Unfortunately, both teams saw one of their key players leave the game with an injury. Boston's Patrice Bergeron was forced to the sidelines early in the second period and eventually taken to a hospital for observation with an undisclosed injury (as of 2:15 a.m. Sunday). Then, Chicago's Jonathan Toews suffered what coach Joel Quenneville called "an upper-body injury" late in the second period and did not return to the ice. ESPN.com stories on Bergeron and Toews can be found here (Bergeron) and here (Toews).
The injuries soured what was otherwise another outstanding game in these Stanley Cup Finals. Patrick Kane was in the right place at the right time twice for Chicago, as he scored twice off rebounds in front of the goal. Here is the first of his two goals:
Goaltender Corey Crawford turned aside 24 of the 25 shots he faced to pick up the victory. His lone blemish came when he couldn't stop a Zdeno Chara slapshot early in the third period, but he made several key stops down the stretch to stall Boston's comeback.
Boston netminder Tuukka Rask played extremely well in Game 5, just as he had done in three of the first four games. The only difference this time was Boston's offense couldn't get in gear to bail him out -- especially after Bergeron (nine goals and six assists during the playoffs) left the game.
Game 6 is back in Boston Monday. We'll have to see if Toews and/or Bergeron are back for their respective teams.
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