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

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

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

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

Antti Niemi’s mind was clear and his game was sharp. It was just what the Chicago Blackhawks needed to even up their first-round series with the Nashville Predators

“I just wanted to get ready like every other game. I didn’t want to think about too much,” Niemi said after making 23 saves in his second career playoff game to help the Blackhawks beat the Predators 2-0 on Sunday night.

Niemi, a rookie, didn’t dwell on his first playoff game two nights earlier when he gave up two goals, one on a bouncing puck in a 4-1 loss in the series opener. That loss put Sunday night’s game into the must-win category for the Blackhawks with Games 3 and 4 in the Western Conference series slated for Nashville on Tuesday and Thursday.

“You don’t want to focus on, ‘This is a big game.’ You want it to be like every other,” Niemi said.

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

Blackhawks center Dave Bolland underwent successful surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back, according to the team, and he will be out several months.


“Dave underwent minimally invasive surgery today for a herniated disk,” team physician Michael Terry said. “The surgery went well, and we anticipate a full recovery. He should be back in 12 to 16 weeks.”

The surgery was performed by Dr. Richard Fessler at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Bolland last played on Nov. 5 in Phoenix, and he’s been battling back problems since last season. He also missed one other game this year due to back “maintenance.”

Bolland signed a five-year contract this summer and was expected to be the second-line center. He also was thought to be Marian Hossa’s center when he returned from injury. Instead, Quenneville said he will fill Bolland’s role by “committee.” Bolland had two goals and four assists in 13 games.

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

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