Stanley Cup: game two recap

By Scott Antoszewski

Game two was the exact opposite of game one. A tight checking, defensive battle that put stellar goaltending on display. The Blackhawks scored two goals somewhere in the neighborhood of 40 seconds apart in the second period, and that’s all they would need. Philly goalie Michael Leighton rebounded nicely from a tough game one, but still took the loss. The legend that is Antti Neimi continues to grow as the rookie is now only two wins away from a Stanley Cup Championship. The Flyers activated Dan Carcillo for game two for some reason. He had little to no impact on the game. His accidental hit on teammate Mike Richards, will stick in most people’s memory; I would be surprised if he plays again in the series. The Hawks are still waiting for a breakout game from Patrick Kane. He played well, just hasn’t been the offensive force that he was all year long. The Hawks’ goals were scored by Marian Hossa and Ben Eager. The Flyers’ lone goal came courtesy of Simon Gagne.

I watched game two with a friend of mine who does not follow hockey. I very much enjoyed getting his perspective on the game. Avid hockey fans can enjoy a tight checking defensive battle; much like a die hard baseball fan can enjoy a 1-0 pitchers duel. I tried to explain to him that games like this are not what the league is looking for from the finals. The NHL wants a more wide open, run and gun, 6-5 final.(See my post about game one) The league believes that more scoring will entice the “casual fan” to pay more attention to the game, hence the changes to the red line rule, the goalie equipment sizes, the trapezoid, etc. Overall, it was a fun game to watch, both teams have proven they can play wide open and tight defensive hockey. Game three is Wednesday night in Philadelphia. Enjoy!