PHOTO BY SCOTT VANKOUGHNETT
With Patrick Kane’s goal at 4:06 of the first overtime the Chicago Blackhawks ended the NHL’s longest Stanley Cup drought at 49 years.
At the mid way mark of the third period the game looked all but locked up for the Hawks. They were leading 3-2 and had held the Flyers without a shot. Then things changed. The Philly faithful weren’t about to let their team give up. They spurred on the Flyers with a standing ovation. The Flyers responded by outshooting the Hawks 9-3 the rest of the third. Scotty Hartnell forced OT with his eighth goal of the playoffs.
“We knew they weren’t going to go away,” said Hawk’s captain and Conn Smythe trophy winner Jonathan Toews. “And to protect a one-goal lead for 20 minutes against a team like that, it’s tough to imagine them not getting a bounce like they did eventually.”
Toews acknowledged that his team might have sat back a little in the last half of the game.
“That’s a natural way you’re going to think when they are coming at you hard like that,” he explained. “You don’t want to make too many mistakes. Going back in our locker room, it’s really tough knowing they have a lot of momentum. You just have to believe it takes one break.”
Heading into OT the odds were stacked in the Philly’s favour. They had beaten Chicago in their previous 10 games at the Wachovia Center, dating back to 1997 the year the building opened.
“It was tough,” said the OT hero Patrick Kane. “I think our bench deflated pretty good. Obviously we had to pick it up ourselves in the locker room there.
Eliminating the Flyers was going to next to impossible. Just ask the Boston Bruins, who failed to eliminate them on four different occasions. However, Hawks’ head coach Joel Quenneville said it was just another day at the office for his team.
“The guys just had a great approach in the locker room after the third,” he said. “Very diligently went about our business in the overtime.”
“I think we did that,” added Kane. “We came out in overtime with a couple of bad shifts. Niemi made some big saves. Luckily enough we snuck one in there.”
Flyers head coach Peter Laviolette was very proud of his team and the way they battled near the end.
“I thought down the stretch in regulation and overtime we played probably our best of the night,” he said. “It seemed like we were attacking. Like maybe we had started to wear them down and we were able to get some looks offensively. We had some really good opportunities. We weren’t able to cash in.”
Laviolette offered his congratulations to the Blackhawks and their Stanley Cup.
“They had a terrific season. They had a terrific playoff run, and they played well in the Final. They’re a strong offensive team. They’re as fast defensively as they are offensively. And it was challenging.”
The win marks the 16th time in Stanley Cup history that the cup was won in overtime. The last time it happened was in 2000 when Jason Arnott scored to win it for New Jersey against the Dallas Stars.
Third time’s a charm for Hawks’ forward Marian Hossa. Who won his first Stanley Cup. He set a record for appearing in three consecutive Stanley Cup finals with three different teams.
The two teams combined for 47 goals in the final. It’s the most goals scored in a final since 1980 when the Islanders and Flyers combined for 52 goals. The Hawks and Canadiens combined for 56 in 1973. All three times the series ended after six games.
Now the Hawks’ have a lot of work to do in the offseason to make an attempt at a repeat. Rumours are already circulating that two of their assistant coaches will be offered head coaching gig elsewhere. The salary cap will all be a factor in Chicago’s attempt at capturing their fifth Stanley Cup.
Topics: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Chicago Blackhawks, Joel Quenneville, Jonathan Toews, NHL, Patrick Kane, Peter Laviolette, Philadelphia Flyers
Latest Headlines
- Hoefflin performs in shutdown role
- Yakupov Leading The Way
- Quinn and Recchi Lead Prospects into Kelowna
- All Eyes on Faksa
- ASG Skills Competition Participants Selected
- Hyka’s NHL Team in Limbo
- Excitement Builds for NHL Prospects Game
- Mrazek shines in first Under-20 experience
- No More Mr. Magician
- Sweden Relishes World Junior Glory
- Beaulieu a prized prospect for Montreal
- Team Canada set to face Russia in WJC Semifinal
- Sergeev is Foreurs jack-of-all-trades
- Gibson forged interesting path to Team Finland cage
- Q Round-up: American Coyle signs with Sea Dogs
In The News
Sarnia’s Kujawinski ready for U-17 Hockey Challenge
Sarnia’s Kujawinski ready for first taste of international competition at the U-17 Hockey Challenge, competing with Team Ontario at the end of the month in Windsor, Ontario
Gourde keeping pace with the scoring leaders
Victoriaville forward wrestles scoring lead with help from Tigres linemate, team depth
Abeltshauser adds leadership, control from blueline
German defenceman plays solid two-way hockey for Halifax and on the world stage
Richard Finding Success in Guelph
Another of the OHL's Tanner's - Richard that is - is the Storm's leading scorer and will suit up for Switzerland at the U-20’s