Vol. I, No. 79
Philadelphia put one more shot on goal into tonight's game. Two days ago, the Flyers had 32 shots on goal. Tonight's game had 33 Philly shots on the Chicago goal.
It was not enough. Chicago netminder Anton Niemi had a "normal" stand-on-his-head game, and allowed only one goal. His record, for the past two games, is now 3 GAA. Leighton's record, in comparison, is 3.5 GAA. The series is not exactly a goaltender's dream.
Besides Niemi, Chicago has to thank Marian Hossa, who came through in the second period to break open a scoreless game. Hossa, who has missed two Stanley Cup rings in the last two years with Detroit (2009) and Pittsburgh (2008), may finally be getting close to the Lord Stanley jewelry store.
Chicago now leads the series 2-0. Teams which have won the first two home games have gone on to win this series 31 out of 33 times. The most recent exception was Pittsburgh, which lost the first two home games in last year's final.
If Philly looks forward to home ice advantage, they have to respect the Hawk's road game performance during these playoffs. Chicago was 7-3 on the road against their first opponents. If they keep up that performance, the Hawks will take one or two games on the road. All they need is two, to dance with Lord Stanley.
Nobody seems to want to comment about the poor goal tending in the Cup Finals. As one who has become spoiled by Brodeur's "stand-up" style, the "flop-down-and-swim-on-the-ice" style looked childish and ineffective.
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