Chicago beats Boston 6-5 in OT to cap crazy roller-coaster Stanley Cup game

BOSTON - Michal Handzus scored for the Chicago Blackhawks, Rich Peverley countered for the Boston Bruins, and the teams were tied 1-1 after the first period of Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday night.

The Bruins entered with a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series after Tuukka Rask's third shutout of the playoffs in a 2-0 win on Monday night.

But Handzus ended Rask's shutout streak at 129 minutes, 14 seconds while the Blackhawks were short-handed when he scored his third goal of the playoffs 6:48 into the game.

Brandon Saad stole the puck from Tyler Seguin in the Boston zone and raced up the right side. He crossed the blue line and then passed across the slot to Handzus, who beat Rask from about 5 feet.

Then Peverley, who had been struggling offensively, scored his second playoff goal during a rare power-play shift for him at 14:43.

Bruins defenceman Andrew Ference kept the puck in the zone when he went to his knees at the left point. He passed it toward Peverley near the right circle. Peverley controlled the puck and took a shot from the inside edge of the circle, beating goalie Corey Crawford to the near side.

The Blackhawks, Stanley Cup winners in 2010, dominated the early part of the first period. But the Bruins, the 2011 champions, came on strong in the last 10 minutes and ended the period being outshot by only 10-9.

Game 5 between the Original Six teams will be back in Chicago on Saturday night. The clubs split the first two games of the series there in overtime.

The Blackhawks won the opener 4-3 on Andrew Shaw's goal at 12:08 of the third overtime and lost 2-1 in Game 2 on Daniel Paille's goal at 13:48 of the first overtime.

Marian Hossa returned to the Blackhawks lineup after being a late scratch in Game 3 because of an upper body injury. He has three game-winning goals in the playoffs and was second on the team with 17 goals during the regular season.

Despite his return, Chicago's power-play woes continued. The Blackhawks were scoreless on their only first-period opportunity — leaving them 0 for 12 in the series and 0 for the last 21.

Since the best-of-seven format for the Cup finals began in 1939, teams leading 2-1 have won the championship 38 of 47 times.

Boston has won its last seven home playoff games, outscoring opponents 21-10. The Bruins are 11-2 in their last 13 games with both losses coming in overtime.

Rask has allowed one goal or fewer in each of Boston's last eight wins.