PHOTO BY SCOTT VANKOUGHNETT
As Patrick Kane skated his way towards Antti Niemi with his hands raised in celebration, the hockey world was left pondering what just happened.
Kane’s 10th goal of the playoffs was surely his biggest and will go down in history as one of the most bizarre finishes in Stanley Cup history. Not since Brett Hull’s infamous foot in the crease has a Cup clinching goal been in question.
“I think Kaner might have been the only guy in ice level who knew it went in,” said Hawks’ head coach Joel Quenneville.
“I believed in him,” said the Hawks’ captain Jonathan Toews. “I don’t think he would have thrown his gloves off like that if he wasn’t 100% sure. He sold it pretty good if the puck didn’t go in.”
Replays clearly show that Kane’s goal obviously did go in. The goal light however, was never lit up and the whistle never blew.
“I asked Kaner where did it go in?” explained Quenneville. “He said it went in long pad, five hole, in that area.”
Philadelphia’s head coach Peter Laviolette was left in shock as he watched Kane skate down the ice.
“I didn’t see the goal,” he said. “Things happened quick. It came in off the angle. I saw one of their players skate across the ice like he had won something. I got a little pit in my stomach.”
20, 327 fans at the Wachoiva Center waited for what seemed like an eternity to hear that it was actually a goal. By that time the entire Hawks team was in celebration mode with their gear littered across the ice.
For Patrick Kane it’ll be a moment he’ll never forget.
“It’s pretty surreal right now for sure,” he said with a huge smile. He explains what happened from his point of view. “I shot, I saw it go right through the legs. Sticking right under the pad in the net. I don’t think anyone saw it in the net. I booked it to the other end. I knew it was in. I tried to sell the celebration a bit. Everyone came down, and I think some guys were still kind of a little iffy to see if the puck was in the net. I saw the coaches there pointing at the puck and jumping around.”
One thing is certain. When people look back on the cup clinching game six victory it will be remembered as one of the most awkward ending and celebrations in the history of the game.
It was an amazing game,” summed up Quenneville. “It was an amazing-paced played game. But it is a strange ending.”
Topics: 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Chicago Blackhawks, Joel Quenneville, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Peter Laviolette, Philadelphia Flyers
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