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Special Guest Stars: KING 5 News (Seattle) reporter Chris Daniels, who broke the Coyotes-to-Seattle stuff this week. How close is it?

• Reviewing Game 3 between the Boston Bruins and the Chicago Blackhawks.

• The Gregory Campbell-as-Messiah complex.

• Pavel Datsyuk's big deal

Question of the Day: What impresses you most about the Bruins?
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BOSTON – They could have declined the penalties and opted to skate 5-on-5. They could have simply handed the puck over to the Boston Bruins on every faceoff, rather than attempt to win possession.

Either option would have been a more honorable choice than the putrid displays on the power play and in the faceoff dot for the Blackhawks in their Game 3 loss to the Bruins on Monday night.

The score was 2-0; the disparity in those areas was significantly starker.

“You can talk about [faceoffs] and our power play. Those were basically the differentials in the game,” said Coach Joel Quenneville.

The faceoff picture was particularly gruesome. After losing in the dot in Game 1 by just a 51-49-percent margin and Game 2 by a 54-to-46-percent count, Game 3 saw the Boston Bruins win 71 percent of their faceoffs, going 40-for-56.

Patrice Bergeron, considered the best faceoff man in hockey, was 24-of-28 in the dot. Dave Bolland and Michal Handzus – two of the Blackhawks’ faceoff aces – were a combined 1-for-18.

“Definitely something that we take a lot of pride in and we talk about a lot, and we have some really good centermen. It’s not just about the four centers. It’s about everyone on the ice chipping in and helping to win those battles,” said Bergeron.

The Blackhawks love to possess the puck. When they do, good things happen. When they don’t, they allow the Boston Bruins to carry the play, set the tone, pin them inside their own zone like a voodoo doll. The pathetic display on faceoffs was an invitation for the Bruins to dominate the game. The shot attempt differential that was so stark in previous games was cut down to just 56-51 in favor of Chicago.

What happened on the draw in Game 3?

"I don't know, you tell me," said Jonathan Toews.

These were all new headaches for Chicago. The constant lingering migraine of their postseason remains the power play.

Seperated At BirthThe morning after every Stanley Cup Final game, Puck Daddy takes an expanded look at the race for playoff MVP. Here’s the one from after Game 2.

1. Tuukka Rask, Boston Bruins

Rask was the top star in Game 3, posting his third shutout of the playoffs. He leads the postseason in goals-against average (1.64) and save percentage (.946), playing well enough to make fans ask “Timmy who?” (Which, incidentally, is the same question the IRS asked after Thomas snubbed the White House, we imagine.)

2. David Krejci, Boston Bruins

Krejci leads the NHL with 23 points in 19 playoff games, and is a plus-15. He went scoreless in Game 3, which makes him an honorary Blackhawk.

3. Corey Crawford, Chicago Blackhawks

Crawford was the Blackhawks’ best player in Game 3, and couldn’t be faulted on either goal. He has a 1.74 GAA and a .946 save percentage, and if Chicago pulls itself out of this spiral it could be Crawford that reaps the benefit.

BOSTON – The yellow cloth towels twirl in the air after goals or when the TD Garden asks Boston Bruins fans to get loud. Sometimes they’re thrown on the ice in protest or taken home as souvenirs. Sometimes they end up on the concrete floors, soaking up spilled beer after the game.

And sometimes they’re meticulously stitched together by crazed Bruins fan into a full business suit that he wears to playoff games.

Puck DaddyIf the ‘rally towels’ contain some mystical powers of encouragement, then Ken Cruise is their living totem. The 21 year old Bruins fan from Rhode Island attended Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night and was an inescapable sight in Section 4: Cheering on the Jumbotron in a bright yellow suit constructed entirely from used rally towels.

Why create it?

“I get asked that a lot. I don’t know,” he said, with a smile. “Big fan of the team.”

At this rate, NBC’s Pierre McGuire will have inspired more potential FCC violations than 16 seasons of “South Park.”

After two Los Angeles Kings dropped F-bombs on him after their Stanley Cup win last season and Andrew Shaw dropped another after Game 1 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final last week, it was Boston Bruins goalie Tuukka Rask who had a slip on NBC Sports Network after his Game 3 shutout.

One can imagine how tough it is when the ice gets so [poopie] between periods. Plenty of wipeouts as players log minutes.

As an aside, we’re more interested than ever in learning more about Finnish television.

Getty ImagesBOSTON – Marian Hossa’s absence from the Chicago Blackhawks’ lineup for Game 3 wasn’t being used as a defense for their 2-0 loss to the Boston Bruins on Monday night.

“He’s a key player. But no excuses this time of year,” said captain Jonathan Toews.

But the fact is that Hossa is tied for the team lead in points, and the Chicago offense was punchless – especially on the power play, where Hossa ranks fourth in average ice time.

His loss was significant; the timing of that loss made things downright chaotic.

The Blackhawks were aware that Hossa may not play earlier on Monday, although the star winger participated in practice. He took warmups before Game 3, but was a late scratch.

But despite knowing Hossa was questionable for Game 3, it wasn’t Smith in warmups before the game. Jamal Mayers, a scratch in every playoff game for the Blackhawks, took the warmup.

Why? Speculation is that Quenneville might have been mulling another lineup change. But when Hossa went down, he called a huge audible and opted for Smith, a sparkplug player who can bring some offense.

Smith was told he’d be playing about 20 minutes before the puck dropped.

“I didn’t really know what was going on. I was ready to ride the bike and work out, as we do in the first,” he said.

“It was a scramble to get ready and get warm.”

Getty ImagesBOSTON – Marian Hossa, tied for the Chicago Blackhawks’ scoring lead in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, was a late scratch for Game 3 at the Boston Bruins.

Elliotte Friedman of Hockey Night in Canada reported that Hossa appeared to injure himself after taking a shot during warm-ups at TD Garden. As opposed to Bruins fans, who usually injure themselves after taking shots after the game (just jokes, people).

Enter Ben Smith, the 24-year-old winger from Winston-Salem, NC, who last saw action on April 27 in a Blackhawks game at the St. Louis Blues, when he scored a goal in 18:21 of ice time. He has 20 regular-season NHL games to his credit, but played in seven Blackhawks playoff games in 2010-11, scoring three goals.

If you think Smith isn’t ready for this, well, Joel Quenneville thinks you’re wrong. From RRStar.com on the Black Aces in May:

“He’s somebody we won’t be afraid to use,” Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville said of forward Ben Smith. “At any point.”

Smith — who’s progress was slowed

It's the Boston Bruins hosting the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final, and your pals at Puck Daddy are live chattin' this bad boy beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

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