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Breaking down the Finals Print
Features
Written by Denis Gorman   
Friday, May 28, 2010 20:10
The NHL has a dream Stanley Cup Final for the third straight year. Like the last two championship series between Pittsburgh and Detroit, the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers have long been part of the league’s fabric. Chicago is an Original Six franchise, while Philadelphia has enjoyed a week's worth of reminiscing on its hockey dynasty of the 1970s.

Both cities have endured long Cup droughts. The Blackhawks last held the Cup aloft in 1961, while Philadelphia hasn’t won since the spring of 1975.

One drought will end soon.

Here is how the teams stack up by position.

Forwards

Both teams boast an intoxicating mix of skilled youth and physical veterans up front.

For the Blackhawks, the discussion begins with Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane. Toews is authoring one of the greatest postseasons in team history. Captain Serious has 26 points, three short of Denis Savard’s playoff record. He has tied Stan Mikita's record with a 13-game postseason point streak. If he scores a goal or records an assist in Game 1, Toews will break the legendary Mikita’s record. The Winnipeg native is also fourth in the playoffs with 58 percent faceoff success.

If Toews is Chicago’s dependable minivan, Kane is the high-octane Mustang. The first overall pick in the 2007 Draft has seven goals and 20 points in 16 playoff games. His goals have come at most important occasions for Chicago.

Signed to a 12-year, $62.8 million deal in the off-season, Marian Hossa totaled 51 points in 57 games. He has yet to get untracked offensively in the playoffs, having only scored two goals and 11 points.

With the Blackhawks all but capped out for 2010-11, this series is surely the Chicago swan song for useful forwards Patrick Sharp, Kris Versteeg, Dave Bolland, John Madden and Dustin Byfuglien. All have contributed valuably in secondary roles.

Sharp and Versteeg have provided second-line scoring to compliment Toews, Kane and Hossa. Bolland drove Henrik Sedin and Joe Thornton to distraction in series wins over Vancouver and San Jose, respectively. Madden is one of the league’s best defensive centers and face-off men. Byfuglien became a clutch scorer and an immovable force in front of netminders. Fourth-liners Andrew Ladd, Ben Eager and Adam Burish throw their bodies around when they aren’t offering their less-than-flattering opinions about the opposition.

Mike Richards’ first-period shift in Game 5 against Montreal was the stuff of legend. All the Flyers' captain did was throw a thunderous check in the defensive end, force a turnover in the neutral zone, lose his balance and fall to the ice as Jaroslav Halak and a Canadiens defensemen collided, only to get up and score a short-handed goal into a vacant to tie the game at 1. It was merely Mark Messier-esque.

Regular season leading scorer Jeff Carter has suffered a broken toe and a broken foot in the playoffs. He still has five points in six games, including two goals in the fifth game against Montreal. Claude Giroux has blossomed into a superstar scoring center during these playoffs with eight goals and 17 points in 17 playoff games. With his 18 points, Danny Briere has turned the clock back to his days as a stud scorer for Buffalo. The trade for Ville Leino may prove to be a stroke of genius on the part of GM Paul Holmgren. Acquired from Detroit, Leino has totaled 12 points in 13 games while displaying high-end skills. The fourth line of Ian Laperriere, Blair Betts and Aaron Asham can play in any situation.

ADVANTAGE: Even.

Defensemen

Skill, size, strength, speed, snarl. 

Both teams' blue-line corps are loaded with those coveted attributes. Chicago's Duncan Keith and Philadelphia's Chris Pronger were both key members of the gold-medal winning Canadian Olympic team. Pronger won the Norris Trophy in 2000 with St. Louis. Keith was nominated for the award for the first in his career this season. Assuredly, both will match up against the opponent’s top forward line.

Brent Seabrook and Matt Carle are the Robin to Keith and Pronger’s Batman. Both would be No.1 defensemen for other organizations. Seabrook is three inches taller and 13 pounds heavier than Carle. Carle is a little more offensive-minded, but Seabrook is capable of contributing goals, assists and points to the Blackhawks' cause.

The second units of Brian Campbell and Niklas Hjalmarsson for Chicago, and Braydon Coburn and Kimmo Timonen for Philadelphia, are capable of playing in all three zones, moving the puck and scoring. The physical Coburn is a burgeoning star.

Veteran Brent Sopel brings a physical mentality to Chicago’s third pairing. Along with undrafted Jordan Hendry, their role is to play a simple, stay-at-home game. Lukas Krajicek and Ryan Parent do the same for Philadelphia.

ADVANTAGE: Even.

Goaltenders

The popular thinking was that the Blackhawks needed to trade for a top-tier goalie in order to compete for the Cup. Antti Niemi (12-4, 2.33 GAA, .921 save percentage) has already outplayed Pekka Rinne, Roberto Luongo and Evgeni Nabokov in series wins over Nashville, Vancouver and San Jose, respectively.

Goaltending has been a revolving door for the Flyers this season. Unlike years past when performance was an issue, injuries have underscored Philadelphia's netminders this season. Brian Boucher started the playoffs when spot-starter Michael Leighton suffered a high ankle sprain. Boucher went 6-4 with a 2.33 goals-against average and .915 save percentage against the Devils and Bruins before going down with a sprained knee ligament in the second round. Leighton has been great in relief, going 6-1 with a 1.45 GAA and .948 save percentage against Boston and Montreal.

Philadelphia’s goaltenders have been fantastic against counter-attacking teams in this playoff run. It will be interesting to see how Leighton fares against the offensive-minded Blackhawks.

ADVANTAGE: Chicago.

Coaching

For an in-season hire, Peter Laviolette has enjoyed a postseason for the ages. He has out-coached Jacques Lemaire, Claude Julien and Jacques Martin in Philadelphia’s playoff series wins over the Devils, Bruins and Canadiens. Laviolette, who coached Carolina to their 2006 Cup championship, was spectacular after the Flyers fell behind the Bruins three-games-to-none in the second round. He reportedly told Versus that he believed his team was going to win the series. After Boston took a 3-0 lead in the first period of Game 7 of the series, Laviolette’s timeout slowed what had been a Bruins tidal wave.

Joel Quenneville has been given the keys to a Ferrari with the express direction to not crash it. Sometimes that is easier said than done. Just ask Vyacheslav Bykov. Quenneville has done an admirable job keeping the Blackhawks focused on the job at hand despite youth, injuries, a playoff run against veteran teams in Vancouver and San Jose, and the forthcoming dismantling due to the salary cap.

ADVANTAGE: Philadelphia.

Final Analysis

Chicago and Philadelphia were even money off-season favorites to reach the Finals, but the organizations took vastly different routes getting here. The Blackhawks were among the NHL’s elite teams from Opening Night, while the Flyers needed Olli Jokinen to miss a shootout attempt on the season’s final day to clinch a playoff berth.

And that is now irrelevant.

First to four wins.

Game — and series — on.

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