CHICAGO -- After keeping his team within striking distance with a stellar first period between the pipes, Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask was rewarded with his first win in the Stanley Cup Final on Saturday night.
Rask, who stopped 18 of 19 shots in the opening 20 minutes when the Chicago Blackhawks completely dominated, turned away 15 shots the remainder of the contest to help lead the Bruins to a 2-1 overtime win in Game 2 at United Center. The series shifts to TD Garden in Boston on Monday with the series tied, 1-1.
"We definitely were in survival mode there for a bit," Rask said. "It looked like they had more guys out there than we did [in the first]. They were bouncing on every single puck in front of net, had a lot of chances.
"We definitely played pretty bad. But, you know, it was good that we were only down by one and regrouped after that."
Rask yielded his only goal of the game to Chicago's Patrick Sharp at the 11:22 mark of the first. Sharp and Marian Hossa each led the Blackhawks with seven shots apiece.
"Every goal you let in you have a chance to save," Rask said. "I'm not going to blame myself for that and I think there were three or four saves before that [Sharp] goal. I couldn't find that puck until the last second but they had 19 shots, and one goes by you -- it happens sometimes."
The victory was the 13th for Rask in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He now boasts a 1.73 goals-against average and League-leading .944 save percentage in 18 starts this postseason. Rask was also aided by a stout defensive effort as the Bruins blocked 18 shots for the game, including a team-high five by Dennis Seidenberg.
"Our defense has done a good job during the playoffs," Rask said.
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