Bruins defeat Blackhawks in Winter Classic

[January 02, 2019]  Sean Kuraly's tiebreaking goal midway through the third period carried the Boston Bruins to a 4-2 win over the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2019 Bridgestone Winter Classic at Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Ind., on Tuesday.

Kuraly broke a 2-2 tie when he backhanded in his fourth goal at 10:20 after it bounced off fourth-line teammate Chris Wagner as Boston won the 11th Winter Classic in front of a sellout crowd of 76,126, the second-largest in event history.

Jonathan Toews hit the post with 1:37 left and with the Blackhawks' net empty, Brad Marchand scored into the empty net for the final margin.

David Pastrnak and Patrice Bergeron each had a goal and an assist, and Tuukka Rask made 36 saves in his 469th outing, setting the mark for most games played by a Boston goaltender.
 

The Bruins, who won their second straight, were playing in their third game in the elements with both being Winter Classics and both on home ice -- at Fenway Park in 2010 and Gillette Stadium in 2016 -- and improved to 2-1-0.

Brendan Perlini and Dominik Kahun tallied for the Blackhawks, who had won five of six, and Cam Ward stopped 32 shots.

The outdoor game was the sixth for Chicago (1-5-0) and its fourth Winter Classic (0-4-0). The Blackhawks' lone win was in the 2014 Stadium Series in a 5-1 triumph over the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The contest was the NHL's sixth in Indiana -- and first since 1992 -- and Chicago has played in all of them, including a 3-2 loss to the Bruins at the Indiana State Fairgrounds Coliseum in Indianapolis in 1954.

Blackhawks goaltender Cam Ward (30) makes a save against Boston Bruins right wing Chris Wagner (14) in the first period in the 2019 Winter Classic hockey game at Notre Dame Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Perlini gave the Blackhawks a 1-0 first-period lead with a goal from the low slot after David Kampf's stick-lift of Torey Krug behind Rask's net and slick pass out front.

However, Pastrnak grabbed a pass from Bergeron and tied it at 1 four minutes later with his 24th goal on the power play.

Positioned in the right circle in the second period, Kahun redirected a long shot by Erik Gustafsson from the point at 11:24 as Chicago jumped ahead 2-1.

With Boston on the power play, Bergeron hustled to thwart a Kampf short-handed breakaway by lifting his stick. Bergeron soon tied it at 2 with a backhander and the Bruins still on the man advantage.

--Field Level Media

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