Patrick Kane's sharp angle goal 4:06 into overtime sent the Chicago Blackhawks past the Philadelphia Flyers Wednesday night 4-3, winning the series 4 games to 2, and giving the Blackhawks their first Stanley Cup title since 1961.
Chicago got on the board first as Dustin Byfuglien scored wristed home a rebound shot on the power play at 16:49 of the opening period. They nearly made it to the first intermission with the lead, but the Flyers, Scott Hartnell scored the first of his two goals at 19:33, slipping home a shot off the backhand, tying the game 1-1.
Philadelphia grabbed the lead as Daniel Briere snapped a shot from in front into the back of the net at the 8:00 minute mark of the second period, putting the Flyers on top 2-1. The Blackhawks would tie the game 2-all just under two minutes later, as Patrick Sharp scored a 4-on-4 goal at 9:58. Chicago then regained the lead late in the period, as Andrew Ladd redirected a shot from Patrick Kane at 17:43 and the Blackhawks hit the room at the second intermission with a 3-2 lead.
That lead would hold until late in regulation. Hartnell's second goal of the game for Philadelphia, a tip-in of a Briere shot at 16:01 would tie the game 3-3, and eventually force overtime.
The extra session would last just 246 seconds. Patrick Kane took a feed from Brian Campbell and drove down the left wing, throwing the puck on goal from a sharp angle just above the goal line. Somehow, the puck found an opening and then the back of the net, giving Chicago the win 4-3, the series 4-2 and the team's first Stanley Cup since 1961. The Conn Smythe Trophy, emblematic of the playoffs' Most Valuable Player, was awarded to the Blackhawks' Patrick Toews.
Antti Niemi faced 24 shots in the Blackhawks net, stopping 21 of them. The Flyers' Michael Leighton saw plenty of rubber, stopping 41 of 45 shots. Chicago drew 4 minors for 8 minutes, Philadelphia 5 minors for 10 minutes. The Blackhawks were 1-for-5 on the power play, the Flyers were 0-for-4. The crowd of 20,327 set a new Wachovia Center single-game record and set a new Philadelphia franchise record, with regular season and playoff home games drawing a total of 1,020,699 fans.
For Chicago, who joined the NHL in 1926, after acquiring most of their players from the Portland Rosebuds of the Western Hockey League(Portland's team played in Saskatchewan the year before as the Regina Capitals), it is their fourth Stanley Cup, having won the Cup previously in 1934, 1938, and 1961. For the Flyers, who won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975, it was the seventh time they have lost the Finals since their last Cup win.
No comments:
Post a Comment