in the series when it returned to Boston.

But since then, it's been all Chicago. The tightly contested finals -- with three games going a total of five overtimes -- may help fans forget the lockout that shortened the season to 48 games and pushed back the opener to Jan. 19. That left the teams still playing ice hockey on a 95-degree day in Boston on June 24, matching the latest date in NHL history. Fans in their Bruins sweaters filtered into the air conditioned TD Garden to see the last game in Boston for the year with the hope there would be one more in Chicago: a seventh game just like two years ago, when the Bruins rallied from a 3-2 deficit, then won in Vancouver for their first NHL championship since 1972. Both teams were bolstered by the return of star forwards, Selke Trophy winner Toews of Chicago and Patrice Bergeron, who was a finalist for the award given to the top defensive forward in the league.

Watch Chicago Blackhawks vs Boston Bruins Game 3 Live Stream June 17, 2013

Chicago Blackhawks vs Boston Bruins Game 3 Live Stream

 Tyler Seguin knew something had to be said.

And he was pretty sure it wouldn't be fit for public consumption.

After the Chicago Blackhawks badly outplayed the Boston Bruins in the first period of Game 2 of the Stanley Cup finals Saturday night, Seguin ditched the microphone he had been wearing as part of the TV broadcast. Then he headed back into the dressing room so the team could hash out its problems in peace.

"It was really a mix of everybody saying something," Seguin said. "I definitely knew it was coming, so I threw my shoulder pads in the training room and put a towel over it so no one could hear what we were saying. I think we needed that team wake-up call."

The 2010 and '11 Stanley Cup champions were in Boston on Sunday for the third game of the best-of-seven finals on Monday night. Neither team skated on the off-day, instead choosing to conserve their energy after playing 10 periods while trading overtime victories that left the series tied at one game apiece.

"It's a lot about getting your rest," Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith said after arriving in Boston Bruins about an hour late because of air traffic. "It's not rocket science, you just get sleep and do as best you can and do all those little things to get ready to go."

Chicago Blackhawks took the first one, winning a triple-OT thriller after 52 extra minutes. Then the Blackhawks started Game 2 by sending 19 shots -- to Boston Bruins' four -- at Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask in the first period to take a 1-0 lead.

"Not much needed to be said after that first period," said Chris Kelly, who was one of the more vocal players in the dressing room. "I think Tuukka pointed out that was a pretty terrible period by our team. If it wasn't for Tuukka, it would have been a lot worse."

Neither Kelly nor coach Claude Julien nor any of the other Bruins would divulge what was said in the room.

But something snapped them out of their funk.

"Claude came in a little bit later, but I think we were all equally upset about that first period," said Daniel Paille, who scored at 13:48 of overtime to end it. "Definitely, Claude let us know and it was a way for us to wake up. And, also, players were keeping each other accountable, too, so it was good."

Whatever was said, the Blackhawks managed only 15 shots over the next two-plus periods to Boston's 24. For the game, the Bruins had 50 hits -- 10 by Milan Lucic -- to 34 for Chicago.

"They're in the Stanley Cup final for a reason," Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane said. "It's not like you're going to have the momentum or dominate for three periods. Obviously, we'd love that.

"We know momentum is huge in the playoffs. You want to keep it as long as you can."

But Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland said they relaxed after taking an early lead and dominating the first period. Another goal was disallowed when the referee lost sight of the puck and blew the whistle moments before it rolled under Rask and over the goal line.

"You always have to have your foot on the gas against this team," Bolland said. "They're a physical team. You see the guys they have. They're a big team and they play hard and they're going to hit, so you've got to be ready for that."

Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said he didn't think the team lost momentum by having an extra day off before Game 1 on Wednesday and Game 2 on Saturday.

"We had a great first period," he said. "We did everything we wanted except get to two (goals)."

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