Mattie T’s Game 2 Recap of the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals
Written by The Go-To-Man Mattie T. on June 1, 2010
After a shaky performance in Saturday’s opener, Antti Niemi rebounded in a big way with 33 saves (14 in 3rd period), in Game 2 as the Chicago Blackhawks scored a pair of 2nd period goals in 26 seconds to win 2-1 over the Philadelphia Flyers.
The Blackhawks haven’t nearly played their best hockey yet with both Jonathan Kane & Patrick Toews held pointless, but are heading to the Spectrum halfway home to their first Stanley Cup title in 49 years.
Teammate Patrick Sharp noted that Chicago doesn’t need Kane & Toews to score if all four lines are doing their jobs effectively:
“They (Kane & Toews) do so much more for us than put pucks in the net. It doesn’t concern us. We’ve said all playoffs long, we don’t care who scores the goals as long as we get the wins. We have four lines that can contribute offensively and that’s why we’re here.”
The Blackhawks will try to make NHL History with an 8th straight postseason road win on Wednesday, which will be on the line against a Flyers team that has won 7 of their last 8 home playoff games.
Chicago isn’t satisfied with a 2-0 series lead, even though history is on their side. Teams that have won the first two games in the Stanley Cup Finals are a combined 31-2, with the 1971 Blackhawks & 2009 Red Wings being the only two clubs that blew a two-game lead.
The Blackhawks want to make sure they won’t be the 3rd team on that list, as the series shifts to Philadelphia for Wednesday’s Game 3.
