It was a nail bitter, it was a game that had me on the edge of a seat in the bar for two periods and then after hurrying home, on the edge of my sofa for the final frame and then short period of overtime before Chicago buried the winner that broke the dreams of all Flyers fans as the Chicago Blackhawks won their first Stanley Cup in 49 years snapping the longest cup drought in the NHL … that honor now belongs to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

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A thumping. That’s what I’d call it. The kind of game you wish had never taken place or at the very least you hadn’t watched it. But I did. I watched the entire thing, unable to turn away as the Flyers teased me with the little hope that they might yet get into the game before Chicago stretched the elastic one more and pulled clear. That was the tale of the tape … Chicago would dominate play, score a handful of goals only for the Flyers to claw a few back to move within two of tieing the game only for Chicago to once again open the gap. In and out the gap went but never close enough for the Flyers to level it and now they find themselves 3-2 down on the series with the Chicago Blackhawks one win away from lifting the Stanley Cup.

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You don’t always have to deserve your win. So long as you win, that is sometimes enough.

Tonight the Flyers won 4-3 … they lead 4-1 at one point … but while Chicago were the better team throughout the game the Flyers defence, who were rock solid at times, did enough to allow the team to hold on for a much needed victory. The series is now split at two and means we now have a three game series, with two games in Chicago to decide the cup. I said before the game that whoever won tonight’s game would win the cup and I stick by that … ever since the lockout, the team that won game four went on to win the cup every single time. The Flyers have clawed their way back from a 2-0 deficit to level the series with back-to-back wins and will head into Chicago with momentum on their side and a real belief that they can beat this Chicago team.

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Game four tonight goes in Philadelphia at 8 p.m. and in a way you could almost call it a must win game for Philadelphia again. Lose tonight and they go 3-1 down heading to Chicago and against this Chicago team you’ have to favor them to get the job done. Win though and the series is tied, Philly have the momentum and suddenly Chicago are on the ropes heading home trying to get their game in order. Game four is such a pivotal game in this series and while I said the winner of game three would win the series I really mean it about the winner of game four. It’s been a fascinating series so far with so much drama both on and off the ice.

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Well it wasn’t the ideal start to the Stanley Cup final for the Flyers and in many ways it wasn’t ideal for either team though Chicago will be happy to have come away with the victory after an ugly display in defense by both teams. After helping to carry their respective teams to the cup finals both goalies, Anti Niemi (Chicago) and Michael Leighton (Philadelphia), looked human as both teams forwards poured in the goals in a back and forth game that finally settled in favour of Chicago 6-5.

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Well I got 50% in the conference finals but I did predict the Flyers in five exactly right so it wasn’t too bad. So here we are, a final that perhaps not everyone expected but one that everyone will be excited about. This matchup is going to be a classic so without further ado here is my thoughts on who is going to win it:
(Note: As a Flyers fan it’s probably obvious who I’m going to back!)

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The Philadelphia Flyers today made it all the way to the Stanley Cup finals with a 4-2 victory over Montreal to eliminate the Canadiens in five games. The Flyers will now face the young and speedy Chicago Blackhawks with the hope of winning their third cup in team history. On winning tonight’s game the Flyers young captain Mike Richards lifted the Price of Wales trophy for winning the Eastern Conference final and skated with it. There is a big deal in hockey about lifting the Eastern or Western final trophy when the big prize is still to come and some people believe it is bad luck to even touch the respective trophy with the Stanley Cup to come. I don’t believe in that nonsense and believe that if you truly think that touching this trophy might effect your mental game going into the Stanley Cup then you shouldn’t be playing for the Stanley Cup anyway. On top of all that, it’s a lovely looking trophy and it’s only right to be proud of the effort so far. Besides, Sidney Crosby lifted it last year with Pittsburgh and they won the cup so Mike Richards was only following suit.

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