An Abrupt Yet Satisfying Ending

Last night was Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final between Chicago and Philadelphia, and it was a great one. Thousands filled the stands with an orange wave at the Wachovia Center, and though the home team gave them plenty to cheer about- a brief 2-1 lead, then a tying goal by Scott Hartnell with about three minutes left to play- it was Patrick Kane who slipped the puck through Michael Leighton's pads at 4:06 of overtime, crushing their hopes and clinching the Stanley Cup for his team.

At first, no one but Kane was even sure the puck had gone in- no light had come on over the goal and the ref hadn't even responded, but Kane took off to the other end of the ice, raising his arms high and jumping onto goalie Antti Niemi. Once it was certain, though, the Blackhawks celebrated in triumph, and for good reason- there were many milestones to commemorate.

Jonathan Toews, for example, now stands among the youngest captains to ever hoist the Stanley Cup, is the second youngest Conn Smythe winner (for playoff MVP), and the youngest Triple Gold inductee (Olympic gold medal, World Championship gold medal, and Stanley Cup) at 22 years of age. Marian Hossa also was able to celebrate his third time being in the Stanley Cup Final, this time with a win, and here's a fun fact for ya: he's the first Ottawa Senators draft pick to win a Cup. And of course, Antti Niemi, the goalie everyone's been talking about (other than Jaro Halak), becomes the first Finnish goalie to win the Cup. Teamwise as well, this is the Blackhawks' first Stanley Cup win since 1961.

Even so, and it pains me to say this... all due respect to the Philadelphia Flyers for a great series, and a great run to the Cup. You beat a lot of odds to get to where you were at, and you played your hearts out. Mike Richards, Chris Pronger, Michael Leighton and Co. have much to be proud of, and though I loved to hate you this series, I have to admit you did Philly proud.

That said, congrats to the 'Hawks for a well-deserved win, and to the city of Chicago as well. As for now... well, that's all she wrote on the ice. The NHL Awards are coming up, as well as the Draft, so we'll be working on previews for those soon. :)

Oh Caption My Caption!

Hossa Mantra : Stanley Cup Final Game 5

In an NHL article après losing to the Flyers in Game 4 (5-3) Marian Hossa talked about moving beyond frustration and playing smarter...actually he mentioned that word quite a few times...HOSSA MANTRA...WORK SMARTER NOT HARDER. A tip of the Tony Robbins hat to you sir.

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The only question I would ask the Blackhawks and want to correct is: WHY DO YOU ALL LOOK SO NUMB OUT ON THE ICE? Is that about playing smarter or about something else? Something else that the Flyers seem to have.

What can Chicago salvage from game 4? Scoring goals 2 & 3...knowing they are capable of scoring like that under that kind of pressure...these two goals may have made all the difference heading home as opposed to walking out of the Wachovia Center with a 4-1 or including empty net 5-1 wound.

This is a most unwelcome team role-reversal but I keep 'seeing' my nephew TJ (who lives outside of Chicago) at the parade in Chitown, hopefully foreshadowing to this result - that the unexpected underdog wins in the end.

GO HAWKS! PLAY ALIVE! BLACKHAWKS FANS HELP THEM OUT!

ps. You better believe my nephew is an Islander fan. Hawks are his second team...distant second if he wants to be invited to the big people table at Thanksgiving.

Stanley Cup Final Game 4: Book vs. Street

It's 8:03 and I should be in front of a TV but am not, busy day. So before jumping into my car to get in front of a TV here's a thought for game 4...so it's like this...Blackhawks are like people with book smarts and the Flyers are like people with street smarts. Usually it's good to have as even a balance of both but that's not going to happen with these two teams. Who wins the Stanley Cup is going to depend on what type of 'event' they are at - street fight or intellectual debate. In game 3 Philly did what they are so good at doing - pulling the other team into a street fight, thus they won - although not enough of an impressive sequence or goal to make it seem like Philly can pull this whole thing off from 2 games to 1...and that is why my cell phone is still chirping crickets. Chicago looked tired in OT- yeah it sucks when the muscles start to feel sour. But like I said in prior blog post it's all about endurance so unless Chicago wakes up and turns the atmosphere into a debate of intellect (aka skill), the Flyers are going to win. And by now if you follow this blog, you know how hard it was for me to type that last sentence. For some reason I don't think Chicago is done - maybe something such as a loss was needed to jilt Chicago out of their trance. Whether it be a gut feeling or a wish I think/hope Chicago is going to come down heavy in this game and remind everyone why they (team) are playing for the Stanley Cup in the first place, while at the same time reminding Philly of how lucky they were to have even gotten this far. Hope all that makes some kind of sense, it's hard to type a blog post with one foot out the door, it's 8:15 now and I've got to find myself in front of a TV pronto.

GO HAWKS!

Stanley Cup Final Game 3: Philly Fan Factor

So the Blackhawks are up 2 games to zero as Game 3 is about to start in a few minutes. If the Flyers want to stay in the race, they will need to draw upon the energy of their fans around them. Anyone who has been at a do-or-die game at the Wachovia Center knows what I mean. Not sure what happened to Peter Laviolette but it has resulted in a scattered energy on the team, unable to focus under his leadership and like Chris Pronger, some are acting out.

Got a kick out of the shots of Antti Niemi in the third period Monday night...the crazed look in his eyes was like the look of a crazed ex who just doesn't get it that it's over.

Blackhawks still not impressive, like studying for a C and surprisingly getting an A. All the Flyers have to do is use the boards and shoot.

Best part of the series so far? The sound coming from Flyers fans on my phone -



GO HAWKS! Let's keep it this way.

GAME ON!!