Sunday night, the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 7-4 to take a 3-2 series lead in the Stanley Cup finals. After letting up three goals in the first period, the Flyers put in backup goalie Brian Boucher to try to stop the bleeding. However, he had just as much failure as Leighton had.

So far, each game has been won by the home team. On Tuesday night, the series heads to Philadelphia, where the Flyers look to take back control.

Dustin Byfuglien tallied two goals and two assists for Chicago. For Philadelphia, Chris Pronger had a +/- of –5, which is the worst of his career, counting both playoffs and the regular season.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

I’ll be the first person to admit that I’m not the biggest hockey fan. I can name all of the best players, but I don’t really have a favorite team and I don’t go out of my way to watch regular season games. Once the playoffs start, however, that’s a different story and last night was no exception.

I got home and turned on the TV, expecting to find Game 3 of the finals between the Flyers and the Blackhawks on NBC. Imagine my surprise, then, when I had to turn on Versus to watch the game. Although this wasn’t a huge problem for me, because my cable package includes the channel, I can’t imagine how many casual fans like myself weren’t able to watch a game they otherwise would have wanted to.

While the first two games were on NBC, where they were accessible to everyone, I can’t understand why the NHL allowed a primetime game in its biggest series of the years to be bumped to Versus so NBC could put on a re-run of one of its series. If that type of things happens in the future, then I think it might be time for the NHL to either find a new broadcaster, or to re-negotiate with NBC.

by Nathan Eagan at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Entering Wednesday night, the Philadelphia Flyers found themselves in a 2-0 series deficit against the Chicago Blackhawks. While the Flyers became the third team in history to come back from a 3-0 series lead just two rounds ago, losing game three would have essentially sealed the Stanley Cup going to Chicago.

With the game all tied up, Patrick Kane scored quickly in the third period, which sent the Philadelphia crowd into panic. However, Ville Leino answered a mere 20 seconds later, sending the crowd into a frenzy. In overtime, it looked as if Simon Gagne won the game for the Flyers. With the red light on and the players celebrating, the puck never crossed the line, and thus the potential game-winning goal was taken away. With the Philadelphia crowd in a nervous state, Claude Giroux sent that nervousness away when he scored in overtime, which gave the Flyers a 4-3 victory.

Now down 2-1 in the series, Philadelphia looks to even it up. If they do not, Chicago is in serious command.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

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For years, the National Hockey League has been searching for answers. While there are many hardcore hockey fans, unfortunately, the casual fans are decreasing as time goes on. Only a few games a year get respectable television ratings. Simply, the answer to their problem is Versus. This year, it looks as if the Stanley Cup is going to feature Chicago and Philadelphia; two big sports markets. However, this will not really do anything for the NHL. On May 24th, the Flyers have a chance to win the Eastern Conference Championship. Is the game on a legitimate television network? No, it is not on regular cable, which is a complete joke. The NHL continues to dig themselves into a hole, and Versus is a big reason. It is impossible to garner the interest of fans when they cannot even watch the league’s games. The NBA (except for this year, because Lakers-Celtics has a great chance of happening), NFL, and MLB would be more than happy with the idea of Philadelphia vs. Chicago. But for the NHL, it won’t change anything, if nobody can even watch it.

by David at the Sports Fan Blog Network

Johan Franzen doubled his previous playoff scoring total in one game.

Perfect timing for the Detroit Red Wings.

Franzen had a natural hat trick in a 3:26 span of the first period, scored a fourth goal in the third and set a team playoff record with six points as Detroit stayed alive with a 7-1 rout of the San Jose Sharks on Thursday night in Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals.

“Hopefully, I can get some confidence and the team can get some confidence,” Franzen said. “I’ve been struggling on the goal-scoring side.”

Franzen had just two goals in the first 10 playoff games. The burly forward known as “Mule” scored 25 times the previous two postseasons for the two-time defending Western Conference champions.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Too many men on the ice — a painful reminder of franchise futility for a generation of Bruins and their fans — is finally a reason to celebrate in Boston.

Miroslav Satan scored a power-play goal after Buffalo was called for having too many men on the ice in the second extra period, and the Bruins beat the Sabres 3-2 at 27:41 of overtime on Wednesday night to take a 3-1 lead in the first-round series.

“Finally, it’s over,” said an exhausted Satan, who was stopped by Olympic MVP Ryan Miller in the first overtime on what seemed like such a sure goal that the scoreboard operator even sounded the horn. “We have a 3-1 lead, so it’s a little more breathing space, but the whole series has been good hockey from both sides and great goaltending, and we know that’s not going to change.”

The Bruins rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the third period to force overtime, and it was still 2-2 when in the second OT when Drew Stafford was caught on the ice as a sixth skater and was unable to scramble back to the bench in time to avoid a penalty. There were just 9 seconds left in the power play when Satan got a pass from Michael Ryder in front of the net and put it past Miller.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals, and maybe even Montreal’s inability to score more goals in a dominant second period, drove Canadiens goalie Carey Price to a couple of piques of frustration.

Ovechkin scored his second goal of the game with 8:51 left, sending Washington to a 6-3 victory Wednesday night and a 3-1 lead in the Eastern Conference series.

Ovechkin opened the scoring at 8:10 of the first period with the Capitals’ first power-play goal of the series. Mike Knuble tied it at 2 with Washington’s second short-handed goal in two games with 6.3 seconds left in the second.

Boyd Gordon, who returned to the lineup to score a key short-handed goal in Game 3 after being a healthy scratch, set up Knuble on a 2-on-1 to draw the Capitals even despite being outshot 33-18 to that point.

Click here to read the full article – By Associated Press of ESPN.com

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Brian Campbell is listed as a game-time decision Thursday for Game 4 against the Nashville Predators.

It is possibly paving the way for Campbell’s first action since March 14, when he was hit by Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin.

Campbell suffered a fractured clavicle and rib in that collision, which cost the Washington Capitals’ star a two-game suspension, handed down by the league.

The Predators own a 2-1 series lead, and Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville was asked whether trailing in the series dictates Campbell’s return.

“It’s a good question,” he said Thursday morning. “It’s tough to measure something like that.

“When you’re ready to play, you’re ready to play. When you talk to players that have been out for a while, they know their body, they know when they’re ready. We’ll see.”

Click here to read the full article – By Jesse Rogers of ESPNChicago.com

Marc Savard is one step closer to returning to the Bruins’ lineup.

Tthe Bruins forward passed his neuro-psyche test Tuesday afternoon and has been cleared to rejoin the team. He has skated on his own the last two days and now he’ll be able to continue his conditioning with the rest of his team. It is still unclear when he’ll be able to return to game action. It’s likely the Bruins will be cautious in deciding a timetable for his comeback.

“I have to be realistic here, and when I’m 100 percent condition-wise and mentally positive I can do this, I’ll be ready to go,” Savard said.

During his twirl on the ice Tuesday morning, Savard was able to work on stops and starts and said he felt pretty good.

The neurological test was done on a computer and consisted of choosing the right numbers and colors when asked, according to Savard.

Click here to read the full article – By Joe McDonald of ESPNBoston.com