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Blackhawks, Flyers draw first blood Print
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Written by J.P. Hoornstra   
Monday, May 17, 2010 00:22
Sunday’s Stanley Cup Finals results:
 
| Chicago 2, San Jose 1 (Blackhawks lead series 1-0)
| Philadelphia 6, Montreal 0 (Flyers lead series 1-0)
 
Chicago 2, San Jose 1

It doesn’t matter what you throw at the Chicago Blackhawks. They simply know how to win on the road.

San Jose threw 45 shots at Antti Niemi and the ‘Hawks, who were up to the task in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals at HP Pavilion on Sunday.

Dustin Byfuglien scored the game-winner on a deep one-timer with 6:45 left in the third period, clinching a 2-1 victory that improved Chicago to 6-1 away from home this postseason.

The Sharks had five power plays to the Blackhawks’ none. But they only scored one power-play goal, on Jason Demers’ first goal of the postseason at 11:19 of the first period.

“The first period, that was the toughest challenge in a building with enthusiasm,” Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville said. “We had to kill three (penalties) in the first. Only down 1-0 in the first period, we probably felt fortunate. The second period represented how we have to play going forward.”

The ‘Hawks tied the game on a deep, on-the-fly wrister by Patrick Sharp at 7:44 of the second period. Niemi was the star, making several acrobatic saves among his 44 to keep the game close throughout.

Asked to rank his performance among the best in his career, Niemi simply called it “one of the best.”

There was some controversy in the final minute. Kris Versteeg was penalized for tripping with 56 seconds left, an infraction that clearly was committed by Dave Bolland. Bolland is one of Chicago’s best penalty killers; Versteeg is farther down the depth chart.

Even if it gave the ‘Hawks an advantage in the game’s critical moment, Sharks head coach Todd McLellan did his best to downplay it.

“We’ll talk about it, but that’s the breaks that happen within a game,” McLellan said. “What we couldn’t do was lose our marbles on the bench start yelling and screaming at the referees. Regardless … we had to beat a good team. If they erred, they erred. We can’t do anything about it.”

Evgeni Nabokov made 38 saves in the loss.

Game 2: at San Jose, 7 p.m. PST Tuesday (Versus, TSN, RDS)
 


Philadelphia 6, Montreal 0

It wouldn't be a playoff series for the Canadiens if they didn't fall behind early against a higher-seeded team. 

For the Flyers, Sunday's 6-0 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Finals was uncharted territory.

Philadelphia recorded its largest victory of the playoffs, getting goals from six different players and a 28-save shutout by Michael Leighton. Was the victory a carryover result from the Flyers' series-clinching win over the Boston Bruins two days earlier?

"Why not? It was huge win there in Boston," Leighton said. "We knew it was going to be a challenge this series, but we came out flying. Our first period was just OK, but we came out flying after that."

Braydon Coburn scored a power-play goal at 3:55 of the first period. James van Riemsdyk, Danny Briere and Simon Gagne scored in the second period, with Gagne's goal at the 9:53 mark chasing Canadiens goalie Jaroslav Halak, who stopped 10 of 14 shots.

Carey Price came in to stop 9 of 11 shots, allowing third-period goals to Scott Hartnell and Claude Giroux.

Canadiens head coach Jacques Martin said "we didn't play a team game. We played an individual game, and you can't be successful that way."

Added Hal Gill, "I don't think we gave ourselves a chance tonight."

Game 2: at Philadelphia, 4 p.m. EST Tuesday (Versus, CBC, RDS)

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Last Updated on Monday, May 17, 2010 00:56