BOSTON -- Throughout the day Wednesday, heading into Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final at TD Garden, the expectation was that forward Marian Hossa would return to the Chicago Blackhawks lineup, even when he skipped the morning skate after being a surprise scratch in Game 3 on Monday. Hossa, however, didn't make the decision he was good to go until moments before the puck dropped.

Regardless of when he got the green light to play, Hossa's return gave the Blackhawks a noticeable boost in a 6-5 overtime win against the Boston Bruins that evened the best-of-7 series at two games apiece. Perhaps just as important, it gave Chicago coach Joel Quenneville some much-needed flexibility with his lineup.

"I felt so-so, but the decision was for me to play and I'm glad I could help a little bit," Hossa said. "We have a couple of days off so it's nice, but we have to be ready for the next game [Saturday]."

Game 4 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final must be approached like a must-win for the Chicago Blackhawks.

When you are desperate, you have to do different things and you have to do more of the good things. For the Blackhawks, the first thing I'd say is they need to have 40-50 shots Wednesday at TD Garden on Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask. They can't necessarily be worried about shot quality.

They might not get the ideal shots they want in terms of quality per se, but they need volume shots, shots from every angle, shots from the goal line, sharp angles -- put everything at the net.

BOSTON -- After opening the 2013 Stanley Cup Playoffs with four points in his first 16 games, Boston Bruins forward Tyler Seguin is getting hot at the perfect time. Entering Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS) at TD Garden with his Bruins leading the Chicago Blackhawks 2-1, Seguin is riding a three-game point streak, his longest such run in two months.

The 21-year-old also has set up Boston's two game-winning goals in that time, both of which were scored by Daniel Paille, the latest addition to a recently-formed line featuring Seguin and center Chris Kelly. By his own admission, Seguin is playing his best hockey of the postseason.

"It feels good. I feel like I'm working hard," Seguin said. "I feel like I just wanted to work a lot smarter in this series. Focus on little things. I think that my line has definitely raised their game in this series."

Seguin's improved play has been sparked in part by teaming with Paille, whose speed has complimented Seguin's game nicely. But it was a recent meeting with Bruins coach Claude Julien that helped Seguin understand exactly what the team needed from him. A meeting that a nervous Seguin initiated.

BOSTON -- The Chicago Blackhawks, desperate for offense after scoring once in the previous two games, will go back to a line in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final on Wednesday at TD Garden (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS) that worked pretty well for them at the end of the last round.

Jonathan Toews skated between Bryan Bickell and Patrick Kane on the team's top line during the morning session Wednesday. That trio played together near the end of the Western Conference Final, and Kane produced a hat trick in the series-clinching Game 5 victory against the Los Angeles Kings.

"We had some success against L.A. Whatever the combinations are, we've got to find a way to score," Toews said. "We have confidence as a line, with [Bickell and Kane] we can make things happen. We were close last game. We didn't get on the score sheet. Obviously that's not good enough."

BOSTON -- Marian Hossa is expected to be back in the lineup for the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 4 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS).

Hossa, who missed Game 3 against the Boston Bruins with an upper-body injury, did not skate Wednesday morning at TD Garden, but coach Joel Quenneville did not see that as a reason to keep him out of the lineup.

"[Hossa] is expected to play tonight," Quenneville said. "He is fine."

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BOSTON -- The Boston Bruins are doing it again.

With their relentless team defense, the Bruins are shutting down another of the League's elite offensive teams.

After a bit of a blip in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, when they lost to the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3 in triple overtime, the Bruins have allowed one goal in their last two games to take the series lead heading into Game 4 Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, RDS) at TD Garden.

The Bruins' suffocating defense mostly has carried over from the Eastern Conference Final, when Boston limited the Pittsburgh Penguins to just two goals in four games. The Penguins had been averaging more than four goals per game entering that series.

Anthony Brodeur, the son of New Jersey Devils goalie Martin Brodeur, announced via his Twitter account Tuesday that he will continue his career with the Gatineau Olympiques of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League next season.

The 18-year-old goalie, who is eligible for the 2013 NHL Draft to be held at Prudential Center in Newark, N.J., on June 30, just completed his senior year at Shattuck-St. Mary's Prep in Minnesota. Brodeur had been mulling his options for several weeks before finally making a decision Tuesday.

He finished 21-5-2 with a 2.48 goals-against average, .923 save percentage and team-leading five shutouts in 28 appearances for Shattuck in 2012-13. He also had four assists.

Brodeur posted Tuesday afternoon on Twitter: "Really excited to finally announce that I am now part of the @LesOlympiques organization! Can't wait for next year!"

BOSTON -- The Chicago Blackhawks haven't scored a goal in more than 120 minutes of game time and have lost two straight to trail the Boston Bruins 2-1 in the best-of-7 Stanley Cup Final.

Most teams would be struggling with their confidence after a pair of humbling losses to a streaking Boston team that has won 11 of their last 13 games. But the Blackhawks are not most teams.

Most teams don't open the season with a 21-0-3 streak that was among the best starts to a season in NHL history. Most teams don't come back from a 3-1 series deficit against a Detroit Red Wings team poised to upset the top-seeded, Presidents' Trophy-winning Blackhawks in the Western Conference Semifinals. These Blackhawks have won big games before, and they have all the confidence in the world that they can do it again.

"It kind of gives you confidence. But to be honest with you, what happened in the regular season is a long time ago," forward Patrick Sharp said. "We certainly feel proud of what we accomplished, we feel like we deserve to be where we are and we can draw on past experience."