SOUTH BEND, Ind. — There was a lot for Bruce Cassidy to process while perched up at the podium at Notre Dame Stadium.
The question? What’s the moment that you’ll remember from this one for a long time?
Where does one begin?
On an afternoon in which the Bruins bested the Blackhawks, 4-2, at the Winter Classic, there were almost too many memories to count. Perhaps it was the quiet moments walking around Notre Dame Stadium before 76,126 spectators packed into the historic venue.
Maybe it was the chatting with players like Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith, whom Cassidy coached while serving as an assistant on Chicago’s staff from 2004-06. Or perhaps it was Sean Kuraly’s go-ahead tally in the third stanza?
But through all of the pomp and circumstance that came with two nights in South Bend and 60 minutes of back-and-forth outdoor action, Cassidy harkened back to a short blip on the highlight reel — one lasting all of 28 seconds.
“That’s the part I’ll remember about the actual game,” Cassidy recalled. “That probably changed our fortunes.”
Fortunes can change in an instant during a game as frantic as hockey — something the B’s especially know all too well this season, especially on the man advantage. While Boston boasts plenty of firepower on the power play (27.1 percent success rate, 4th NHL), it has also relinquished eight shorthanded tallies — tied for the league lead with Pittsburgh.
David Kampf nearly made it nine shorthanded strikes against the B’s at 18:20 in the second period — poking a loose puck past David Pastrnak at the blue line and skating in unopposed on Tuukka Rask off of a breakaway.
Trailing on the scoreboard, 2-1, and about to squander a key stretch on the power play, Boston was going to need a key stop by Rask to keep the tilt from getting out of reach.
“It could be a two-goal swing,” Cassidy said. “Maybe Tuukka makes the save anyway, maybe we go down and score after that?”
But any contingency plans for a third-period rally went out in the door in short order — thanks to a charging Patrice Bergeron hauling himself back into the D zone.
18:26: Just six seconds after Kampf orchestrated a breakaway for himself with his poke check past Pastrnak, the Blackhawks forward suddenly found himself without much ammunition in the slot — with a timely stick lift by Bergeron knocking the puck away from Kampf and out of danger.
“I’m trying to get back right away and just catch up to the guy and make a defensive play,” Bergeron said. “Once he went on his backhand, I knew he was trying to go back on his forehand. So I was waiting for him to do that and just lift up his stick.”
Seconds after negating Kampf’s Grade-A look on net, Bergeron was back at his usual spot on the bumper of Boston’s power play — with Boston still wielding over a minute remaining on the man advantage.
#BergyForSelke#WinterClassic☘️ pic.twitter.com/u7jHltysso
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) January 1, 2019
Bergy the defense.
Marchy the offense. pic.twitter.com/0C0PFILnLF
— Boston Bruins (@NHLBruins) October 31, 2018
Patrice Bergeron wraps up a question on his backcheck that prevented a Chicago shorthanded goal.
Tuukka Rask chimes in: “Selke, Selke.” pic.twitter.com/m4rr8g2r2z
— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) January 1, 2019