The Stanley Cup Finals kicked off Saturday night with a disappointing outcome for the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Chicago Blackhawks, who hosted the first match of the best of seven tournament, came out on top with a score of 6-5.
Most critics are favoring the Blackhawks to win again tonight, but the Flyers won’t be giving up without a fight. They are adding some intensity to tonight’s lineup, and looking for a physical edge over the Blackhawks in game two.
Rumor has it that Philadelphia forward, Daniel Carcillo, after sitting out the past three games, will return in game two. Commenting to the press about his return, Carcillo said, “I’ve got a lot of pent-up energy you’ll probably see released tonight.” Read More
Tag: Philadelphia Flyers
Gearing Up for the Stanley Cup Finals
It’s every hockey fan’s favorite time of year. Fans all over are glued to their televisions, watching the lead up to the Stanley Cup Finals.
Commentators and critics are analyzing team and player statistics, and offering a deep and diverse array of obscure facts and strong opinions about who will take home the great cup. Tomorrow marks day one of the real battle to the cup.
Young hockey players everywhere dream of getting the chance to hold the cup above their heads, or as Kris Versteeg of the Philadelphia Flyers put it, “I’ve played for this thing a thousand times on the streets.”
Those playing for Lord Stanley’s mug this week have already played an 82 game regular season, and have skated every other day for the past month of post-season in preparation for the championship.
They have battled through injuries, sickness and fatigue, all of which will be forgotten when they begin the fight of their lives on Saturday.
Habs' Roster Gets Game-changer: the Bell Centre
The Montreal Canadiens went into Game 3 down two games, being out scored by nine goals thus far in the series with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Bell Centre made the difference last night. Packed to its 21,273 person capacity, the Bell Centre had an unmatched energy. Montreal is a city where hockey is religion. After a major win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 12th, the city erupted in riots.
Everyone is talking about the Canadiens’ home ice advantage. In last night’s game, the Bell Centre fans started out strong, and the Canadians followed, scoring their first goal seven minutes into the period. Three unanswered goals followed, breaking Flyers’ goalie, Michael Leighton’s six game winning steak and 170 minute shut-out. The final score was 5 – 1.
When asked about the importance of scoring the first goal, PK Subban answered, “It gets the crowd going and once you do that, [the Bell Centre] is a touch building to play in.” This sentiment was echoed by Montreal native and round two opponent, Kris Letang, of the Pittsburgh Penguins. “When you play in that building it just feels like you are in much bigger trouble than you are and that they are coming at you faster than they really are.” Read More
Habs’ Roster Gets Game-changer: the Bell Centre
The Montreal Canadiens went into Game 3 down two games, being out scored by nine goals thus far in the series with the Philadelphia Flyers.
Bell Centre made the difference last night. Packed to its 21,273 person capacity, the Bell Centre had an unmatched energy. Montreal is a city where hockey is religion. After a major win against the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 12th, the city erupted in riots.
Everyone is talking about the Canadiens’ home ice advantage. In last night’s game, the Bell Centre fans started out strong, and the Canadians followed, scoring their first goal seven minutes into the period. Three unanswered goals followed, breaking Flyers’ goalie, Michael Leighton’s six game winning steak and 170 minute shut-out. The final score was 5 – 1.
When asked about the importance of scoring the first goal, PK Subban answered, “It gets the crowd going and once you do that, [the Bell Centre] is a touch building to play in.” This sentiment was echoed by Montreal native and round two opponent, Kris Letang, of the Pittsburgh Penguins. “When you play in that building it just feels like you are in much bigger trouble than you are and that they are coming at you faster than they really are.” Read More
The Battle of the East
When the playoffs began, few would have expected that the Phildelphia Flyers (7th seeded) and the Montreal Canadiens (8th seeded) would be battling it out for the Eastern Conference Championship for the chance to appear in the Stanley Cup finals.
It has been a historical performance by both teams. There can not be enough said about Montreal’s goalie Jaroslav Halak and the season he has had. Halak began the year by leading the Slovakian national team to the Olympic semifinals by defeating the defending champions, Sweden, and the much anticipated Russian team, resulting in a showdown with Team Canada.
Thus far in the NHL playoffs, Halak and the Montreal Canadiens have shut down Alexander Ovechkin and the number one seeded National Capitols, only to take on the defending Stanley Cup Champions, the Pittsburgh Penguins with Sydney Crosby and Marc-Andre Fleury.
Read More