Boston’s Patrice Bergeron schooled the Blackhawks in the face-off circles on Monday night. (NHLI via Getty Images)

By Sarah Kwak

BOSTON — One team was guaranteed to be working itself out of a hole after Game 3. That it’s Chicago has more than a little to do with the face-off totals in Boston’s 2-0 win at TD Garden on Monday night. The Blackhawks, who ranked No. 11 in the league with a 50.8 percent win rate during the regular season, let the top-ranked Bruins own the dots. Boston won 40 of the 56 total draws, an absurd 71 percent.

Center Patrice Bergeron, the 2012 Selke Trophy winner and this year’s runner-up, led the way for Boston by going 24-for-28, including 9-for-10 in the offensive zone. When a team like the Blackhawks relies largely on a puck-possession game, face-offs become critical, especially when it’s struggling to generate offense. Starting most plays without the puck has been an added hindrance against Boston’s stifling defense. In offensive zone draws, the Blackhawks were a dismal 6-for-23, allowing the Bruins to regularly take control and turn play the other way. Chicago’s power play, which has sputtered along at 11.3 percent for the playoffs and 0-for-11 against the Bruins, has also suffered from an inability to win draws.

“It’s tough to get a clean entry,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville explained on Tuesday.  “I think we might have to get a little indirect plays to get possession on our entries. It starts with losing the draw initially. That’s the area we have to get better.  Hopefully you don’t have to resort to the entry. We’re still going to have to find a way to get through it and find ways to have possession … I think we’re looking at ways that we can at least get it closer to a 50/50 chance for us on most draws.”

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The KHL will have to wait until Pavel Datsyuk is 40 if it wants him as a marquee star. (Tom Szczerbowski/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

Pavel Datsyuk may have been speaking from the heart when he talked about how much fun he had playing back home in Russia during the lockout. “This is my goal [to end my career in the KHL], but you never know how it goes,” he said. “I would love to finish there, give back to my friends and fans in Russia [while] I hope I’ll be in good shape.”

But by the end of the season, he was coming from a much more pragmatic place when he voiced a wish to stay in Detroit. “Yeah, I hope we sign a new deal. I hope we agree and I sign for more [years],” he said as the Red Wings cleaned out their lockers.

And so it was no surprise when Datsyuk tweeted today that he’d come to terms on a three-year extension that will earn him $23 million and keep him with the Wings through the 2016-17 season.

It’s a win for both sides. Datsyuk will be paid $10 million the first year, $7.5 million the second, and $5.5 million the third, with a cap hit of $7.5 million that’s more than manageable for Wings and a fair payday for a player who led the team in scoring this past season. Big smiles all around.

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Ugly history: Game 3 losers have lost the Cup final 84 percent of the time since 1939. (Gail Oskin/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

An annotated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• You remember that 3-1 deficit that Chicago rallied from against the Red Wings? This 2-1 hole they’ve dug for themselves against the Bruins seems a lot deeper, doesn’t it?

• It’s a rare day that the Boston Globe pulls Dan Shaughnessy out from behind the pay-wall. Take advantage of this while you can.

• There’s Danny Paille, scoring his second winner in as many games. Because apparently Moe Lemay wasn’t available.

• With Marian Hossa a late scratch, Chicago needed Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane to step up…so the Hawks were pretty much DOA at that point.

• Ben Smith earned a last-minute promotion from the Black Aces for a Stanley Cup start in the town where he made his name as a college hockey hero.

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Tuukka Rask made 28 stops in Game 3 and earned his third clean slate of the postseason. (Elise Amendola/AP)

By Allan Muir

Here is a completely subjective look at some of the key elements in Boston’s convincing 2-0 win over Chicago in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Final:

Goaltending

Corey Crawford, Chicago: Most nights, a .943 save percentage puts you in the mix for the Three Stars. This just wasn’t one of those nights. Crawford was sharp, especially on a second-period power play that saw the shorthanded Bruins generate three premium chances, and he robbed Patrice Bergeron on an in-tight chance to keep the game close in the first. He didn’t have much chance on Bergeron’s eventual insurance goal, but he was beaten high glove — for the second time in a row — by Daniel Paille for the winner. The B’s know he can be exploited there until he proves otherwise. B

Tuukka Rask, Boston: I’ll go out on a limb and guess there hasn’t been a less strenuously contested Stanley Cup Final shutout in a long time. Rask made 28 stops to post his third clean slate of the postseason, but he was rarely challenged thanks to a concerted effort from his teammates, some weak puck decisions by the Hawks, and 17 (!) shots that simply missed the mark. When you see guys trying to play it a little too cute like that, it’s a sign that a goalie has gotten into their heads. A

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Ben Smith (left) did his best in Game 3, but couldn’t replace the injured Marian Hossa. (Elise Amendola/AP)

By Sarah Kwak

BOSTON — The surprise came just before the puck dropped in Boston’s 2-0 Game 3 win in the Stanley Cup Final on Monday night. After taking warmups, Blackhawks winger Marian Hossa never came back out of the tunnel and onto the ice at TD Garden. He appeared only on the list of scratches, presumably ailing. (Hossa is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, Chicago coach Joel Quenneville later clarified.) He was replaced by winger Ben Smith, who was making his postseason debut and playing in just his second game all year.

GAME 3: Recap | Boxscore | Highlights | Photos | Complete schedule

According to the Blackhawks, however, it was only a surprise to those outside their room. Captain Jonathan Toews said the team was aware all day that the man who shares the team scoring lead (7 goals, 15 points) this postseason might not play. They officially made the call just before game time, when Smith was told to get dressed and get warm.

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The Blackhawks will face the Bruins in Game 3 without ailing winger Marian Hossa. (Harry How/Getty Images)

By Allan Muir

The Blackhawks will have to steal one on the road without their top offensive player. Marian Hossa is out for Game 3.

The dazzling winger, Chicago’s most consistent threat throughout the playoffs, took his reps during the pre-game skate, but he was not on the roster just turned in by coach Joel Quenneville. Hossa apparently tweaked something while taking a shot during warmups.

Ben Smith will skate in his place.

The Hawks won’t have any information on Hossa’s condition until Joel Quenneville speaks after the game.

Postseason scoring leader David Krejci has been learning the ropes as a penalty killer in the playoffs. (Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

Here are the key takeaways from today’s press briefings with Chicago coach Joel Quenneville and Boston’ Claude Julien:

Lineup changes

Quenneville confirmed that Brandon Bollig, who was burned on the winning goal in Game 2, is out. Viktor Stalberg, who was banished to the press box before Game 1, is back in. “I think Bollig gave us a couple real strong games,” Quenneville said. “You can talk about the last play, [but] I thought he did a nice job. Viktor, we’re just looking for more. I think we need some speed from him. I think we need energy. I think that he’s a threat off the rush, defensively responsible.”

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The Stanley Cup Final is shaping up as a battle of Chicago’s speed and Boston’s muscle. (Warren Wimmer/Icon SMI)

By Allan Muir

An annotated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• With the Cup final headed to a critical Game 3 tonight, the series is coming down to which side plays to its strengths and for how long; a test of resolve, writes Allan Maki.

• Intangibles are great and all, but if they’re going to win this series, the Hawks need more than leadership from Jonathan Toews.

• The beauty of the series to this point has been its unpredictability, writes the great Roy MacGregor.

• Stepping up to seamlessly replace a legend, Tuukka Rask has emerged as the breakthrough star of the playoffs.

• In Boston, they’re painting Jaromir Jagr’s “wake me up when its crunch time” playing style as an example of a veteran knowing how to conserve energy. Sort of like how Man of Steel was an exercise in how to conserve entertainment value.

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The Blackhawks and Bruins have both displayed a lack of killer instinct so far in this series. (John Biever/SI)

By Allan Muir

Here are five things to look for in Game 3:

• A faster start for the Bruins: After being outshot as a team by both Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp in the first period of Game 2, the Bruins know they can’t afford another late arrival Monday night. That doesn’t mean they have to get the first goal — the Bruins are 5-2 in games where they give up the early lead after coming from behind on Saturday night — but they need to establish themselves as the aggressors from the start instead of allowing Chicago to dictate the style and pace of the contest. Look for the B’s to come snarling out of the gate with malice aforethought in their hearts.

HACKEL: Momentum is key, but fleeting

• Here comes the death blow: For all the talk about how evenly matched the two sides are, the one surprising trait both have displayed is the lack of killer instinct. The Bruins had a chance to crush Chicago firmly under their boots with a two-goal, third-period lead in Game 1, but they let the Hawks up off the mat. Chicago had a chance to bury Boston during that 19-shot first period blitzkrieg in Game 2, but allowed the Bruins to hang around long enough to tie it up with an ugly goal and drag the game into OT.

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After two games and 4 overtimes, the Stanley Cup winner could be decided by a few lucky bounces. (John Biever/SI)

By Allan Muir

An annotated guide to this morning’s must-read hockey stories:

• With the two teams so evenly matched, the Stanley Cup Final between the Boston Bruins and Chicago Blackhawks may come down to stupid, dumb luck.

• Game 2 proved that playoff hockey is anything but predictable or fair.

• Claude Julien called it a hunch. Good thing he trusts his gut. It ended up winning him the game.

• Here’s how the Bruins were able to turn the game around…from the Chicago perspective.

• The Hawks feel like the quick whistle that negated an apparent goal by Marian Hossa killed their momentum in Game 1. Maybe, maybe not. Ultimately, they outshot the Bruins 19-4 in the first, but only managed a 1-0 lead. You have to take the kill shot when it comes to you.

• Bruce Arthur with the lede of the night: “If you’ve got a shovel and a body you’d better finish the job before somebody shows up, trapping you in the headlights.” The rest of his genius is here.

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