The Chicago Blackhawks have won the Stanley Cup.

The game-winning goal came in overtime and wasn’t greeted by a red light or significant fanfare, but the image of Patrick Kane celebrating and tossing off his equipment was good enough for the young Blackhawks club.

The goal was briefly reviewed and then it was official: the Blackhawks had defeated the Philadelphia Flyers and won the Cup. While the crowd stood stunned and many of the Flyers stood around confused, the Blackhawks team piled on each other in celebration around goalie Antti Niemi. It turned out that the puck was actually lodged in the net where Kane put it when he scored the history-making winner.

The Cup win for the Blackhawks ends the longest drought in NHL history, as Chicago hasn’t won the top prize since 1961. An Original Six franchise, the Blackhawks wrap up their most successful season since the days of Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita.

Jonathan Toews picked up the Conn Smythe Trophy much to the chagrin of the Philly faithful, who commenced with the traditional booing of Gary Bettman and let it ride through the presentation to Toews. Even so, the 22-year-old deserved his moment and goes down as a member of the Triple Gold Club with a gold medal at the IIHF World’s in 2007, an Olympic gold medal in Vancouver in 2010, and now a Cup victory. He’s the seventh Canadian in the Club.

The game was close throughout and it often looked as though the Flyers were carrying the momentum, turning in a tight physical performance that had the young Blackhawks on their heels frequently. In the end, though, it was not to be and the Hawks took the series in six games.

Congratulations to the Chicago Blackhawks and the Philadelphia Flyers on a great Finals.

Just a reminder to all of our readers that the action doesn’t slow down in the summertime here at HockeyDraft.Ca. We’ll have the scoops you’re looking for as the off-season gets underway. Stick around for news and commentary on the draft, off-season moves, the situation in Phoenix, and all the other developing stories.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

With Chris Pronger off his game, the Chicago Blackhawks were able to finally come out to play in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

It wasn’t apparent as to what was bothering Pronger, but his coverage on Chicago’s key players just wasn’t up to par like it was in the series’ first four contests. The surly defender was a minus-5 in the Blackhawks’ 7-4 victory and found himself on the ice for six of his opponents’ goals. Pronger was in the sin bin for the other one.

It looked like Chicago coach Joel Quenneville’s decision to split up his big guns paid off, too. Six different Blackhawks popped in goals in the game and Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Dustin Byfuglien remained too much for Pronger to neutralize on his own. With more space and time, big Byfuglien was able to net two goals. Kane had one and an assist.

In any event, it looks as though the Blackhawks are back on track. They even managed to get under the skin of the Flyers a little, showing some of that antagonism that they were able to brew up against San Jose and Vancouver.

Flyers’ keeper Michael Leighton was pulled for the second time in the series and Brian Boucher took over the job. In allowing three goals in 13 shots, Leighton has to be at least a bit of a question mark for Flyers fans. He did take a puck off the knee in the pre-game skate, however, and that may have contributed to his less-than-stellar performance.

With the Blackhawks clicking for the first time in the series, the Flyers will have to hope that their 9-1 home record in these playoffs holds up the standard as things swing back to Philly.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

The Philadelphia Flyers potted three first period goals and looked like they were going to rout the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday night, but the young Hawks mounted a bit of a comeback to pull the game close. Still, the Flyers pulled off a 5-3 victory and evened the series.

Mike Richards, Matt Carle, and series hero Claude Giroux all had goals in the first frame and Villie Leino added another one as the Flyers headed into the final period with a 4-1 lead. It took a late surge from the Blackhawks to get close, though, as Dave Bolland and Brian Campbell cut the deficit to just one goal.

After Jeff Carter popped in an empty netter, however, it was all over and the Blackhawks watched their series lead disappear before a rowdy Philly crowd.

So far the home team has won all four games in the series and, if that holds, the situation still favours the boys from Chicago. Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, their top players have been rendered all but useless thanks to tight checking and some mind games from the Philly defence. Led by Chris Pronger, the Flyers’ defenders have been containing and controlling Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane like no other team’s been able to do this post-season.

The series has been filled with goals aplenty thus far, but the big guns have been mostly left out of the race. Richards didn’t score until Friday night, for instance, and the Blackhawks have been working hard to contain Philly’s other vital players.

It’s hard to say that either team has momentum going into Chicago on Sunday. With the Flyers and Blackhawks trading goals like this, the series has been more about the last team to score than it has the first to get and hold a lead. The goaltenders, Michael Leighton and Antti Niemi, appear almost out of gas going into these games.

In any event, it truly is anyone’s series now. As things swing back to Chicago for Sunday’s contest, both the Flyers and Blackhawks are hoping for a little of that playoff magic.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

It was Claude Giroux who managed to give the Flyers some life on Wednesday night. Scoring 5:59 into overtime, Giroux gave the Flyers their first win in the series and narrowed the gap as his team moves towards the Stanley Cup.

The 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks came in front of a roaring crowd filled with Philly fans and cut the Blackhawks’ series lead to 2-1. Analysts everywhere were quick to point out that we “finally had a series,” but this has been a barnburner from day one.

The Flyers have been this post-season’s quintessential rally team, after all, and I know from my own lost bets and missed predictions that this isn’t a team to count out at any time. They fought back to defeat the Bruins, for instance, making history when they were down 3-0 in the series. So a 2-0 deficit going into Wednesday’s contest at home? Not a problem.

Philadelphia’s win also ended a critical Blackhawks winning streak, ending the team’s seven game winning streak and the team’s seven game road winning streak. The Flyers did more than win the game; they proved that their opponents were human.

Chicago goalie Antti Niemi stopped 28 shots in the contest, but Michael Leighton came out on the winning end with a convincing performance of his own. He’s proved that the coaching staff was right to stand by him and he’s got to have a lot of confidence rolling into Game 4.

As for the Blackhawks, they’re a young team and they’ll need to keep their confidence going after this loss. It wasn’t a huge loss, of course, but it was a loss and it does draw the series closer than Chicago would have liked.

“Right now it looks like they have the momentum in the series,” said Blackhawks forward Patrick Kane. “But if we take Game 4, then we put ourselves in a great position to go back and play in front of our home crowd and hopefully win it there.”

Even with the win and considerable momentum, word around the campfire is that most so-called experts remain firmly fixed in the Blackhawks camp. Rallying cries of “Chicago in 5″ fill most hockey message boards and many have already written off the Flyers, but the team from Philly is making one hell of a convincing case for themselves.

It’s hard (and foolish) to write the Flyers off at this point. And if my past mistakes have taught me anything, it’s that this series is far from over.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

His Flyers may be down by two games in their Stanley Cup Final series against the Chicago Blackhawks, but that hasn’t stopped Chris Pronger from playing some serious head games.

Pronger has twice taken the game puck after the final horn sounded. In both games, he skated down towards where the Blackhawks were celebrating and snagged it. In Game 2, Pronger was confronted by Chicago’s Ben Eager.

“He’s been picking up pucks after the game, and I just told him he can keep it,” Eager said.

Pronger shot a towel at Eager too, but remained his usual self in the media scrum after the game when reporters asked him about it.

“I don’t know, did I?,” he said. “Wow. You’re intuitive. Good for you. Next.”

Pronger’s sarcastic responses to the press have been pretty commonplace, especially through these Finals. After being asked about what Eager said to him, Pronger replied that he didn’t “speak that language” and went on to explain that he had thrown the pucks in the garbage.

“I guess little things amuse little minds,” he added.

Whether Pronger’s mind games and attitude will have an impact remains to be seen, of course. One has to wonder about his antics and if they’ll amount to little more than a distraction for his own team and, probably more likely, himself.

Still, it’s hard to argue with his performance thus far. Pronger’s been logging monstrous amounts of ice time, for starters, and has done relatively well at containing the Blackhawks’ key forwards in Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane.

Pronger has had to be the team’s emotional leader throughout these playoffs and he’s been doing well in the role that he knows well. He’s far from resigned to defeat and fully believes in his teammates, never hiding from the toughness of the task at hand but never succumbing to the pressure to be negative.

“Yeah, I think we need to play with more desperation than we did, like the third period,” Pronger said. “We need to play with that passion, energy, drive, determination, like we did in the third through the whole game. It needs to be 60 minutes.”

There’s no word yet on whether Pronger has designed on picking up the game puck from the next contest, but you can bet he’ll be ready with more attitude and more ferocity when it comes to facing his opponents. With a team taking its cues from him, he’ll have to give it everything he’s got. To use an awful cliche that Pronger would doubtlessly give me hell for: game 3 is a must-win.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

It was Marian Hossa that seemed to spark his team’s scoring touch on Monday night, as his goal in the second period spurred Ben Eager to score just 28 seconds later.

The game itself was tighter and more physical than the series’ first game, of course. The Blackhawks’ eventual 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers gave them a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup Final and put them in good position as the series swings to Philly, but it was by no means a decisive win. The Flyers played a solid road game overall and looked good throughout the contest, despite falling apart during a few critical moments.

For Hossa’s part, he was just happy to put the puck in the net for a change. He finally scored after eight games without a goal and was glad to have the monkey off his back.

“It bugged me definitely that the goals were not going in for me,” said Hossa. “I was trying to create offence, either passing, but when I’m shooting the puck it didn’t want to get in. I tried not to get frustrated, but it’s in your head, you know. I was waiting for a garbage goal and hopefully now our line keeps going offensively better and better.”

Chicago was also able to hang on to a terrific performance from goalie Antti Niemi, too. He made 32 saves in the game and the crowd was chanting his name after the game. The Flyers were able to crack him once.

The series is far from over, however, and it would certainly be unwise for the Blackhawks to start planning the parade. Hossa knows this all too well, of course. He’s been in this situation before, with his former Detroit Red Wings being up two games over the Pittsburgh Penguins only to lose four of the following five games to watch the Pens march on to the Cup victory.

The Flyers made a few changes in the game, moving Dan Carcillo back into the lineup to stir some things up. His presence seemed to do the trick and the game took on a more physical tone, with plenty of chirping after whistles and a lot of scrums. Chris Pronger also had a solid game for the Flyers and his battle with big Dustin Byfuglien continued to rage on.

Still, the physicality wasn’t enough for the Flyers to come away with the victory and they’ll need to make use of their raucous home crowd when the series swings into Philadelphia. The sea of orange will be in full swing and the Flyers will be ready to feed off of that energy. It will be the most important game of the year for both teams, without question.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Saturday’s game was as fast a game as I’ve seen in these playoffs so far and it didn’t slow up until the final horn sounded. When the dust settled, the Chicago Blackhawks had edged out the Philadelphia Flyers by a final score of 6-5 and the goaltending battle that most had anticipated just wasn’t there.

Philly’s Michael Leighton had been brilliant throughout most of the Flyers’ incredible run, but he didn’t seem to have the same focus on Saturday night. He played deep in his net throughout a lot of it and was eventually chased from the goal to replaced by Brian Boucher. Some speculated that the very presence of Boucher as a potential backup goalie might have nagged at Leighton’s confidence.

In fairness, Chicago’s Antti Niemi didn’t fare much better. He wound up making 27 saves for the victory, but he let in five goals and had difficulty controlling his rebounds. Philadelphia should have learned from the experience and will do more to crowd the crease in the next games in the series.

The game was physical and fast-paced, but it was a little bit sloppy too and that made for a lot of wide open opportunities for both sides.

The Flyers, try as they might, struggled to hold leads throughout the game and gave up three chances to hold the fort. Despite good performances from Danny Briere and Scott Hartnell, it was a questionable goal from Tomas Kopecky that finally sealed the deal for the Blackhawks.

Depth was key for the Blackhawks, as Philly’s Chris Pronger managed to seal off some of Chicago’s better players with strong defensive presence. It took players like Kopecky, Troy Brouwer and Dave Bolland to make an impact.

Through it all, the Flyers were pleased with how they played the game - even with the loss. They’ll hope to come up with the same intensity and coverage in the next game, but they’ll still have to contend with a deeper Blackhawks team. They’ll also have to answer some goaltending questions without hanging Leighton out to dry for a less-than-stellar performance.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

The long, grueling year is coming to an end with a Stanley Cup Final matchup that should please fans of old-time hockey. When the Chicago Blackhawks face off against the Philadelphia Flyers on Saturday night, we should be in for a physical, intense series that could push both teams to the breaking point. Both teams look like they could bring home the Cup and picking a winner has rarely been more difficult. Perhaps the only certainty here is that it’s going to be a hell of a series.

Here is your Stanley Cup Final matchup:

Chicago Blackhawks vs. Philadelphia Flyers: The Chicago Blackhawks were Conference finalists a year ago and boasted a pretty darn impressive regular season this year, while the Philadelphia Flyers fell near the bottom of the Eastern Conference only to rise back into the picture to give the orange-clad fans in Philly something to go wild over. The Flyers have proven their heart and soul throughout these playoffs thus far, coming back from a 3-0 deficit against the Boston Bruins to join a very elite club. The Blackhawks, meanwhile, have been largely consistent in their dominance of their opponents and are coming off a sweep of the San Jose Sharks.

The goaltending battle in the Stanley Cup Final is perhaps one that nobody predicted at the start of the year. For the Hawks, Antti Niemi started the year on the bubble at training camp. He took over the job after the Olympics and has shone ever since, standing tall in the playoffs with a .921 save percentage. The Flyers boast journeyman Michael Leighton, technically a third-stringer with a lot to prove. He’s been astonishing in the Flyers’ drive to the Final and stood on his head to ensure his team’s victory over the Bruins. Leighton has a .948 save percentage, but he’ll be in tough against Chi-Town’s firepower.

Offensively, the Flyers boast three hot lines and a smoking Simon Gagne. Fans have to be excited about Gagne’s performance since returning from injury, as his seven goals in nine games serves as testimony to his offensive prowess. The Hawks’ forwards need no introduction with their beautifully balanced attack of physical size, grit and speed. The Blackhawks also boast an impressive shutdown line with John Madden at pivot, so they should be able to work some magic against the Flyers’ attack.

Chris Pronger will obviously be a factor for Philly, too. He leads all playoff performers in ice time with an average of 28:48, but he could be pushed to the limit trying to contain the Blackhawks team. Look for Pronger to square off big time in front of the net against the likes of big Dustin Byfuglien in what will be one of this year’s best battles.

There’s a lot to watch for in this year’s Finals and I’ll be here to break it all down. Whether it’s the matchup of Jonathan Toews against Mike Richards or the defensive battles, this series promises to be exhilarating to the bitter end. Making a prediction is far from an easy task this time out, so I invite you all to join me in putting it all on the line in the comments section.

My Prediction: Blackhawks in 7.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

The Philadelphia Flyers will face off against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup Finals. The Flyers bumped off the feisty Montreal Canadiens in five games, finishing them off in style with a 4-2 victory on Monday night.

The Habs were climbing uphill throughout the whole playoffs, bumping off the Washington Capitals and the Pittsburgh Penguins in a pair of grueling playoff rounds that captivated the hearts and minds of the whole country. Unfortunately, the Canadiens ran out of gas against the Flyers and had difficulty putting the puck in the net, going scoreless in three of the series’ five games.

It was discipline that made things count over the long haul for the Flyers. Not only did the club author a history-making comeback against the Bruins, they took it to the Canadiens with an unproven goaltender. Philadelphia’s club snuck into the playoffs with a shootout victory in its final game of the regular season, but they sure as hell looked impressive throughout the post-season.

Before the 2009-2010 regular season started, many fans and pundits had picked the Flyers to go the distance. The club’s acquisition of Chris Pronger was, for many, a turning point in the history of the team that would push them back to the Cup. But injuries and sloppy regular season play soon changed the minds of many, while true believers stuck it out with their team until the ultimate payoff.

As for the Habs, they’ve got a lot to be proud of. Nobody expected them to make much of an impact this season. Questions in goaltending were constant, although Jaroslav Halak’s heroic post-season performance seems to have quelled the beast for now. Still, GM Pierre Gauthier has a lot of decision-making to do in the off-season and he’ll have to decide between Halak and Carey Price. Both are restricted free agents.

So while the Canadiens look to retooling and building on the momentum from the 2010 playoffs, the Flyers now look ahead to a tough challenge in the Chicago Blackhawks. The Blackhawks are a quicker team in a lot of ways and they, like the Flyers, have the ability to agitate their opponents while making them pay on the power play.

The series will be a tough one for the Flyers, but their legions of orange-clad true believers will be with them every single step of the way.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.

Dustin Byfuglien was the man of the hour yet again as his clutch goal put the San Jose Sharks away for the post-season. The Chicago Blackhawks completed the series sweep and Byfuglien scored his third game-winning goal of the series, defeating the Sharks by a final score of 4-2 on Sunday.

The Sharks started out well enough in the game, jumping out to a 2-0 lead before the Hawks came back to tie things in the second period. Once again, like in the Blackhawks’ series against the Vancouver Canucks, it was penalties that made all the difference and the Sharks weren’t able to stay out of the box. Perhaps more importantly, they weren’t able to stop the bleeding when they did get on the PK.

San Jose took three straight penalties in the third period, giving the Blackhawks every opportunity in the book to put the game and the series away. They did just that in classic fashion and Byfuglien notched the winner in typical fashion in front of the net.

Blackhawks goalie Antii Niemi was solid once again, stopping 16 of 18 shots for the victory, but he wasn’t anywhere near as busy as he’d been in previous series games. Despite the fact that the Sharks looked good facing elimination, they weren’t able to muster much offensive force in the game when it mattered.

Patrick Marleau was still the Sharks’ best player, however, and that has to give the team a slight glimmer of hope to hold on to. He was a significant “question mark” in other matchups this post-season, but he sure came to play against the Blackhawks.

The Sharks will struggle to find anything good to cling to from the series, though, and that’s going to be a problem for their fans and supporters. The “this is our year” conversation had been happening everywhere in San Jose since the team proved they could advance beyond the opening round of the post-season, but few expected them to get swept by the young Blackhawks.

Whether there will be rebuilding or retooling in San Jose remains to be seen, of course. A lot of players proved their stuff this post-season, while a lot of other players simply didn’t.

As for the Blackhawks, they’ll wait for the winner of the Flyers and Habs series. And they’ll be ready, too.

Posted by Jordan Richardson.