2010 Stanley Cup Finals: Impressions From Game One

 

The 2010 Stanley Cup Finals opened with a bang on Saturday night as the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers by a score of 6-5.  

From the pre-game festivities to the final whistle, here are some of the things that stood out to me as I watched this game.

The Madhouse on Madison

Chicago has come a long way from being one of the laughingstocks of the NHL just five years ago.

Obviously, any team’s fans are going to be excited when their home arena is hosting a Stanley Cup Final. But I feel that Chicago’s fans are some of the most impressive fans I’ve witnessed in my eight years of watching hockey.

From cheering all the way through the national anthem to their taunting of Flyers goalie Michael Leighton, Hawks fans were in this game the whole way through. Even during the (brief) times when the Hawks were behind, they never gave up on their team.

One of my favorite parts was when NBC panned over the crowd and you could see fans jumping up and down and hugging in jubilation of every Blackhawks goal.

Furthermore, the Blackhawks jersey on the Michael Jordan figure outside of United Center and the Blackhawks helmet on a lion statue were quite the sights to behold.

That’s how you know hockey has really taken over Chicago.

If anyone new to hockey was watching this game, I don’t think they could ever tell that the Blackhawks used to have nearly empty buildings back in their dark years.  

Defense Wins Championships?

The Flyers and the Blackhawks gave up 32 shots apiece tonight.

Brian Boucher replaced Michael Leighton after Troy Brouwer scored to put the Blackhawks up 5-4 at 15:18 of the second period.

Antti Niemi, who has been nothing short of spectacular in his first Stanley Cup playoffs, was also hung out to dry tonight; saving just 27 out of 32 shots.

For as much as goaltending helped both teams get to this point, it was far from a key to victory tonight.

What’s Next?

One of the things I love about hockey is the unpredictable nature of playoff games.

This game furthered my belief that I would much rather watch a close game than a blow out.

If the Hawks had won 6-1, that still would have been a great game. But for me, it is much more fun when the game is tied or a team has a one goal lead. In a close game, you are often left wondering who still has just enough left in the tank to pull through for their team.

Through the first two periods, the longest time between goals was 6:09. Patrick Sharp tied the game for the Hawks just 1:11 into the second period and Blair Betts responded at 7:20 to give the Flyers a 4-3 lead.

Even when Thomas Kopecky scored at 8:25 of the third period, the Flyers kept coming. There was still the possibility that they could shock the Blackhawks faithful by taking a 1-0 lead in the series.

This game showed that both of these teams have earned their spot in the Finals. No one is going to go away easy.

Letting the Boys Play

Hockey fans love to complain about officiating. No one likes to see the referees decide the outcomes of the games or watch their teams play a special teams extravaganza.

That didn’t happen tonight.

The officials only called four penalties, all on the Blackhawks. And with the exception of a shorthanded goal by Dave Bolland and a power play goal from Scott Hartnell, all of the goals were scored at even strength.

Sometimes it can be frustrating when the referees put their whistles away. But tonight, I can’t complain. The lack of penalties still brought an interesting game that kept everyone watching right until the final horn.

And to be honest, the decreased amount of whistles was the last thing I thought about as the game went on.

Overall

It will be interesting to see what will happen in game two. The Blackhawks are still very much the favorite, but the Flyers are playing very well for a seventh seed that everyone thought would fall to the Devils or the Bruins.

Based on my impressions from tonight, here is what I think it will take for each team to win game two.

Blackhawks

Feed off the crowd at the United Center.

Stay out of the box. Let the officials call four penalties on the Flyers.

Stronger play from Toews and Kane. Neither had points tonight and they were a combined minus-six.

Marian Hossa needs to do well in the Finals to make up for a weak postseason. He is on his way with two assists, but needs to continue such contributions.

Flyers

Hold the lead. The Flyers had three leads at different points, but could not hold one for more than two and a half minutes.

Continue playing disciplined.

Keep capitalizing on power play opportunities; no matter how limited they may be.

Tighter defense around Leighton. Don’t allow him to get pulled again.