June 2010 Archives

* The Blackhawks beat the Flyers, 7-4, on Sunday and are now one victory away from winning their first Stanley Cup since 1961. Including twice during the 2010 playoffs (vs. Nashville and Vancouver), Chicago has won 12 straight series when leading 3-2 (16-3 all-time).

* Philadelphia has a best-of-7 series record of 2-13 all-time when trailing three games to two (wins in 1989 vs. Pittsburgh and 2010 vs. Boston). The Flyers are 4-0 when facing elimination in the 2010 playoffs.
* Chicago is 3-for-7 (42.9 percent) with the man-advantage in its last two tilts after going 0-for-6 vs. in the first three games of the 2010 SC Final. The Blackhawks have clicked on 28.9 percent (11-for-38) of their power-play opportunities on the road during the 2010 postseason.  
* The Flyers have won seven straight and 11 of their last 12 home games dating to the regular season, outscoring opponents by a combined 42-24 in the process. Philadelphia has never recorded 10 home victories in a single postseason (9-1 record this season).
* With two goals and two helpers in Game 5, Dustin Byfuglien recorded his first career 4-point game in the playoffs on Sunday. Byfuglien is now tied with Patrick Sharp for the team-lead in goals during the 2010 playoffs (10), with five of those tallies being game-winners for the Blackhawks.
* Danny Briere had two assists in Game 5 and now has nine points (2g, 7a) in this series - most of any player. Briere leads all Flyers with 27 points (11g, 16a) during the 2010 playoffs and needs one more point to tie Brian Propp (1987) for the most of any Philadelphia skater in a single postseason all-time.
* Including the 2010 playoffs, Philadelphia has beaten Chicago 10 straight times at home and hasn't dropped a game to the Blackhawks on home ice in over 13 years (since November 9, 1996).

CHICAGO (AP) Chris Pronger and Philadelphia's stiff defense suddenly went soft, and the Flyers are facing elimination.

After pushing Dustin Byfuglien and the Chicago Blackhawks around for the better part of the Stanley Cup finals, Pronger and his blue line mates ran out of steam in the 7-4 loss on Sunday night.

The NHL postseason leader in scoring among defensemen with four goals and 13 assists entering this game, Pronger has been squarely in the Conn Smythe Trophy discussion for the MVP of the playoffs if the Flyers can win the Cup for the first time since 1975. He had a plus-7 rating over the first four games, and he averaged more than 29 minutes of ice time per game...

Read the whole article.

* The Blackhawks are 4-7 all-time on the road in Game 4's when leading a best-of-seven series 2-1 after three games, although they beat the Canucks on the road in Game 4 in this year's Western Conference semifinals.
* The Flyers have won four of their last five Game 4's when trailing a best-of-seven series 2-1, although they came back to win only one of those series (2003 Eastern Conference quarterfinals vs. Toronto).
* Each of the first three games of this series has been decided by one goal. The last Stanley Cup finals to have each of its first four games decided by one goal was in 1968 (Montreal swept St. Louis, 4-0, in four one-goal games).
* Philadelphia's Game 3 win ended its seven-game losing streak in Stanley Cup finals games. Their last Stanley Cup finals win prior to Game 3 was in Game 6 of the 1987 Stanley Cup finals (vs. Edmonton).
* Chicago also snapped its seven-game road winning streak in Game 3. The Blackhawks are now 25-4-3 on the road this season when scoring at least three goals (regular season & postseason).

* Jonathan Toews is now the fourth player all-time to record 20-plus assists in a single postseason under the age of 23 (1983 Wayne Gretzky, Edm - 26a, 2008 Sidney Crosby, Pit - 21a, 2009 Evgeni Malkin, Pit - 22a).
* Ville Leino's 15 points are the most by a rookie in a single postseason since Jeremy Roenick recorded 18 points for the Blackhawks in 1990.

* With two second-period goals in a 28-second span, the Blackhawks took Game 2 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, 2-1, Monday and have now won seven straight games overall. Four of Chicago's wins during its current streak have been by a single tally.

* Including its win over the Bruins in the Conference Semis, Philadelphia is 3-12 all-time when trailing a best-of-7 series 0-2.  Just four teams have ever recovered from a 0-2 deficit to win the Cup: 2009 Penguins (vs. Det), 1971 Canadiens (vs. Chi), 1966 Canadiens (vs. Det) and 1942 Maple Leafs (vs. Det).
* Former Flyer, Ben Eager lit the lamp for the first time in the 2010 playoffs on Monday and it ended up being the game-winner for the Blackhawks. Dating to February 19, 2009 and including the postseason, Chicago has won 11-straight games in which Eager has scored a goal.
* Chicago is currently riding a 7-game road winning streak - tied with the 1999 Avalanche for the longest single-postseason road win streak in NHL history. 
* The Blackhawks have scored at least one power-play goal in six of their eight road playoff games (10-for-32, 31.3%). Dating to the 2009 postseason, Chicago has lit the lamp with the man-advantage 21 times on the road - most of any NHL club.
* Simon Gagne scored the Flyers' lone Game-2 goal and has now lit the lamp eight times in his 11 games since returning from injury in Game 4 vs. Boston (Conference Semis) - most of any skater in the league since May 7.
* Including 11-straight series victories, Chicago boasts an all-time best-of-7 record of 12-2 after winning the first two games. The Blackhawks have swept eight of 14 best-of-7s all-time when taking a 2-0 series lead.