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.

Chicago Blackhawks vs Boston Bruins Game 6 Live Stream June 24, 2013

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Chicago Blackhawks vs Boston Bruins Live Stream

Jonathan Toews watched the end of the fifth game of the Stanley Cup Final from the Blackhawks bench, unable to play after a hit to his head. Bruins forward Patrice Bergeron was in a Chicago hospital after leaving the United Center by ambulance.

 As the Stanley Cup Final approaches a sixth and potential clinching game on Monday night, the attention shifted from the players on the ice to the ones who might not make it there, including two of the top forwards and biggest stars in the series. "It's not the best situation for either team," Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask said Sunday after both teams flew back to Boston.

 "But it's a tough sport, and injuries happen. When you leave it all out there to help your team win, that's all part of the game." Bergeron was injured in the second period of Game 5 on Saturday night,

Chicago Blackhawks vs Boston Bruins

which the Blackhawks won 3-1 to take a 3-2 lead in the series

. He made two brief appearances on the ice in the third period but something was obviously wrong and he was unable to complete either shift. Toews, who won the Selke Award as the NHL's top defensive forward -- Bergeron was a finalist -- missed the entire third period after a shot to the head from Bruins defenseman Johnny Boychuk.

 "They're both great players," Chicago winger Patrick Sharp said. "I think any coach in the league, any player in the league would like to have those guys on their team. They take pride in taking faceoffs, playing well away from the puck, making their linemates better, (they're) both big parts of the locker room. "I can't speak for what Boston is dealing with, with Bergeron. I know I don't need to say much about Jonathan. I think everyone knows what we think of him in our locker room. Hopefully we can have him back for (Monday)."

 Bergeron, who was taken to the hospital for observation, was released later Saturday night and rejoined his teammates for a team meal. "He was crushing some food," Bruins forward Brad Marchand said Sunday. Bergeron was on the team flight back from Chicago.

After the Bruins' bus arrived at the TD Garden in the afternoon, he walked without crutches or assistance to a car and was driven away. "He's good. He came back with us and everything so hopefully he can play," Marchand said. "He looked really good today. He had a nice suit on, very dashing.

 Obviously, he's a big part of the team and hopefully he can play." The Blackhawks lost Toews after Boychuk knocked him down in the slot, making contact with his head.

Boychuk wasn't penalized, and NHL spokesman John Dellapina said on Sunday that the league reviewed the hit and there will be no supplemental discipline. "I think they said it was clean, wasn't it? Then I agree with them," Bruins coach Claude Julien said.

 "I'm not going to hide from that. If it wasn't a clean hit -- I've been a guy that supported those kind of things that we need to get out of the game. But it was a clean hit." Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville alluded to the contact with the head but then said, "I'm not going to go there." Toews was tied with Patrick Kane for the Blackhawks' team lead with 23 goals during the regular season. Since being reunited with Kane on Chicago's top line in Game 4, Chicago has rallied to take the lead in the best-of-seven series.

 Before he was knocked out of the Game 5, Toews assisted on both of Kane's goals. "He's our leader," Chicago defenseman Johnny Oduya said. "You know, he's one of those guys, and when he's full-speed he gives everything he's got every game. That's something that is tough to replace."

Quenneville said Toews was doing much better and the team is optimistic he will be able to play in Game 6.

"We'll see how he is. I think the progress today, he's doing real good," Quenneville said. "We'll visit in the morning, and he seemed fine. So nothing has changed. Nothing is different. We'll keep an eye on him, and we'll go from there."

Chicago Blackhawks vs Boston Bruins

 With or without Toews and Bergeron, the Blackhawks have a chance to clinch their second Stanley Cup title in four seasons on Monday night in Boston. If they lose, the series returns to Chicago for a decisive seventh game on Wednesday. And that, Julien said, is why he wasn't worried about whether Toews will play or not. "I think I should be looking in my backyard and make sure I've got my guys playing tomorrow before I start worrying about the game plan with them," he said. "Right now we know it's up to us to ... bring our `A' game if we want a chance to win. That part of it should be more important than who they have and don't have in their lineup."

Watch Nhl Online: Chicago Blackhawks vs Boston Bruins Game 4 Live Stream June 19, 2013

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BOSTON (AP) -- Marian Hossa is one of the Chicago Blackhawks' top scorers, with three game-winning goals already this postseason.

And then, suddenly, he wasn't in the lineup for a team that needed all the scoring it can get.

Hossa's surprise scratch from Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals -- and the one-word explanation, "upper," for the part of his body that was injured -- is part of a long-running cat-and-mouse game NHL teams play on the theory that any information about injuries is a competitive disadvantage.

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"I think that's self-explanatory," said Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville, declining to explain why he declined to explain the secrecy surrounding Hossa's injury.

Tuukka Rask stopped 28 shots from the depleted Blackhawks to help the Bruins win 2-0 on Monday night and move two wins from their second Stanley Cup title in three seasons. Game 4 is Wednesday night in Boston before the series returns to Chicago for a fifth game.

Hossa is expected to play in Game 4, Quenneville allowed, but only after making clear that "I'm not going to get exactly what the injury is or where it occurred."

"It's sort of a secret society in the hockey world and in the injury world," Blackhawks forward Dave Bolland said. "You don't want other teams having any injury information at all."

Asked if he had seen Hossa or had a chance to talk to him, Bolland said, "I don't know."

You don't know if you've seen him or talked to him?

Stanley Cup: Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins

"I don't know if I've seen him," Bolland repeated with a sly smile.

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Hossa's mysterious injury may have been a turning point in Game 3, but it is hardly unusual in the secretive world of hockey injuries. Players and coaches say they just don't talk about what's hurting, partly because they don't want to seem weak in a sport where they hit each other for a living.

But mostly, they don't want let the other team know where to aim.

Stanley Cup: Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins

"If I'm going out to battle and I have an injury to any part of my body, I don't want the other side to know what it is," Bruins forward Shawn Thornton said.

Injury information can also help the opponent strategize. Quenneville was so concerned about giving the Bruins advance notice of even a few minutes that he didn't let substitute Ben Smith skate in the warmup even though there was a chance he would need to play.

"I just didn't want to tip our hand that there's something going on," the coach said.

"Ben was ready. I knew he was doing everything," Quenneville said. "We were hopeful that Hoss was playing, and Ben was doing everything to get ready. He was ready."

It worked.

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"I'm still surprised," Thornton said. "I don't know what happened to him."

No hard feelings, Bruins coach Claude Julien said. After all, he would do -- and has done -- the same thing.

"I respect that from other teams. When you're playing against each other, you know exactly where everybody is coming from," Julien said.

"There's times where you have to protect your players, and I understand it. I know it's frustrating for you guys as media. You're trying to share that information. The most important thing for us, we can take the heat for that, is protecting your players."

So, how to tell if an injury is minor?

When a team actually admits it exists.

"I'll share one with you: Yesterday in a warmup, Zdeno Chara fell down, got a cut over the eye," Julien said, making light of the mishap in the way that only a coach two wins from an NHL title will do. "I'll let you know about that. That's not a hidden injury.

Stanley Cup: Chicago Blackhawks, Boston Bruins

"If it's something that doesn't put your player in danger, I don't see why you shouldn't talk about it," he said.

Players say they don't have to be told not to discuss injuries; it's as much a part of the culture as Canadian accents and playoff beards. Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp said he doesn't remember when he first learned the subject was off-limits, but it was long before he reached the NHL.

And hockey players are not alone.

"It's not just here," Thornton said. "I don't think Bill Belichick is (listing) all the injuries they have, either."

But even the notoriously uncommunicative New England Patriots coach is required by NFL rules to say what body part is injured. NHL coaches have to narrow it only to "upper body" or "lower body," which means a player with a concussion and one with a broken finger would have the same diagnosis.

During the NHL playoffs, information is even scarcer.

"It's that time of year where everybody's kind of battling. I would say that not just injuries, strategy, all that kind of information we're not going to talk about," Sharp said. "It's all part of being this close to the ultimate goal."

And does he have any injuries he cares to mention?

"No comment."