Now we have an NHL Finals.  The Flyers were able to hold the line in order to take a massive 5-3 win and tie up the series at 2-2.

This series has gone back and forth between the two teams as far as goal scoring goes, so Philly fans must have been very excited when the Flyers suddenly found themselves two points ahead to safely secure their second consecutive victory.  Once again they started things off with the first goal of the game, and once again it was thanks to the one-man advantage.  Mike Richards tipped one in on the power play at the 4:35 mark.  It was followed up by a second goal for Philly by Matt Carle.  They had a 2-0 lead on the Blackhawks for the first time in these Stanley Cup Finals.  Patrick Sharp, assisted by Duncan Keith, managed to slap one in for Chicago to narrow the gap, but Claude Giroux answered back with yet another goal for the Flyers less than a minute later.  The first period finished out with the Flyers up 3-1.

The defense heated up for the second period as both teams when scoreless through the entire 20 minutes, but Chicago was determined to fire back in this Game 4.  They hit the ice hard in the third period, picked up two goals within three minutes, but it was too little too late.  Philladelphia had already picked up yet another goal from Ville Leino at the start of the third, and sealed the deal with an empty net goal from Jeff Carter.

This two in a row victory for Philladephia doesn’t bode well for Chicago, especially when you consider that the team that has won Game 4 has gone on to hoist Lord Stanley’s Cup for the past 24 out of 27 years.  So, are we looking at the first Stanley Cup win for Philly in 30 years?  Well, if they can keep playing with this superb offense complete with an extremely dangerous forecheck, their chances look good.  But the main question now is: what in the heck is going on with Chicago?

The Blackhawks began showing weakness in the third period of Game 2, and have definitely been looking out of sorts since leaving the home ice.  Though their entire game was plagued with mistakes, one of the biggest was their time spent in the penalty box.  All up, they gave Philadelphia 14 full minutes with the one-man advantage, which is something they’ve proven they know how to take advantage of.  If they can cut down their penalty minutes in Game 5, it will go a long way in keeping them in this series.

Another killer for Chicago has been their inability to control the defensive zone and turning over the puck.  Philadelphia has been able to move the puck freely around the Chicago defense, finding open players in front of the net to put away goals.  Giroux’s goal in the first was a perfect example of this.  Defenseman Kimmo Timmonen spotted Giroux behind Chicago goalie Antti Neimi, who was already swamped at the net.  Chicago will need to get their defense firing on all cylinders again if they want to get back into this game.  Pushing the Philly forecheck to the perimeters of the defensive zone will give Neimi a better view of the play and allow him time to prepare should a shot be taken.

Overall, Chicago just needs to tighten up.  I think a game on the home ice will see a whole different team in Game 5.  At least I hope so, otherwise Philly has this series sewn up.  Game 5 has the series back in Chicago on Sunday, June 6 and BetUS is offering the following odds:

Puck Line
Flyers: +1 ½ -190
Blackhawks: -1 ½ +160
Moneyline
Flyers: +165
Blackhawks: -200

Don’t forget that BetUS is also offering live betting on all of the Stanley Cup Finals.

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