4 Stars

#1 - Patrick Kane (F - CHI) - Kane scored the biggest goal in the last 50 years for the Blackhawks, as he snuck in the game winner in overtime.  He also added 2 assists, giving him 10 goals and 28 points in 22 post-season games.

#2 - Scott Hartnell (F - PHI) -  Hartnell refused to let the Flyers die.  He answered twice in key situations with goal-mouth tallies, including an impressive standoff against Duncan Keith.

#3 - Danny Briere (F - PHI) - Briere scored once and added two assists to finish the playoffs as the top point scorer with 30.  He also finished second in goals with 12, just 1 behind Michael Cammalleri.

#4 - Dustin Byfuglien (F - CHI) - Byfuglien kicked off the scoring in the game with an impressive rebound goal in tight.  He finished the playoffs with 11 goals.

Player Notes:

• Jonathan Toews was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, finishing the playoffs with 29 points in 22 games.
• Antti Niemi wasn't spectacular, but was good enough, stopping 21 of 24 shots for the win.  He should enter next season as the #1 guy in Chicago; however, the situation is very unstable with Huet's contract and other prospects working their way up.
• Michael Leighton seemed to lose his magic in the final series, allowing a couple of questionable goals in the final game, including the game winner in O.T.  Despite the Round 4 meltdown, he still finished the playoffs with an impressive 2.46 GAA and .916 save percentage.  It will be interesting to see which direction the Flyers go in net this summer, as always.
• Winning a Stanley Cup will wash over a lot of poor play, but it was shocking to see how little Marian Hossa contributed to the Hawks run offensively.  Similarly, at least in the final few games, the likely Norris Trophy winner Duncan Keith, stood out on several key mistakes leading to Flyers goals.  He seemed unwilling to put himself in front of shots after loosing his teeth.

4 Stars

#1 - Dustin Byfuglien (F - CHI) - Byfulgien had a huge night for the Hawks.  He scored twice, added two assists, and delivered a classic hit on Chris Pronger. 

#2 - Kris Versteeg (F - CHI) - Versteeg scored late in the first period and added two assists for Chicago.

#3 - Ville Leino (F - PHI) - Leino continues to shine under the radar for the Flyers.  He had 3 assists in the game, giving him 19 point in 18 games in the playoffs.

#4 - Brent Seabrook (D - CHI) - Seabrook kicked off the scoring and added an assist for the Chicago.

Player Notes:

• Chris Pronger played nearly half the game, and was a miserable -5 on the night with 0 points.
• On the other side of the puck, Marian Hossa somehow managed to finish the game with 0 points and a -3 rating, despite 7 goals being scored by the Hawks.  Fortunately for Hossa, his teammates have been picking up the slack, otherwise, there would be a firestorm of attention on his poor post-season.
• Michael Leighton was pulled for the 2nd time in the series after allowing 3 goals on 13 shots.  Brian Boucher didn't fare much better, allowing 3 on 14 shots.  Expect the Flyers to go back to Leighton once more in game 6.
• Antti Niemi didn't have his best night between the pipes either, as he surrendered 4 goals on 27 shots.

Conn Smythe Trophy Update:

Pronger lost a slight step in the race with a poor showing last night.  Here are the top candidates:

1. Antti Niemi

2. Jonathan Toews

3. Danny Briere

4 Stars

#1 - Claude Giroux (F - PHI) - Giroux netted the game winner in overtime to get the Flyers back in the series.  He also assisted on 2 goals earlier in the game.  Giroux now has 9 goals and 20 points in 20 games.

#2 - Scott Hartnell (F - PHI) - Hartnell scored on a deflection and setup Briere with an impressive pass for a 2-point night.

#3 - Danny Briere (F - PHI) - Briere had a goal and an assist for the Flyers, putting him 2nd in league scoring.  He's making a late push for the Conn Smythe Trophy, as he's now the Flyers leading goal and point getter.

#4 - Patrcik Kane (F - CHI) - Kane ended his scoring draught with a break away goal in the third.  He also got an assist in the game.

Player Notes:

• Antti Niemi played well, despite giving up 4 goals in the game.  He stopped 28 of 32 shots.
• Michael Leighton was adequate in the contest, stopping 24 of 27 shots.
• Andrew Ladd was back practicing with the team but did not suit up for the Hawks in game 3
• Jonathan Toews had an assist last night, but still hasn't scored a goal in the series.  He remains the league leader in points with 27

Conn Smythe Update:

No reason to change the favorites just yet, but Briere is making a case if the Flyers can comeback to win:

1. Antti Niemi

2. Jonathan Toews

3. Danny Briere / Chris Pronger

4 Stars

#1 - Antti Niemi (G - CHI) - Niemi only faced 3 shots in the first period, but had plenty of work to do through the final two.  He finished the game with 32 saves on 33 shots for the game 2 victory.

#2 - Ben Eager (F - CHI) - Eager scored the game winner in the second period on a top shelf shot.  It was his first goal of the playoffs.

#3 - Marian Hossa (F - CHI) - Hossa finally ended his goal-scoring draught.  He opened the game's scoring in the second period by chipping in a rebound.

#4 - Simon Gagne (F - PHI) - Gagne scored the lone goal for the Flyers in the third period and nearly tied the game up shortly after that.

Player Notes:

• Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane were both held off the scoreboard once again for Chicago.  It just highlights how deep this deep is to be able to go up 2-0 without their top two stars registering a point.
• Michael Leighton had 1 bad minute in the game, but played very well in the other 59.  He finished the game with 24 saves on 26 shots.

Conn Smythe Watch:

No change in the favorites for the Conn Smythe after game 2.  Niemi remains the front runner, as Toews has yet to register a point in the series.  Here are the top 3 candidates at this point:

1. Antti Niemi

2. Jonathan Toews

3. Chris Pronger

In the next couple of weeks, a long Cup draught will finally come to an end.  So which one will it be?  At the start of the season, these two teams were picked by many to meet in the big dance; however, the road by which we got here wasn't at all foreseeable.  The Hawks took care of business, as expected, in the West, with little fanfare.  The Flyers have had a run for the ages that started on the last night of the regular season, took us through a historic Round 2 comeback, and finished with a smack down on the Cinderella Canadiens.

Goaltending:

This really is the story on both sides of the rink.  The Flyers entered the playoffs with the ageless stigma of questions in net.  Going back several decades, the team has never been able to nail down a solid #1 option good enough to match the talent in front of him.  Who could have seen then, that after 3 rounds of action, the Flyers have the 2 best goalies, statistically, in the playoffs.  Should Boucher manage to recover from his knee injuries in the next week, there's a possibility of a goaltending controversy late into the Final round (should Leighton falter).

As for the Hawks, Niemi has been everything they prayed for and more.  He comes into the final round as a favorite for the Conn Smythe trophy, thanks to his solid, consistent play throughout the first 3 rounds.  While the big names this year either didn't qualify or were ousted early in the playoffs, a handful of lesser knowns have stepped up to steal the spotlight.  Here are some impressive stats to consider among the 3 men protecting the pipes:

Given the performance of these men to this point, there is no reason to believe that either side holds an edge in this category.  Neither Niemi nor Leighton have ever played in a situation like this before, so there's little history to go on there.  Consider this a wash.

Offense:

Both teams can bring a variety of scoring to the table, with top end talent spilling down to the third line.  Neither team has to depend too much on just one or two guys to get it done, which is obviously what you need to make it this far.   In the regular season, the Hawks outscored the Flyers by a considerable margin, and that was without Hossa for a good portion of the year.  Then again, they seem to have advanced to the Finals without Hossa producing in the playoffs as well.   Eventually, he's bound to find the net, which means additional trouble for the Flyers.

In addition to Hossa, the Hawks bring two star forwards on one line with Toews and Kane.  Byfuglien has conjured up the ghosts of John Druce and Fernando Pisani to lead the team in goal scoring thus far.  Add to the mix offensive talent like Bolland,  Sharp, and Versteeg, and it's going to be tough for Philadelphia to shut them down, the way they were able to do against lesser opposition.

The Flyers are no slouch up front either, and they've shown the are willing to play hurt to win.  Despite going down with "season ending injuries", Simon Gagne, Jeff Carter, and Ian Laperriere have all returned  and played significant roles.  Briere and Richards have been earning their big bucks by leading the team in scoring, but the most significant contributions may be those from youngsters Claude Giroux and Ville Leino.  Leino in particular has shown incredible skill on a team where he could easily get lost in the mix.

Tough to say who has the edge in this department, but every shift should provide adequate excitement for the fans.

Defense:

This will be the first major challenge that the Flyers have faced this postseason.  Up until now, their competition has been extremely hurting in terms of offensive firepower, which may go a long way towards explaining their incredible goals against average thus far.  After all, what is there to fear in the likes of New Jersey, Boston, and Montreal,  the 3 lowest scoring regular season teams in the East to qualify for the playoffs.  Those three team combined for 645 goals in the regular season.  Compare that to the 761 goals for scored by Chicago's opposition (Vancouver, Nashville, and San Jose).

The Flyers have taken a top-heavy approach through the first 3 rounds, relying almost exclusively on the top two pairings.  Pronger, Timmonen, Coburn and Carle have averaged close to 30 minutes a game a piece.  It remains to be seen if all four of these horses can be driven so hard for so long.  If they can maintain the pace, then Coach Laviolette is wise to ride his top guns.  If one or more start to sputter, they might start to expose a weakness.

Chicago easily matches the Flyers in terms of top end talent.  Duncan Keith, the likely front runner for this year's Norris Trophy, is showing the world what hockey players are made of after losing 7 teeth without missing a shift.  The Hawks are deeper on defense, and can generate more offense from the backend than the Flyers can.  Since they can trust their depth players a bit more, Keith, Seabrook, and Campbell can stay a little more rested, which should help them as the series goes on.  Advantage Chicago.

Outlook:

History shows that this is an endurance contest, and the team that ultimately goes on to win more often than not enjoys a short series along the way to heal  their wounds.  Chicago faced much better competition so far, and dispatched their opponents in fewer games.  After sweeping the Sharks, the Blackhawks should be at 100% going into game 1.  After having to battle back to win round 2 in 7 games, the Flyers did themselves a favor by making quick work of Montreal.  Going back to the Boston series, it's debatable which says more about the team: the fact that they have what it takes to come back in any series, or the fact that they ever went down 3-0 to such a weak opponent. 

Bottom line is that these teams match up quite well and for both squads, this will be their toughest opponent yet.  Forget the seeds, Philadelphia and Chicago have both proven they deserve to be here.  Ultimately, Chicago's defense will most likely outlast the big four from Philly, giving the Hawks their first title since 1961, thus making the Toronto Maple Leafs the new New York Rangers.

Chicago in 6.