Game 3: Philadelphia
It looks like Philly is finally starting to find their feet in these Stanley Cup Finals. Maybe it was the sea of neon orange blinding the Blackhawks in the Wachovia Center. Or maybe it was the unwavering support coming from the uproarious Flyers’ fans, but it looks like a little of that famed ‘brotherly love’ was all they needed to get it back together.
The pressure was most certainly on going into this Game 3. They might have been able to overcome a three game deficit against Boston but to do it twice in the same playoffs is unheard of, which is exactly what they would have had to do if they had lost this game. For the first time in this series, they started things off right by taking the first goal of the game. Chicago’s Marion Hossa took a two-minute penalty for slashing, and Philly’s Danny Briere took a wrist shot goal on the power play. Chicago wasn’t about to let them run away with a win as they evened up the score with a goal from Duncan Keith assisted by Patrick Kane and Hossa.
This was basically how the game went, back and forth with one team slapping in a goal to take the lead and the other quickly answering back. Philly’s Scott Hartnell took another power play goal to put it at 2-1, but Brent Sopel tied it up for Chicago at the end of the second. Patrick Kane opened the third with a goal to put Chicago up 3-2, but Ville Leino put one away for Philly about 20 seconds later to tie things up and send the game into overtime. The hockey gods were smiling upon Philly in Game 3 as Claude Giroux had nearly every person in Wachovia Center on their feet at the 5:59 mark with the game-winning goal. Philadelphia took the 4-3 victory to put the series at 2-1.
The Flyers may have dodged a big bullet by taking Game 3, but the pressure is still on for Game 4. Their game has markedly improved since Game 1, but they can’t let up. One thing that has been saving games for them has been their consistently good forechecking attack. It’s definitely something that I’ve talked about here on this blog. Game 3 saw players like Briere, Scott Hartnell, and Leino utilizing this attack perfectly, which had successful results. Game 4 will need to see them continue to put the pressure on the Blackhawks defense by getting their forwards to continually pound that offensive zone.
Chris Pronger has been fantastic on defense throughout the series. U Unfortunately he was about the only one putting in the effort in the first couple of games. Game 3 saw a much more cohesive and consistent backline for Philadelphia. Kimmo Timonen, Braydon Coburn, and Matt Carle were all monsters in the defensive zone, controlling the Chicago forwards and wearing them down one hit at a time. They’ll need to continue with this dominating defense if they want to take out Game 4. Michael Leighton is finally finding his feet in this series, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. If the goalie can continue to make those important saves, Philadelphia may just be able to pull through in Game 4.
Chicago, on the other hand, seems to be slipping a little. Maybe they were getting too comfortable with their two game lead in the series and got lazy in Game 3, but the sloppy defense and lack of forechcking are the main reasons why these guys aren’t looking at a sweep of their opponents. They allowed 32 shots on goal, 15 of those were in the third period alone. Antti Neiemi has been a god in the net so far, but he can’t win games on his own. If the defense doesn’t do their part to push the powerful Flyer forwards to the perimeters, they’re going to take full advantage. The third period of Game 2 and 3 were prime examples of this.
Game 4 is on Friday, June 4 and will be staying in Philly. BetUS is offering the following odds:
Puck Line
Blackhawks: +1 ½ -270
Flyers: -1 ½ +230
Moneyline
Blackhawks: -105
Flyers: -115
They are also offering the following odds on who will win the series:
Flyers: +275
Blackhawks: -375
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