NHL 2013 Finals: Boston Bruins vs Chicago Blackhawks

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After four exciting games, the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins will look to continue one of the most exciting Stanley Cup Finals series that we have ever seen tonight in a pivotal Game 5. Entering the game, the series is tied at two games a piece and the winner will have the inside track at taking home Lord Stanley’s Cup.

With Chicago returning home off of an emotional overtime win, will they be able to hold the home ice and get just one win away from reaching their season’s goal or will Boston get the win and head home needing just win? We will find out later this evening.

What time do the Blackhawks and Bruins drop the puck? We’ve got all of the information you will need to know to make sure you don’t miss out on any of the action.

Start time: 8:00 p.m. ET
Location: Chicago, Illinois
Venue: United Center
Series Record: Series tied, 2-2
The Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins will battle for control of the Stanley Cup Finals when they face off in Game 5 on Saturday evening.
The Boston Bruins had a chance to seize control of the series but fell to the Blackhawks in overtime in a 6-5 loss.
"I thought we gave them a lot of space," Bruins Coach Claude Julien said. "When we talk about neutral zone, we're not talking about closing a game up and seeing a boring game. We're talking about doing something so that we can regain possession of the puck. And when we regain possession of the puck, we want to get that puck moving in the right direction so we can get a good pace to our game. Sometimes it's misconstrued, I guess, that the neutral zone is about slowing everything down. It's about taking options away. I think Chicago did a great job [on Wednesday]."

The Blackhawks managed to break out of a goal scoring drought against the Bruins with a tremendous six goal effort; the team had only managed one goal throughout Games 2 and 3.
"For us personally, you know you don't get this far, you don't win a Stanley Cup without being pushed up against the wall and being in a few tight spots," said Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews; Toews scored his first goal of the series in Game 4 and his second of the postseason.  "That's where we were [Wednesday] night, and for us it was a must-win. We put it all out there, and we treated it as a Game 7. We got the result we wanted. I think there's still some things we can do better, but for the guys in that locker room, we all understood how critical that game was last night. We showed up to play for each other. I don't think the importance of the next one is any smaller than Game 4."

Boston Bruins vs Chicago Blackhawks June 15, 2013

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For the first time in NHL history, the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks will battle for the Stanley Cup. It also marks the first time since 1979 that two Original Six teams will meet in the Final.

Both teams enter their series having easily eliminated worthy opponents in their respective conference finals. The Bruins swept the Pittsburgh Penguins, limiting the offensively loaded top seed in the Eastern Conference to just two goals. Meanwhile, the Blackhawks put an end to the Los Angeles Kings' title defense in five games, snapping L.A.’s 15-game home winning streak in the process.

However, the Bruins and Blackhawks also found themselves on the brink of disaster earlier in the playoffs.

The Bruins dropped two straight games to the Toronto Maple Leafs and trailed, 4-1, in Game 7 with just over 10 minutes remaining in their first-round series. That’s when their dominant run began. The Bruins scored three straight to tie it and Patrice Bergeron scored at 6:05 of overtime to complete an amazing comeback. The Bruins have gone 8-1 since, led by their strong team defense and remarkable goaltending from Tuukka Rask.

The Blackhawks' biggest test came in Round 2, when they found themselves down 3-1 in their series with the Detroit Red Wings. The Blackhawks, however, had little trouble in beating the Wings in the next two games before winning an epic Game 7 showdown in overtime on a goal by Brent Seabrook. 

With that in mind, here is a complete preview of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final.

Boston Bruins vs Chicago Blackhawks June 12, 2013

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There is a lot to love about this year's Stanley Cup Final, much more than just the happy coincidence of it being an Original Six matchup for the first time in 34 years. This really should be some excellent hockey.

Both the Bruins and Blackhawks have had their moments of adversity this postseason; Boston was down three goals in the third period of Game 7 in the first round, Chicago down three games to one in the second. Since those particular moments, both teams have turned on the boosters and are now flying at full speed. The Bruins have won nine of their last 10 while the Blackhawks have taken seven of their last eight. Powers collide.

STANLEY CUP FINAL

Final matchup all NHL could have hoped for
It's no coincidence the two teams left standing are probably the two most balanced teams in the league this season. They both have defense, and loads of it. They both have good-to-great offenses. They can both roll all four lines with confidence -- and will do exactly that in this series. They both have very good goaltenders. Right now, with how they are both playing coming into this Final, the differences between them seem razor thin.

I can make predictions until I'm blue in the face but the only one I feel absolutely certain about is this should be one heck of a series.