Stanley Cup Final Notebook, June 8: Twittering With Leighton Decision

FanHouse's Christopher Botta and A.J. Perez are on the road with the Blackhawks and Flyers, following every development of the Stanley Cup Finals, posting news and notes in this space.

The Flyers created some confusion -- or was it misdirection? -- of their own with a supposedly premature goaltending announcement on Tuesday. While head coach Peter Laviolette was at his post-practice press conference declining to name his starting goaltender for Game 6, the Flyers' official Twitter feed announced Michael Leighton as the starter. When it was brought to the attention of Philadelphia's PR staff, the team said a mistake had been made and the post was deleted from the Flyers' Twitter account.

Nevertheless, all signs point to Leighton, who is 6-0 at home in the 2010 playoffs. "I'm very confident in Michael," Laviolette said, without naming him as starter. "He's played excellent in the playoffs. His home numbers are terrific."

Blackhawks lead series, 3-2
Blackhawks vs. Flyers Series Page

-- In a bit of a surprise -- clearly, he didn't get Laviolette's memo of secrecy -- Flyers forward Simon Gagne indicated that he didn't expect to see a shakeup of his team's forward combinations. Like the line of Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Dustin Byfuglien (broken up with positive results in Game 5), Philadelphia's line of Gagne, Mike Richards and Jeff Carter has struggled.

"I think we like the lines we have right now," said Gagne. "My line with Cartsie and Richie, we need to create more offensively. Try to maybe get a lucky goal or something. Work a little bit harder. We could be the difference in the game (Wednesday)."

-- In his latest comedy routine, Chris Pronger was asked by a writer, besides his own play, what else needed to improve for the Flyers for Game 6. "Well, let's fix your hair first," said Pronger.

-- Laviolette was asked about the pain associated with losing a big game, as his Flyers did in Chicago on Sunday. The coach drew a comparison to when he coached the Carolina Hurricanes to the Stanley Cup in 2006. The Canes lost Game 6 in Edmonton. "It was nauseating," said Laviolette. "I went back to the hotel room in Edmonton and I almost threw up."

-- The Blackhawks traveled to Philadelphia on Tuesday afternoon after practice in Chicago in the morning. The team was not available to the media in Chicago. Late Tuesday, the franchise made only head coach Joel Quenneville and players Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Tomas Kopecky, John Madden and Andrew Ladd available in a press conference format. Somewhat surprisingly -- in a sport and league known for its player access -- top Blackhawks like Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Antti Niemi have not been available for comment for the last two days.

-- Sharp, a former Flyer, was asked about the unique, extremely laid-back personality of Keith, the Norris Trophy finalist. "I remember being traded here and thinking what a weird guy Duncan Keith was." Said Toews of Keith, "He's got a different personality, but we're very lucky to have him."