It was somewhat of a strange Game 1 as both of these teams under performed in nearly all aspects.  Nevertheless, the Chicago Blackhawks managed to score just one more point than the Philadelphia Flyers in their 6-5 victory that puts the series at 1-0 in favor of the ‘Hawks.  Though the high scoring affair was anything but pretty, it was certainly fun for the fans to watch and resulted in the highest scoring first period in the Stanley Cup Finals in 28 years.

Perhaps one of the biggest surprises was the near complete lack of defense from these two teams that have been touted for their awesome defensive prowess.  Let’s start with Philly goalie Michael Leighton.  He gave up a massive five goals on 20 shots in the first 35 minutes of the game.  What?!  This is the same guy that performed so well through round two of the playoffs and gathered up an unprecedented three playoff shutouts in round three.  Coach Peter Laviolette had no choice but to pull Leighton and replace him with the always-reliable Brian Boucher.

On the other side of the ice, Antti Neimi wasn’t that much better.  He struggled through most of the game.  In fact, the first two periods were his downfall as this was when he gave up all five goals.  Though, it looked like he had his stuff together by the third as he came out to make some very impressive saves, going 6 for 6 to keep Chicago in the lead.

Though, the goalies are not all to blame for all of the goals.  These two teams have a couple of the strongest backlines.  Though, it looks like a few days off has caused them to forget how to control the defensive zone.  Philly defenders such as Chris Pronger and Kimmo Timonen found out the depth of the Chicago offense and struggled to keep them at the perimeter.  The result was a barrage of shots on net.  Likewise, Chicago muscle Brian Campbell, Duncan Keith, and Brent Seabrook fell victim to the Philly forecheck, which made minding the net that much more difficult for Niemi.

Though it wasn’t just the lack of defense that made this one heck of an interesting game.  The traditional high scoring talent was also lacking, resulting in a slew of goals from 10 different players none of which came from the first line.  In fact, Chicagos’ top line featuring Jonathan Toews, Dustin Byfuglien, and Partick Kane took zero points and finished off at minus-9.  Philly’s top line of Mike Richards, Simon Gagne, and Jeff Carter also posted no goals and was minus-7.  While the depth of the Chicago offense has the potential to carry them through these playoffs if the first line continues to struggle, Philly isn’t quite as lucky.  They need to see more from their top players if they want to even this series out in the next game.

Game 2 is in Chicago, which will make things even more difficult for Philly.  BetUS is offering the following odds:

Puck Line
Flyers: +1 ½ -175
Blackhawks: -1 ½ +155
Moneyline
Flyers: +165
Blackhawks: -200

Check it out before the game gets underway on Monday, May 31.

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