The last time the Chicago Blackhawks were in Boston’s building, the hopes of a second Stanley Cup parade coming to the Hub were crushed in heartbreaking fashion.

The Blackhawks put two goals by Tuukka Rask in just 17 seconds late in the third period of Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals, and just like that, it was over. The Blackhawks won their second Cup in four years, and the Black-and-Gold were sent home, forced to endure a long summer of what-could’ve-beens. But that really didn’t matter some 70-plus regular season games later as the B’s handled their business against Corey Crawford and Co. on Thursday, shutting them out by a 3-0 final.

“I think it was one of those games that we knew it was a great challenge but also we wanted to get back on track after the Montreal game and really keep playing the way we’ve been playing for that stretch,” B’s center Patrice Bergeron noted. “That was really the main goal.”

Despite some early period sloppiness, the Bruins struck first off the stick of Bergeron, as the leader of the club’s high flying offense tipped a Matt Bartkowski blast home for his 24th goal of the season. Scored with just under eight minutes left in the first, the goal was the result of a pushback of a Boston club that took an early penalty, and made several lackadaisical gaffes in their end.

“We made some adjustments. They’re a great team, they’re a good team and we knew they were going to come out hard,” said Bergeron, adding, “They got a power play also so they had those shots. But that being said, I thought we stuck with it and we were right back in the game after that five minutes.”

Bergeron’s goal was the lone break for either club in the opening two periods of play, as the Bruins’ one-goal edge stuck through 40 minutes, with the ‘Hawks outshooting the Bruins 17-to-16.

Chicago’s hope for a comeback, however, was put to bed when Carl Soderberg cashed in with a wicked snapshot, beating Crawford’s glove, good for his 14th goal of the year and a 2-0 edge.

The third period surge was nothing new to Soderberg and the B’s, either.

“We just keep working, 60 minutes in all games, and if you don’t want to play in the third period you shouldn’t play,” the Swedish center told reporters after the game. “We pushed. We wanted to come back with a win when Montreal broke our winning streak. But I still think we played a pretty good game last game. So we just keep going the way we have, and we are strong right now.”

Boston would extend their lead out to three just 13 seconds later, when Bergeron buried his second of the night into an .. invisible cage.. as the Blackhawks’ Crawford (perhaps accidentally) pushed the net off its moorings and into the air, putting the put into the back of the net (but not really). The entire thing made no sense (as you can read), but was undoubtedly a goal after a brief video review.

The goal was Bergeron’s 25th of the year, and enough for a 3-0 lead at TD Garden.

That score would stick, as Rask finished the night with 28 stops on as many shots, recording his 33rd win and his league-best seventh shutout, bumping his 2013-14 save percentage up to a stellar .931.

Obviously, there was no real ‘revenge’ for the Bruins. You don’t avenge a Stanley Cup Finals loss with a regular season win nine months later. That’s not how that works and the idea of that being the case is just nothing more than a lazy narrative. But if these teams meet again this spring, it’s going to once again be for Lord Stanley’s Cup, and just who has the advantage if that comes to fruition?

“I don’t really care about that team. That has nothing to do with us,” Crawford admitted when asked about the differences between last year’s Bruins squad and the 2013-14 version of the Black-and-Gold. “We were looking to have a strong game today, and we focused on what we’re doing. So, maybe some tendencies that they do, but other than that, I don’t really care about them.”

(Crawford doesn’t care, I know, but we surely do on a rainy Friday in Boston, right?)

These teams split their season series -- with the Blackhawks beating the B’s in Chicago by way of the shootout in Jan. and the Bruins taking last night’s game in their own building -- but if there’s an edge to go one way or another, you’d have to think that it belongs to Boston. That’s not based on anything you’ve necessarily seen in their head-to-heads this year either, but rather the latest development for the Bruins this year. They finally, after almost two whole years of muddled roles and regression across the board, have a third line that can truly batter third defensive pairings around.

Led by Soderberg, the club’s third line that features Chris Kelly and Loui Eriksson on the wings, has heated up since the conclusion of the league’s Olympic break, and brings a serious offensive punch to the table every night.

In the postseason, with top defensive units expected to focus on slowing down the white-hot Milan Lucic-David Krejci-Jarome Iginla line along with the always dangerous Bergeron line, the Soderberg line’s ability to take advantage of clear mismatches against a team’s weaker defensive pairings will be key. Especially when you look at how little production the Bruins had out of their bottom six by the end of last year’s postseason, with Kelly centering Danny Paille and Tyler Seguin on a third line and guys like Rich Peverley and Kaspars Daugavins skating fourth line minutes.

If healthy throughout the postseason, the importance of having an actual third line is just so critical. Sometimes it’s games like last night’s that can serve as a teaser for what’s to come, too.

“I think every game is so important. I think the worst thing you can do is overlook teams. Obviously, Chicago is an easy team to get up for, especially with what happened last year,” said Kelly. “But I think we’re doing a good job of focusing on ourselves and not really our opponent. Because if you take anyone lightly in this league and think it’s a sure thing, it’s going to come back to bite you.”

If there's one clear advantage for Chicago, however, it's in their defensive game.

The Blackhawks are still that same five-man attack with each rush up ice, have no problem playing with the puck in the neutral zone rather than sacrificing possession with a dump-and-chase, and at times last night exposed the rookie know-how (or lack thereof) of a Bartkowski, Kevan Miller, and Torey Krug.

"I think if we move our feet and we are ahead of the puck, I think we do make good decisions," B's captain Zdeno Chara said after last night's victory, their 13th in the last 14 games. "We just got to do all those three things in the game—moving our feet and being above the puck and always communicating and being aware of what’s going, and kind of react and support each other If we do that, then I think we are on the right track.

"Obviously, a team like that with the personnel they have, they got to get some chances. But for the most part I thought we did a good job playing really tight defensively and not giving them too many, let’s say on power plays and things like that, or outnumbered situations."

It’s March and as both teams know, and obviously anything can happen from now until June. (If these teams are lucky enough to make it out of their respective conferences first, that is.)

And the truth of the Blackhawks’ situation last night is that they were without two of their playoff heroes from a year ago in top-sixers Patrick Kane and Bryan Bickell. They’ll obviously be in action when it comes crunch time, and their losses were certainly noticeable after the high-flying ‘Hawks were shutout for the second time in a week. “Every game is different. You miss [Patrick Kane] you’re trying some things and we’re seeing what it can look like,” Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said in Boston last night. “But, a good defensive team, Boston is as stingy as there is anyway, so we’ll see. One more game tomorrow night; we’ll get back at it.”

Again, nobody’s crystal ball is telling us that a Bruins-Blackhawks rematch is coming to a rink near you this June, but it’s no secret that everybody in the Boston room would welcome the opportunity given just how great these head-to-head matchups seem to be between the Original Six foes.

“It’s definitely a great challenge, especially when you play teams like Chicago, they’re a tough team to beat. There is definitely some history also with them last year, so it was a fun game to be a part of,” Bergeron, who became the first Bruin to score a goal in five straight games since 1999 (Rob Brown), said last night. “I thought it was a great series last year, again this year both games we played against them were hard fought games and lots of speed and very intense. So it’s always fun to be a part of those games but they all matter. It’s about getting better and getting ready for the playoffs.”

And with 106 points and 73 games in the books, the B's look ready as can be.

Join the Discussion: » 11 Comments » Post New Comment

» Bruins fire Jim Montgomery

» Bruins hit with significant blow on backend

» 5 thoughts on 5 Bruins as frustration mounts

» Bruins shutout for 2nd time this season

» B's slide hits three; Marchand, Montgomery address 'The Shove'