Blackhawks are Stanley Cup Champs

By Scott Antoszewski

Blackhawks 4 Flyers 3 OT

Blackhawks win series 4-2

The Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 49 years. Game six was a back and forth, tightly contested affair, much like the previous five games. The Flyers played with much grit and determination again, and even managed to force overtime with a goal late in the third period. The Blackhawks were just the better team, and they proved it in overtime.

Goalie Antti Niemi stood on his head for the last ten minutes of regulation. One save in particular was especially impressive on Mike Richards from point-blank range. The overtime game winner was scored by Patrick Kane a little more than five minutes into the overtime period. Kane put a sweet head fake on Philly defensemen Kimo Timmonen and drove to the net, a lot like another Chicago legend drove to the basket in the early 90’s. The shot slipped under Leighton’s stick and pads and stuck under the pad that goes around the inside of the net. Kane knew the puck was in immediately, as did Patrick Sharp. Everyone else, including the game’s broadcasters and other players had no idea the Cup had just been won. Kane streaked down the ice shedding his gloves and stick as he did. It took about a minute for the goal to become “official”, but once the players saw the puck in the goal, the party was on.

It was a surreal ending. I was watching on TV and I remember looking up as I heard Mike “Doc” Emerik start to say the word “score”, but he too lost the puck and continued the call for a couple of extra seconds. There was no controversy after seeing the overhead replay. It was clearly a good goal.

I talked to a teammate of mine last night, and found out the feeling of confusion that was in the Wachovia Center last night was mainly due to the fact that the Flyers never showed a single replay of the game winning goal. No goal light came on, nothing. He said he saw Kane shoot the puck and then gear was everywhere. Folks in the rink were very confused. Overall though, the Philly faithful were respectful and well behaved during the post-game ceremonies. I saw some towels get thrown on the ice, but not a lot. They booed Gary Bettman, the NHL Commissioner, but everyone boos the commissioner. It’s like booing a politician. Jonathan Tows won the Conn Smythe Trophy for the MVP of the playoffs. Patrick Kane had better numbers but Toews is the captain of the Hawks, so he’s going to get more votes.

The Flyers have nothing to be ashamed of. I know it’s very easy for me to sit here and type that, but think about it. They were one shootout goal away from not even making the playoffs, next they were down three games to none to the Bruins, only to get down three to nothing in game seven of that series. The Flyers never quit, and proved that “History will be made” was the correct slogan for this year’s playoffs. Their run was magical and most of their fans know it.

Overall, the series was a lot of fun to watch. It wasn’t an epic, nor will it be compared to the best series of all time, but I believe it brought more new people to the game. I was also pleasantly surprised to see the game on NBC. Weeknight games had been traditionally carried by Versus as NBC didn’t want to take the ratings hit. It got good overnight ratings too, especially the overtime.

Lastly, I have thoroughly enjoyed writing about hockey for this blog since I started a few months ago, and thank Dan for the opportunity. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I’m looking forward to writing about some other sports as the summer and fall go on, and then getting back in to Hockey in the fall. Congrats to the Blackhawks….but look out for the Caps in 2011!

Stanley Cup: game five recap

By Scott Antoszewski

Blackhawks 7 Flyers 4

Blackhawks lead series 3-2

The scoreboard at the “Madhouse on Madison” had a very simple image. There was a picture of the Stanley Cup and a number one. The Hawks torched both Philly goalies for seven more goals, and are now one win away from winning their first Stanley Cup in 49 years.

There were many strong similarities to the first game of the series, as the teams combined for 11 goals, and Flyers goalie Michael Leighton got pulled. Chicago jumped all over the Flyers in the first period, scoring three goals and taking that 3-0 lead to the first intermission. The Flyers showed the resilience that is their trademark in this years playoffs, getting the deficit down to two goals twice, but they just couldn’t overcome the Hawks fast start. Neither Leighton nor Boucher were overly spectacular for the Flyers. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville moved Patrick Kane to the second line in an effort to spread out the scoring threat. Chris Pronger had been on the ice every time the Toews, Kane and Byfuglien(pronounced buff-len) line was on the ice in the first four games. The move allowed Kane to get more time and space with the puck and he responded with a huge game.

Byfuglien had a much better night against Pronger in the trenches as well. The Blackhawks power play was two goals out of four chances on the evening, which was the first time special teams has made an impact in the series. The best analogy I can give you is the Blackhawks were like the bully, who have just enough strength to keep the Flyers at arms length. The Flyers certainly didn’t quit in this game, but they just couldn’t get close after Chicago went up 3-0. The game was very entertaining, which has been a nice trend throughout the series. All the matches have been fun to watch so far.

Now the series shifts back to Philly on Wednesday night. Will the home ice advantage hold true? Home ice had been almost a disadvantage so far in the playoffs, it’s nice to see that has turned around for the Finals. It will be interesting to see how both teams play with the Stanley Cup in the building. I can’t wait for this one!

Goal scorers in game five:

Chicago: Brent Seabrook(Power Play), Dave Bolland, and Kris Versteeg in the first. Patrick Kane and Dustin Byfuglien(Power Play) in the second. Partick Sharp and Dustin Byfuglien(Empty Net) in the third.

Philadelphia: Scotty Hartnell and Kimo Timmanen in the second. James Van Reimsdyk and Simon Gagne in the 3^rd.

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!