Stanley Cup Final - Game 2
By Judd Hall
If the NHL was wishing for an exciting start to the Stanley Cup Final, then they got their wish.
Chicago was able to survive a marathon as a $2.00 home favorite for a 6-5 win over the Flyers to draw first blood in the championship round. To give you an idea of how wild the scoring was in this contest, the closing total of 5 ½ was eclipsed in the first 23 minutes of play.
The easy way of describing Saturday night’s game was that it was glorified pond hockey. That’s a fair assessment since there really wasn’t a solid flow to action at all. But pond hockey normally has little to no defensive work, which was not the case from where I’m sitting.
There was plenty of hitting going on with Philadelphia taking a 40-37 advantage in that spot. And both sides were held to a manageable 32 shots on goal. Plus, the Blackhawks’ top line of Dustin Byfuglien, Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews combined for minus-9 with no points on the stat sheet. Same can be said about Simon Gagne, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter, who were are standing at minus-5. And we can’t forget that the Flyers didn’t allow a single power play to Chicago.
The breakdowns came when the third or fourth lines were out on the ice. Blair Betts picked up a goal for Philly, while Dave Bolland found the back of the net for the Blackhawks. While we can give hell to the lower defenders on each club, the real issue is the nerves of the men between the pipes.
Chicago’s Antti Niemi was able to stop 27 of the 32 shots he saw from the Flyers. This was his worst effort on the ice since giving up three goals to the Canucks on May 9 in Game 5 of the Western Conference Semifinal.
Michael Leighton had successfully handled the goaltending duties in a Game 7 in the East Semis and some hostile territory at the Bell Centre in the previous round. But Montreal and Boston didn’t have the same quality of offense like Chicago does. The spectre of the Blackhawks’ attack and the nerves of his first appearance in the Stanley Cup Final no doubt came into play. Look no further than the fact he gave up five goals on 20 shots in just 35 minutes of work.
Peter Laviolette decided after that fifth goal to pull Leighton in favor of Brian Boucher. It was a somewhat controversial call to make since Philadelphia was only down 5-4 at that time. Boucher played pretty well in relief, stopping 11 of 12 SOG.
While Niemi is in no danger of losing his starting gig for Chicago for Game 2, the same can’t be said of Leighton now. Leighton has a 7-10-8 record with a 2.41 goals against average during his career at the United Center. Boucher, however, is 5-2-2 in nine starts against the Blackhawks. But he is 4-6-2 when playing at the “Madhouse on Madison.”
Regardless of who is playing backstop for Philadelphia, they’ll be against the wall at the betting shops. Most sportsbooks have installed the Blackhawks as $1.95 home favorites (risk $195 to win $100) with the total getting adjusted to six.
The Flyers have gone just 6-6 in their last 12 games as road pups after a game where they allowed six goals in the last game. But they did win three of their last five in this role. Philadelphia is 8-4 on the puck line (+1 ½-goals) in those contests as well. To take Philly to cover the spread, you’ll be laying $175 to win $100.
Chicago has been practically automatic this season when posted as a home “chalk” after a one-goal win, evidenced by a 10-1 mark but just 3-8 on the puck line (-1 ½-goals). The ‘over’ has hit in three of the Blackhawks last four games under these conditions.
The Blackhawks are 6-3 as home favorites during the playoffs. The ‘over’ is 4-3-2 in those games.
Philly is 5-5 in the 10 games they have played in the postseason as an underdog. The ‘over’ is 5-4-1 in this role. The Flyers have also covered the puck line in eight of those spots.
vegasinsider.com
Game of the day: Flyers at Blackhawks
By Nick Parsons.
Old-time hockey turned into wide-open ice in the first game of the Stanley Cup finals when the Blackhawks edged Philadelphia 6-5. The Blackhawks try to make it 2-0 in the series tonight.
Game 1 recap
Overall there were five lead changes and either out of character or a sign of the respect to Chicago's power play, the Flyers did not have a penalty in Game 1.
At times Saturday's opener looked like an All-Star game with plenty of goals, no fights and few penalties.
Both teams expect things to get a little tighter Monday night. The 11 goals was the most in a finals game since 1992 and Chicago got the winner from Thomas Kopecky eight minutes into the final period.
Leighton's issues
Flyers goalie Michael Leighton was pulled in second period after allowing five goals on just 20 shots. Is he wearing down?
Leighton was one of the biggest reasons the Flyers were able to pull the remarkable comeback against the Bruins when they were down 3-0 in games and 3-0 on the scoreboard in Game 7.
Leighton was 6-1 in the playoffs entering Saturday's game. He took over for Brian Boucher to change the momentum in the second round and entered Game 1 with a 1.45 goals against average in the playoffs.
He is streaky winning at least four starts in a row three times during the regular season when he went 17-9-2 and he wants to start Game 2.
Chicago's Antii Niemi made 27 saves on 32 shots to get the win, nothing to write home about. He allowed late goals in both the first and second periods.
History in the making
Chicago hasn't won the Cup since 1961 (49 years) when Stan Mikita was carrying the way. The Flyers last won in 1975 when Dave Schultz and the Broad Street Bullies policed the ice. They last made the finals in 1997.
No chants of defense
Flyers coach Peter Laviolette blamed the defense for the Game 1 loss. Chicago scored three goals on five shots in one span. And, on Kris Versteeg's goal that tied the game at 4-4, there were four Flyers in front of Leighton but no one bothered to lay a finger on him as he gathered up a rebound and flipped in the net. That was woeful.
X-factor
There is a reason Marian Hossa has reached the Cup finals the past two seasons. He can do it all. While Hossa hasn't scored much lately he has been superb defensively and lends a veteran presence on the ice.
And don't forget that Hossa plays alongside Troy Brouwer who was named the No. 1 star in Saturday's game. Hossa had two assists and finished +2 for the night.
Injury report
Andrew Ladd, the Chicago winger missed Game 1 with a shoulder injury and remains questionable. He had 17 goals during the regular season.
Trends
The numbers are good for both these teams. That's why they're in the finals.
The Blackhawks are 42-16 as home favorites and 14-3 in their last 17 games with one day's rest.
Philadelphia has won eight of its last 10 games and they are 7-1 with one day's rest.
The Flyers are 23-52 as a road underdog against a team with over .600 winning percentage.
The home team has won the last four in this meeting.
The Flyers have gone under the number 5-0-2 in their last seven games after giving up at least five goals in their previous game.
Philadelphia Flyers vs. Chicago Blackhawks
The Philadelphia Flyers and the Chicago Blackhawks will both be gunning for a victory on Monday when they meet at United Center.
Troy Brouwer scored twice and assisted on another as the Blackhawks defeated the Flyers 6-5 in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup final on Saturday.
The Blackhawks won the game as -200 favorites, and the 11 goals sailed OVER the posted over/under (5.5) set by oddsmakers.
Dave Bolland, Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, and Tomas Kopecky also tallied in the victory.
Ville Leino, Danny Briere, Scott Hartnell, Blair Betts, and Aaron Asham answered for the Flyers.
Team records:
Philadelphia: 41-35-6
Chicago: 52-22-8
Philadelphia most recently:
When playing on Monday are 6-4
Before playing Tampa Bay are 7-3
After playing Chicago are 5-5-1
After a loss are 6-4
Chicago most recently:
When playing on Monday are 6-4
Before playing Edmonton are 5-5
After playing Philadelphia are 4-6
After a win are 8-2
A few trends to consider:
Philadelphia is 13-3 SU in its last 16 games when playing Chicago
Philadelphia is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 7 games
Philadelphia is 7-14 SU in its last 21 games on the road
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Chicago is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
Chicago is 3-5-1 SU in its last 9 games ,when playing at home against Philadelphia
Chicago is 3-13-1 SU in its last 17 games ,when playing Philadelphia
Next up:
Chicago at Philadelphia, Wednesday, June 2
PHILADELPHIA (53-40-0-7, 113 pts.) at CHICAGO (65-26-0-8, 138 pts.)
There are no Top Trends with records of significance that apply to this game.
Head-to-Head Series History
CHICAGO is 2-1 (+0.8 Units) against the spread versus PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
CHICAGO is 2-1-0 straight up against PHILADELPHIA over the last 3 seasons
2 of 3 games in this series have gone UNDER THE TOTAL over the last 3 seasons . (Under=+1.2 Units)
PHILADELPHIA vs. CHICAGO
Philadelphia is 8-2 SU in its last 10 games
The total has gone OVER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 7 games
Chicago is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games
Chicago is 4-1 SU in its last 5 games at home
Stanley Cup Finals Game Two (Chicago Leads, 1-0)
PHILADELPHIA AT CHICAGO
PHILADELPHIA: 5-14 SU away vs. non-conference opponents
CHICAGO: 19-5 SU off BB home games
NHL News and Notes
Philly goalie Leighton gave up five goals, got pulled; this is second series in a row Blackhawks won first game without having any power plays in the game. Blackhawks have now won six games in a row and nine of last ten. Flyers are 5-5 on road in playoffs- they had 17 shots in first period of Game 1, but only 15 the rest of the game. Chicago is 6-3 at home so far in playoffs. Flyers were 1-4 on power play in Game 1 (6:46).