The Boston Bruins were hoping to take advantage of home-ice in the first period of Game 3 against the Chicago Blackhawks, but the visitors hung on against the host's early pressure as neither team was able to score in the opening 20 minutes.
Blackhawks vs. Bruins Game 3 update: Chicago stands up to early Boston pressure
The Bruins had the better of the play early but the Blackhawks held on and eventually pushed back, and the first period ended tied 0-0.
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The Blackhawks actually found themselves dealing with some unexpected adversity before the game even began when Chicago announced -- just minutes before the opening faceoff -- that star Marian Hossa suffered an injury during pregame warmups that would force him to miss Game 3. Ben Smith entered the lineup as a last-minute replacement to Hossa.
The best scoring chance of the opening period came on a breakaway opportunity for Brad Marchand. After failing to score, though, a frustrated Marchand took his anger out on his stick:
The Bruins dominated the first half of the first period but the Blackhawks managed to push back to the point that the Bruins had just an 11-10 edge in the shots category.
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