Blackhawks 4, Bruins 3 (3 OT)

CHICAGO -- A double deflection gave the Chicago Blackhawks a triple-overtime win in a thrilling, draining opening game of the Stanley Cup finals.

Michal Rozsival's shot from the right point deflected off teammate Dave Bolland, then deflected off teammate Andrew Shaw into the Boston net, lifting the Blackhawks to a 4-3 victory Wednesday.

Shaw's goal came at 12:08 of the third OT before a crowd of 22,110 at United Center nearly five hours after the game began.

The ricochet beat Boston goalie Tuukka Rask, who made 59 saves. Chicago goalie Corey Crawford stopped 51 shots.

Game 2 is Saturday, also at United Center.

The Blackhawks overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period to force the game into extra time.

After facing 12 shots in the first overtime, Crawford came up big early in the second OT, turning aside a partial breakaway by Tyler Seguin just two minutes in.

Not to be outdone, Rask answered with two stops on Chicago scoring chances. Michael Frolik tried to sneak one under Rask's pads just a minute after Seguin's breakaway chance.

A short time later, Rask beat Jonathan Toews to the far post on a wraparound attempt.

It was Crawford's turn with about five minutes remaining in the second OT. He stopped a wrist shot by Daniel Paille with his right pad, then robbed Torey Krug on a long rebound attempt with a left pad save.

Crawford, who had 47 saves after 100 minutes, got some help from the left post late in the second overtime after the Blackhawks were called for a second bench minor for too many men on the ice.

A low shot by Zdeno Chara caught the inside of the right pipe behind Crawford and deflected past Milan Lucic on the doorstep with only seconds remaining in the period.

Neither team sat back during a frantic first overtime, with the Bruins getting the best of the play. They held a 12-8 advantage in shots for the first extra session, bolstered by a power play after the Blackhawks were assessed a bench minor for too many men on the ice.

The Bruins pressured Crawford throughout the man advantage but couldn't get the winner. At one point, Crawford was playing without his stick, and he still managed to thwart the Bruins.

Bolland helped Crawford twice in the first overtime. He cleared a loose puck from the crease with Crawford down early. Bolland later backchecked to shut down a scoring chance just a couple minutes after the Blackhawks killed off the penalty.

The Blackhawks rallied from a 3-1 third-period deficit with goals by Bolland and Johnny Oduya just four minutes apart.

Bolland, taking a feed to the front of the net from Shaw, ripped a shot into the net at 8:00 following a Bruins giveaway. It was Bolland's first goal of the postseason.

Oduya tied it with a blast from the right blue line, beating Rask through a crowd at 12:14. The puck deflected in off the skate of Boston defenseman Andrew Ference, leveling the score at 3.

Only six minutes earlier, it appeared the Bruins were on their way to the victory. Patrice Bergeron scored a power-play goal at 6:09 on the Bruins' only man-advantage of regulation.

Chicago had killed 55 of 58 short-handed situations in the playoffs prior to Wednesday.

However, the Blackhawks' woes with their own power play continued. Chicago failed on three second-period power plays that included 1:14 of a two-man advantage.

After a fast start by Chicago, momentum swung to the Bruins midway through the first period. But unlike the Blackhawks, the Bruins were able to capitalize as Lucic scored the game's first goal at 13:11, his fourth of the playoffs.

David Krejci won a battle from Niklas Hjalmarsson behind the Blackhawks net and quickly fed the puck to Nathan Horton, who then redirected it to Lucic alone in the slot.

The goal came moments after Crawford robbed Brad Marchand with a glove save.

Prior to that, the Blackhawks controlled play, getting several good scoring opportunities against Rask and holding an edge in the physical play as well.

Rask turned aside shots from Marian Hossa, Brandon Saad and Bryan Bickell in the first eight minutes.

The Bruins added to their lead only 51 seconds into the second period on a Lucic one-timer that grazed Crawford's left arm.

Just over two minutes later, Saad ignited the home crowd with his first career playoff goal, cutting the Bruins' lead to 2-1. Saad scored on a one-timer from the left face-off circle after taking a backhand feed from Hossa.

The key moment in the second came when the Bruins were able to kill of a 5-on-3 disadvantage for 1:14. The Blackhawks managed only one shot on goal during the power play.

NOTES: F Brandon Bollig replaced Viktor Stalberg in the Blackhawks' lineup. Bollig hadn't played since Game 3 of Chicago's Western Conference quarterfinal victory over Minnesota. ... This is the first time the two Original Six franchises have met in the Stanley Cup finals. ... The Bruins played the first playoff game in their history on March 29, 1927, a 6-1 win over Chicago in a game played at Madison Square Garden in New York since Chicago Coliseum was booked for another event. ... The Bruins are 5-1 in all-time playoff series vs. Chicago, with their only loss coming in the 1975 opening round.