Anyone who reads this blog knows by now what has happened in the NHL Eastern Conference. But I will repeat it anyway, for posterity, or in case any reader is living under a rock in Antarctica.
The Philadelphia Flyers, an improbable 7th seed, got into the 2010 playoffs with a last game of the season shootout win over the NY Rangers. The Flyers are now advancing to the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in 13 years. The Prince of Wales Cup stays in the state of Pennsylvania, only on the eastern side of the Appalachian mountains.
To get to this pinnacle, the Flyers went through the New Jersey Devils 4-1, the Boston Bruins 4-3 (in the most dramatic comeback in NHL history) and now, the Montreal Canadiens 4-1. Philadelphia's record is 12-5 over the past 17 games.
They will face the Chicago Blackhawks, who have not played for Lord Stanley since 1992 (18 years ago). The Hawks last Stanley Cup win was in 1961; that is 59 years ago. The Hawks have long been denied. Their record over the past 16 games is 12-4 (overcoming Nashville 4-2, Vancouver 4-2 and San Jose 4-0).
Conventional wisdom is that Chicago ought to have the upper hand. But Philadelphia's goaltending in the Montreal series was astounding, with a 0.959 save%. Michael Leighton is white hot. On the other hand, Chicago is arguably better than Montreal, Boston and the Devils.
The finals start on Saturday May 29th at 8pm. Chicago is the home team. If seven games are needed to resolve this contest, the last game will be in Chicago on June 11th.
Hockey Rules. Summer is around the corner.
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