Amidst a throng of boos from the Philly crowd, League commissioner Gary Bettman presented the Conn Smyth trophy to Blackhawks captain, Jonathan Toews as the playoffs MVP. Then, moments later requested the 22-year-olds presence once more, this time to collect the big prize -- Lord Stanley's Cup.
The Flyers looked set to continue their fairy tale playoffs campaign when with 4 minutes to play, sustained pressure in the Blackhawks' zone culminated in a game-tying goal to make it 3-3. The teams traded chances in the final moments of the game but a dramatic overtime win was set for someone.
The momentum remained with Philly during the extra-time, but the cruel thing about sudden-death is it only matters if you score. 4:06 into OT, Patrick Kane made a drive to the net on an, at first, seemingly unsuccessful play. Subsequently, Kane screamed down the ice in celebration as his teammates, opponents, officials and fans alike all seemed confused with the preceding events. The puck was confirmed to have gotten behind Michael Leighton and hidden in the netting and the real celebrations began.
It was one of the stranger ways I've seen a Stanley Cup won, with only one member of the winning side willing to throw off the gloves and cheer.
So there it is -- they did it. Now the Blackhawks' fans have the Cup and something to hold over the Red Wings. Congratulations to the 10,000 fans that had heard of them 3 years ago. Oh, and congrats to the 'Hawks fanbase that went two whole months without making chants about Detroit. It seems your feelings for your own team finally outweigh those for the Red Wings. Oh.... wait. I guess not.
