Daniel Paille propels Boston Bruins to 2-1 Chicago Blackhawks victory
Capitals’ Ovechkin named MVP for the season
Chicago: Daniel Paille scored at 13:48 of overtime to give the Boston Bruins a 2-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday that knotted the NHL championship Stanley Cup finals at one game apiece.
After Chicago triumphed in a triple-overtime game-one marathon, the Bruins turned the tables to pull level in the best-of-seven series, which shifts to Boston for game three on Monday.
A wraparound from behind the Chicago net along the right boards wasn’t handled by the Blackhawks’ Brandon Bollig, and Boston’s Adam McQuaid pushed the puck down to Tyler Seguin.
Seguin fired the puck over to the slot, where Paille ripped it into the right corner for the victory.
The Bruins, comprehensively out-played in the first period, erased an early one-goal deficit, Chris Kelly tying the game late in the second period with his first goal of the playoffs.
Tuukka Rask made 33 saves, including 18 in a first period dominated by the Blackhawks.
The hosts seized a 1-0 lead on Patrick Sharp’s goal midway through the first.
The Bruins stepped it up in the second, with Kelly getting the equaliser with 5:02 left in the period.
Boston had some chances in the third, but Chicago goalie Corey Crawford, who finished with 26 saves, stood firm and the contest went to overtime.
Right wing Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals edged Pittsburgh Penguins star centre Sidney Crosby for the NHL’s 2012-2013 Most Valuable Player award announced on Saturday.
In voting by the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association, Ovechkin garnered 1,090 points to the 1,058 of Crosby, claiming his third Hart Trophy in the past six seasons.
The Russian also won in 2008 and 2009. The margin of victory — just 32 points from a record-setting 179 ballots cast — represents the closest Hart Trophy race since Montreal’s Jose Theodore and Calgary’s Jarome Iginla finished in a virtual tie in 2002, the NHL said.
Ovechkin tallied 32 goals in 48 games, including 23 in his final 23 contests, to become the first three-time winner of the Maurice “Rocket” Richard Trophy as the NHL’s goal-scoring leader.
He also finished third in the League in points (56), first in power-play goals (16), first in power-play points (27) and first in shots on goal (220).
He led the Capitals to an 11-1-1 record in April and their fifth Southeast Division title in the last six years. He became the ninth player in league history to score 30 or more goals in each of his first eight seasons.
