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Paille, Bergeron lead Bruins over Blackhawks 2-0, take 2-1 series lead

BOSTON -- Dave Bolland is still looking for the puck that got away.

Believing he was about to clear the puck out of the Chicago Blackhawks' zone, in came Boston Bruins forward Daniel Paille, who lifted Bolland's stick, spun around and fired a shot over Corey Crawford's glove for a 1-0 lead. Patrice Bergeron would add a power play tally 12 minutes later as the Bruins shut out the Blackhawks 2-0 to take a 2-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final.

Since Bruins' head coach Claude Julien's "hunch" in Game 2 to put Paille with Chris Kelly and Tyler Seguin, the line has played a role in three of Boston's last four goals. After Paille's overtime winner in Game 2, his goal Monday night put the Blackhawks on their heels.

It was a typical Bruins playoff game: They shutdown Chicago's top stars and Tuukka Rask wasn't challenged by any of the Blackhawks' 27 shots to earn his third shutout of the playoffs. There was no traffic in front. No screens, and plenty of pucks shot directly into the logo on Rask's chest.

Chicago's power play also continued to struggle going 0-for-5. They've failed to score in their last 20 opportunities with the extra man.

Chicago also failed to win the face-off battle, conceding 39 out of 55 draws to the Bruins, with Bergeron winning 24 of 28.

Blackhawks' head coach Joel Quenneville played with his lines once again, this time putting Jonathan Toews with Michael Frolik and Marcus Kruger through the first two periods, but when that failed, the captain was placed alongside Patricks Kane and Sharp for the third period, to no avail. Not having Marian Hossa -- who was scratched after getting injured during warmups -- hurt Chicago's offensive threat, but none of their other weapons were able to step up and challenge Rask.

In the battle of patience versus impatience, patience lost in Game 3. The Blackhawks were guilty of holding onto the puck a second too long looking for better opportunities, while the Bruins -- with the Paille goal as an example -- didn't hesitate to fire away on Crawford.

Sensing that impatience was the way to go, the TD Garden crowd started a We Want the Cup chant after Bergeron's goal in the second period. It may be a bit premature for that rallying cry, but they're halfway there with Game 4 Wednesday night.

Follow Sean Leahy on Twitter at @Sean_Leahy