[/caption]Well, fancy meeting you here.
The Chicago Blackhawks, denied an NHL title since 1961, and the Philadelphia Flyers, who needed an overtime shootout to even make the playoffs, will meet on Saturday in the first game of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals. It’s an unlikely pair that will crown an unlikely champion.
The Blackhawks have been successful, to be sure: They entered the playoffs as the #2 seed in the West and Central Division champions. But their season normally ends before now; the team hadn’t reached the Finals since the 1991-1992 season. They overcame history and lived up to their potential this season, and the pressure of a city hungry for a championship will only get bigger as they stand just four wins shy of that goal.
The Flyers have taken a different path to the Finals, and it almost had them missing the playoffs entirely. On the last game of the season, they defeated the New York Rangers in a shootout to qualify. That victory gave them the #7 seed, and a victory over the New Jersey Devils in the first round had them in the Conference Semifinals against the Boston Bruins.
Then they fell behind 3-0 in the series and it was over…except it wasn’t. The Flyers won the next three games and forced a game 7 in Boston. Then they fell behind 3-0 in that game and it was over…except it wasn’t. In the most improbable of comebacks, the Flyers scored the final four goals and advanced to the Conference Finals.
Neither team had much trouble dispatching their opponents in that round. The Blackhawks swept the San Jose Sharks and the Flyers sent the Montreal Canadiens packing in five games. And now they’ll face each other to cap an amazing playoff run.
For the Blackhawks, it’s a chance to not only win a Stanley Cup game (which they haven’t done since 1961, since they were swept in their last Finals appearance), but claim their fourth title in team history. For an Original Six team that began playing back in 1926, that’s not an impressive pedigree. The pressure is on to deliver a title, and everyone in Chicago knows it.
For the Flyers, it’s a chance to finish an amazing season with the ultimate victory, but they can also exorcize some demons of the past. Since beginning play in 1967 they have just two titles—earned in 1974 and 1975. This season didn’t seem like a good opportunity to earn number three, but they have just one opponent between them and Lord Stanley’s Cup.
Chicago might have the stronger team on paper, but as Philadelphia has shown, hockey games aren’t played on paper. Both teams will be fighting nerves, history and a motivated opponent across the ice. Fans get to sit back and enjoy the results, and see an unlikely champion crowned in 2010.
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