Philadelphia Flyers
Sports Moment of the Day — Chicago Blackhawks 2010 Stanley Cup Champions
Thursday, June 10th, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, NHL, Philadelphia Flyers, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Blackhawks are your 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Champions. The Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday night to take the hard-fought series 4-2. The Blackhawks clinched 3 of their 4 series win en route to hoisting the cup on the road this post-season.
The Blackhawks won the game on Patrick Kane’s 10th goal of the post-season. Somehow Kane rifled the puck under the pad or the skate of Flyers goalie Michael Leighton. Kane knew it was a game winner immediately, but because the light did not go on and no horn sounded, no one knew where the puck was. The Blackhawks continued their celebration as the officials confirmed the game-winning goal on video replay. Flyers players and fans looked on in disbelief as their dreams of a Stanley Cup title came crashing to a halt.
Jonathan Toews was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner for the best player during the post-season. Although he had the 2nd highest point total of any player this post-season, he earned the honor because he led his team to the title. Toews tied a Blackhawks team record with his 29 post-season points. His 22 assists were a new franchise post-season record. Denis Savard had 29 points with 20 assists during the Blackhawks 1985 post-season run. Toews also became only the 3rd hockey player ever to win an Olympics Gold Medal (with Team Canada in Vancouver back in February) and a Stanley Cup Title in the same year.
The title ended the longest current Stanley Cup title drought in the NHL – the Blackhawks last won a championship back in 1961. The Flyers had also suffered for a long time, last winning the Stanley Cup crown in back-to-back years in 19754 and 1975. The Flyers have now lost their last 6 Stanley Cup appearances.
Dustin Byfuglien, Patrick Sharp (against his former team) and Andrew Ladd scored the Blackhawks first 3 goals of the game. Unsung hero Antti Niemi saved 21 of 24 Flyers shots on goal. Niemi proved to be a reliable goaltender throughout the entire playoffs as the Blackhawks were never forced into a Game 7 situation (1 series sweep and 3 series wins in 6 games).
Crazy stat of the series — Marian Hossa finally won that elusive Stanley Cup title. Playing on his 3rd team in 3 years, Hossa had appeared in each of the last 3 Stanley Cup Series. In 2008, Hossa’s Penguins lost to the Red Wings in 7 games. In 2009, Hossa who had then jumped from the Penguins to the Red Wings faced his former team in the Stanley Cup. But this time it was the Penguins who upset the Red Wings in Game 7 in Detroit. Hossa finally ended up on the winning team this time around as the Blackhawks defeated the Flyers in 6 games.
The celebration continues with a parade through the loop of the streets of Chicago on Friday June 11th – it should be a blast. After losing a fan base under the guise of owner Bill Wertz, kudos to Rocky Wertz and John McDonough who re-invigorated a fan base by televising home games once again and shrewd marketing techniques that helped even the “average joe” fall in love with this exciting, young squad.
Cup Time — Blackhawks Advance to Stanley Cup Finals with 4-2 Win Over Sharks
Monday, May 24th, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Sports | No Comments
The Chicago Blackhawks have advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals for the 1st time since 1992 after they swept the #1 Seed San Jose Sharks in 4 straight games in the Western Conference Finals.
After the Sharks raced out to a 2-0 lead midway through the 2nd period, it looked like the Hawks might have to close out the series back in San Jose later this week. But the Blackhawks quickly answered with goals by Brent Seabrook and Dave Bolland to tie the game at 2 before the end of the period.
Then it looked like we might be headed to another overtime contest, but Dustin Byfuglien’s 8th post-season goal with just under 6 minutes left to go in the game put the Hawsk ahead for good. Byfuglien has scored all 8 of his goals in the last 2 series against the Vancouver Canucks and Sharks and has proved to be a valuable forward on attack with the Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane after playing the 1st round of the playoffs as a defenseman. He is a big reason that Toews continues to increase his post-season franchise record of scoring at least 1 point in a game with either a goal or assist. Toews has now made it 13 straight games this post-season with his assist on Byfuglien’s game winner.
Kris Versteeg closed out the scoring in the 4-2 win with an empty netter with under a minute left to play.
Antti Niemi proved as good as gold again in net. Although he only faced 18 shots in the game – the lowest number of shots taken by the Sharks this series – he stopped 16 of them. And more importantly, instead of getting down on himself after allowing the 1st 2 goals of the game, he rallied to keep the Sharks out of the net the rest of the way.
Now the Hawks await the winner of the Philadelphia Flyers and Montreal Canadiens Eastern Conference Finals to find out who they will play in the Stanley Cup series. Can’t wait – this city has waited long enough to hoist a Stanley Cup Trophy on the United Center ice here in Chicago…
Blackhawks Top Sharks 3-2 in Thrilling Overtime Win, 1 Game Away From Stanley Cup
Saturday, May 22nd, 2010 | Chicago Blackhawks, Montreal Canadiens, NHL, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks, Sports | No Comments
The Blackhawks defeated the Sharks 3-2 in overtime on Friday night at the United Center in Chicago. The Blackhawks need just 1 more win to advance to their first Stanley Cup appearance since 1992.
After a scoreless 1st period, each team scored on a power play goal in the 2nd period. Patrick Marleau scored 4 minutes into the period and Patrick Sharp answered for the Blackhawks just 3 minutes later.
It was still tied at 1 to start the 3rd period, but the Sharks came out firing on all cylinders in the final frame. Although the Sharks would end up out-shotting the Hakws in the period by an 18-6 margin, it was the Blackhawks who answered the call with less than 7 minutes to play on Dave Bolland’s goal. It looked like the Hawks would get the in regulation, but Marleau knocked in his 2nd goal of the game with less than 5 minutes to play.
So to overtime we go. This period, the Hawks were the aggressor, sensing a chance to put the series away for good with a win. The Hawks quickly outshot the Sharks 11-5, and at the 12:24 mark of the 1st overtime period, Bolland fed a wide open Dustin Byfuglien in front of the net for the game winner. It was the 4th straight game in which Byfuglien has scored a goal and it was his 7th goal of the post-season. Byfuglien is quickly turning into one of the most productive forwards for the Hawks in the playoffs as other teams focus on the more well-known goal scoring prowess of Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa.
But let’s not forget about the fabulous goal-tending of Antti Niemi. The Sahrks literally threw everything but the kitchen sink at Niemi and he still managed to hold down the fort. It was the 2nd game of the series in which Niemi saved 44 shots. Unbelievable! Outstanding! Superb! The rookie has proved everyone wrong, as it is clear that Niemi has what it takes to lead a team to 16 wins during any given post-season to capture the Stanley Cup crown. IN the 3-game series thus far, Niemi has made 113 total saves, while allowing just 5 goals. This to one of the most productive offenses in all of hockey. It is truly a special thing to be able to watch Niemi night in and night out.
Captain Jonathan Toews (just 22 years of gae) also set a Hawks’ franchise playoff record by recording at least 1 point in 12 straight post-season games (he had 2 assists in the win). Toews was honored to set the record and is even more jacked to get a chance to play in his first ever Stanley Cup — “I mean, you’re not going to get too high on yourself or too full of yourself like that. You got to do the right things and play the right way if you’re going to have success… We’ve done that. There’s nothing about us that says we’re unbeatable. As soon as we get away from playing our game, you know, we’re a mediocre average team. We got to go out there, work hard, stick to our guns, stick to how we learned to play this year. The way we’re going to be tough to beat.” Sounds like a man who knows where his team is headed – straight to hoisting that magnificent Stanley Cup after 5 more wins this post-season.
Game 4 is Sunday afternoon at the United Center.
Flyers Join Record Books with 4-3 Win Over Bruins in Game 7 in Boston
Saturday, May 15th, 2010 | General, Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers, San Jose Sharks | No Comments
Crazy – the Boston Bruins raced out to a 3-0 series lead and looked to be on the verge of reaching the NHL’s Eastern Conference Finals. But just like that, the Flyers became only the 3rd team to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a 7-game series to oust the bewildered Bruins out of the playoffs. The other 2 teams to accomplish the feat were the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs who beat the Detroit Red Wings and the 1975 New York Islanders who ousted the Pittsburgh Penguins.
It is an unlikely Conference Finals match-up between the 7th seeded Flyers and the 8th seeded Montreal Canadiens who took out the Washington Capitals and the Penguins. In contrast, the Western Conference Finals features the conference’s top 2 teams – the San Jose Sharks and the Chicago Blackhawks. Get ready for some more exciting NHL playoff action…
Categories
| M | T | W | T | F | S | S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| « Oct | ||||||
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | ||
| 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 |
| 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 |
| 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 | 26 |
| 27 | 28 | 29 | ||||
