Hawks come out hitting, and it pays off

Step aside Kentucky Derby because one of the most thrilling two minutes in all of sports may have occurred Wednesday night in the first few minutes of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final between the Blackhawks and the Boston Bruins.

This series, billed as battle between the big, bad Bruins and the speedy, skilled Blackhawks, started off with quite a bang — and probably to some's surprise, it was the Hawks who were doing the heavy hitting.

“I think the start's important,” Hawks coach Joel Quenneville said after Wednesday's morning skate. “I think that unpredictability, not knowing one another, what to expect. Who knows what could happen right off the bat?”

How about the Hawks coming out with 9 hits in a 2-minute span — including 2 apiece from Andrew Shaw and Brent Seabrook. And we're talking big hits. Fans up and out of their seats big.

When the hit parade concluded with Michael Frolik giving it to Andrew Ference, it produced a few more oohs and aahs from the sellout crowd at the UC, followed by an extended raucous standing ovation.

Sounds like it was just what Quenneville expected.

“I think the excitement of both teams being here, not knowing too much about one another, that unpredictability could be exciting as well,” he said.