The Chicago Blackhawks Win the Stanley Cup

Well, the 49-year drought is over -- the 'Hawks are Stanley Cup Champions again. In a well-deserved Cup run for Toews and his mates, the Blackhawks were able to overcome the gutsy Philadelphia Flyers in 6 games to be the third straight team to take the prize in hostile territory.

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.

Hawks and Flyers to Meet for Lord Stanley

Much like the 2009 Conference Finals, it was all over pretty quickly -- Philadelphia getting by the Canadiens in 5 games, while Chicago overcame the Sharks in a sweep.

While the series wasn't quite as dominant as the sweep would suggest, the hapless San Jose Sharks were a soundly beaten bunch. Probably the best player for San Jose, Patrick Marleau scored 5 of his team's 7 goals. While looking a little lazy and quiet at times, he was usually in the right spots when on offense, and put the puck away enough. Sadly for San Jose, aside from Joe Thornton he got no help at all. Jason Demers and Logan Couture were the only other players who were able to find the back of the net, which in the end lead to the Sharks demise. You need a lot more than three scorers to beat the Blackhawks.

Probably the strongest contender for the Conn Smythe Trophy, Chicago's captain Jonathan Toews was without a doubt their leader throughout the series and throughout the entire playoffs. Toews has always been a winner, getting gold in the World Junior Championships, World U-17's, World Championships and the Olympics -- and now the 22-year-old hopes to add a Stanley Cup to his resume. Toews scored one goal and added 5 assists against the Sharks to bring his playoffs totals to 7 goals and a league-leading 26 points.

Last night was the end of one of two Cinderella stories in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately for the fans in Montreal -- it was theirs. Philly overpowered their opponents almost incessantly, and combined their tough style of game with a potent attack and an oppressively stingy defense. Montreal was held scoreless in 10 of 15 periods in the series -- three of their four losses coming via shutout -- shutouts delivered, amazingly enough, by the replacement, Michael Leighton.

Leighton, the latest Cinderella story of the playoffs, had never seen NHL playoff action before he stepped in for the injured Brian Boucher in Game 5 against Boston, and only had 4 career regular season shutouts. Since that point he's gone 6-1 with a 1.45 GAA, an incredible .948 SV% and 3 shutouts. It's been a remarkable turnaround from the guy who was put on waivers by the Carolina Hurricanes earlier in the season to this. Having said that, stymieing the Bruins and Habs is one thing, but the overcoming the Chicago Blackhawks is another.

To me, it really seems like this Finals series will just be a demonstration of the Western Conference's superiority over the Eastern Conference. Chicago is a genuine, bona-fide powerhouse team with arguably the most balanced lineup in the League. Shutting down the likes of Cammalleri, Gionta, Lapierre and the already quiet Plekanec, Gomez and Kostitsyn is nothing like shutting down Chicago's best.

Along with Toews, the Flyers and Leighton have to contend with Patrick Kane, Dustin Byfuglien, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa and Kris Versteeg as just a few of the forwards that can light the lamp at any given opportunity. Furthermore, the offensive output from the blueline, lead by Brian Campbell, Niklas Hjalmarsson and the Norris-favourite Duncan Keith, is also one of the scariest bluelines to have to contend with.

While Michael Leighton and the entire Flyers team has been admirable in their campaigns, I truly see no way they can contend with the Blackhawks in this one. Stranger things have happened but I severely doubt this Cinderella-story will go all the way. Chicago will end their 49-year Stanley Cup drought, the Flyers will continue their 35-year drought and the Marian Hossa curse will be lifted. I hate to say it, but 'Hawks in 5.

They Actually Did It!!

I can't believe what I just saw. Philly actually came back from a 3-0 series deficit to win. Not only that, but they also overcame a 3-0 deficit in the deciding game, to win that 4-3. WTF?? If that was the script of a hockey movie it'd be trashed for being unrealistic.

I think I saw Bruins fans throwing their shirts on the ice in disgust. It would definitely be a tough pill to swallow.

I'm not going to post much about the game because there'll be roughly 340,000 blog/articles about this historic game, but I just had to mention it.

So that does it for Round 2. After all is said and done, we now have Montreal and Philadelphia -- the teams of destiny -- squaring off in the East and Chicago returns to the Western Finals, this time against the San Jose Sharks. I'm shocked at how entertained I was by a playoff round that saw the Wings ousted in 5.

It feels like a bit of a role reversal as the Western Semi's were kinda boring while all the tight, nail-biting stuff was in the East.

The schedule has been released, if you wanna see it... LOOK UP!! I'll be covering the rest of the playoffs from here also. Just coz our beloved Wings are done, doesn't mean hockey is! I'm a hockey man at heart.

Flyers Seek History, New Cup Champs Assured

Round 2 of the Stanley Cup playoffs continued last night but didn't conclude. In the Wednesday night double-header, Montreal staged another monumental 7-game upset, this time over defending Champs, Pittsburgh. Meanwhile in Philly, the Flyers staved off elimination for the third straight game against Boston, forcing a potentially history-making Game 7 on Friday night.

Philadelphia was the other team facing a sweep in Game 4 of their series. And while the beginning of their comeback was quite as auspicious as Detroit's 7-1 thumping of the Sharks, their 5-4 OT result still counts as a win and two more wins later, they find themselves with a shot of actually completing Mission: Impossible.

The last team to come back from a 3-0 series deficit was the New York Islanders in 1975. A win Friday in Boston would make the Flyers the first team in 35 years and the third in history to achieve the miraculous feat. Gees, I wish I was talking about the Wings right now. Anyway...

Stay tuned, for an all-new Stanley Cup Final.

That's right. The 2x defending Western Conference Champs --our Detroit Red Wings -- were joined last night by their mirroring rivals of the East, the Penguins. The Montreal Canadiens continue to shock the hockey world. 14 games, 28 nights, 1 Presidents Trophy winner, 1 Stanley Cup Champion. It's been quite a month for the Habs... and their fans.

Now, that's how you celebrate a Round 2 victory, right? A little looting, maybe a punch-on here and there and obviously a series of bonfires throughout the streets. God help us all if they actually win the Cup. One question remains for me though... is that guy's feet on fire??? Seriously. WTF?

I'll still be graphically covering the playoffs even though the Wings are out. I was hoping to change the graphics today but Boston had to go ahead and lose so we sit and patiently await the schedule for the Conference Finals. I'm so sick of looking at that damn SJS wins 4-1... UGH!

A Second Chance at 5th Place; Rings vs. Flyers Preview

After Saturday's disappointing overtime loss to the rival Nashville Predators, Detroit has a second chance to leapfrog Nashville today, with a win over Philadelphia.

The win will draw the Red Wings on even points with the Preds, but will sit ahead of them on points percentage, as Nashville will have played one more game than Detroit.

Chris Osgood will also be making his first start since January 27.

Osgood to Play Against Flyers

For the first time since January 27, Ozzie will get the start for Sunday's game against the Flyers in Philadelphia. Howard will start tomorrow against Nashville.

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