Stanley Cup Finals 2013: Players Who Need to Turn It Around in Game 2

In last night's Game 1 of the 2013 Stanley Cup Final, the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Boston Bruins in triple overtime. While Gary Bettman and league executives had to be thrilled with the quality of hockey, there are a few players who need to pick up the slack in Game 2 to secure victory for their respective teams.

Boston Bruins

In a matter of a few weeks, Torey Krug has gone from hero to goat. In the third period, Krug made a careless turnover in his own zone that ended up in the back of the Boston net, bringing the Hawks within one goal. 

In addition to that bad giveaway, the 5'9" defenseman took a beating from Chicago fore-checkers all night long. Claude Julien could replace him with Matt Bartkowski in Game 2, something that Tuukka Rask would probably welcome after last night.

Another player who will need to be better for Boston is Chris Kelly. With the injury to Nathan Horton, it looks like Tyler Seguin may be leaving the third line to replace him. If that happens, Kelly will play a much bigger role in the bottom six. He'll need to be better than a team low minus-three with an ugly face-off percentage of 31.8. 

Chicago Blackhawks

I thought that Niklas Hjalmarsson was the weak link on the Chicago blue line last night. He looked shaky with the puck at times and made the crucial error that led to Boston's first goal. Play the puck and not the man next time, Niklas.

Saying that Patrick Sharp had a bad game would be a bit of an exaggeration. However, he was a minus-one and spent the second most time on a Blackhawks power-play that still failed to cash in. They need him to do what he's been doing all postseason and put loose pucks in the net against a Boston team that blocks everything.

As evidenced by the length of the game, these two teams are an excellent matchup for each other. Each team is very opportunistic and can turn one small mistake into a game-winning goal.

In Game 2, look for Claude Julien and Joel Quenneville to continue their coaching chess match and for a much more tightened defensive effort from both sides. If these players can step up for their respective teams, we'll be in for another treat.