from Eric Duhatschek of the Globe and Mail,

So Monday night, the Stanley Cup will be waiting in the wings for the Chicago Blackhawks, who have a chance to win it for the second time in four years, even as Chicago’s captain, Jonathan Toews, and Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins are questionable for the game because of injuries sustained Saturday in a 3-1 Blackhawks victory.

Thankfully, hockey is still the ultimate team sport and there is a long and storied history of players picking each other up in the short term. Motivation will not be lacking when these two teams face off at the TD Garden, in what could be the denouement of the NHL’s twisting, turning 2012-13 season.

But if going out with a bang is what’s needed to salvage a year that started four months late because of the lockout, then that’s exactly what’s happening. They are five games into the series; two have been classics, and Saturday’s came close as well. Even as the injury toll mounts, these are high-paced, hard-fought games, with a higher entertainment quotient than, say, last year’s New Jersey Devils-Los Angeles Kings series.

For anyone interested simply in the spectacle of hockey, they are putting on a compelling show, even if the tank is edging toward empty for some of the heavy-minute players, such as the Bruins’ Zdeno Chara.

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