Blackhawks Win Stanley Cup in Overtime, End 49-Year Drought

PHILADELPHIA -- For the first time since 1961, the Chicago Blackhawks are Stanley Cup champions. A championship-winning goal by Patrick Kane four minutes into overtime cements the place of this young, skilled and dynamic team in the front of the history books of the Original Six franchise.

Stan Mikita, Bobby Hull, Pierre Pilote and Glenn Hall are now joined by Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith and Antti Niemi as hockey heroes on Madison St.

When the new NHL champions could have sagged after Scott Hartnell tied the game at 3-3 for the Flyers with 4:01 remaining in regulation, the Blackhawks got off the mat as they have throughout the nine-month season. But Kane's short-side goal on Michael Leighton won the championship in unique fashion. Before the referees checked the replay, Kane seemed to be the only player in the arena who knew he scored.

"I just tried to hold on to the puck and shoot it toward the net," said Kane. "I don't think anybody knew it went in except me."

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"I had no clue," Flyers forward Danny Briere said. "All of a sudden I see a few guys jumping on the ice. I thought, 'That can't be it. You can't win a Stanley Cup when you aren't sure if you won it or not.'"

"When they scored to tie the game, we were pretty deflated. But when we went back to the room before overtime, we knew it was time to get back to work."
-- Patrick Kane "We never stopped working," said Dustin Byfuglien. "That's been the story of this team for the entire season. I'm so proud of these guys. I'm so proud of what we accomplished together."

Credit Niemi also with a Stanley Cup-saving stop of Flyers forward Jeff Carter with two minutes left to send the game into overtime.

"When they scored to tie the game, we were pretty deflated," said Kane. "But when we went back to the room before overtime, we knew it was time to get back to work. This is just an incredible feeling."

Byfuglien opened the scoring from a familiar spot for him, his office in front of the opposition goal while on the power play. With nemesis Chris Pronger in the penalty box, the 6-foot-4 Byfuglien had all the room he needed at the top of the crease to chip home a pass from Toews at 16:49 of the first period.

Although Chicago out-shot Philadelphia in the first, 17-7, the teams entered their dressing rooms after the period tied when Hartnell scored a power play goal with 27 seconds left in the period. Still, the Flyers were not nearly as fast and sharp as the Blackhawks from the outset, and paid the price.

Briere gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead eight minutes into the second period when Keith got tied up with -- or was illegally picked by -- Hartnell, making a 3-on-2 a 3-on-1 when the Norris Trophy finalist crashed to the ice. Ville Leino set up Daniel Briere for a wrister past Niemi.

While the Flyers were the team countering with crucial bounce-back goals in victories in Games 3 and 4 at home, this time it was Chicago with a vital tying goal just under two minutes after Briere's tally. During 4-on-4 action, with the Flyers seconds from starting a power play, Patrick Sharp converted a Dave Bolland pass with a soft wrister through the pads of Leighton to tie the game at 2-2.

Andrew Ladd's goal at 17:43 of the third was symbolic of the Blackhawks' effort throughout the playoffs. It was another greasy goal, scored off a slap shot by Niklas Hjalmarsson. The goal was Ladd's third of the Final for the offensively-balanced Blackhawks, who received four goals from Sharp, Bolland with three and four players with two each.


"I don't know how to describe how this feels," said Blackhawks right wing Patrick Sharp. "The Flyers kept coming back. You can't give them enough credit. Somehow, I don't know how, we found a way to win. Patrick Kane is a special player. It's not surprising he scored the Cup-winning goal in an interesting way with a brilliant play."

Chicago became champions by playing like champions in a very heated and pressure-packed atmosphere before the fans of Philadelphia and against a worthy opponent.

When it was over, and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman presented the Stanley Cup to Toews, the Chicago captain promptly handed it over to Marian Hossa, who won the Cup in his third try after being on the losing end in successive Finals with Pittsburgh in 2008 and Detroit in 2009.

The Blackhawks will enter the 2010-11 NHL season as defending Stanley Cup champions and with a future that is the envy of the league. Captain Toews is just 22 years old, leading scorer Kane 21. Norris Trophy finalist Duncan Keith is 26 and signed for the next 12 years. Stanley Cup-winning goaltender Antti Niemi -- how do you like how that sounds? -- will be 27 when training camp opens in September. Chicago has a significant salary cap problem on its hands, but nobody will question whether all the spending was worth it.

"This is unbelievable," said Toews. "This is as good as it gets. It was meant to be. We believed in ourselves. We felt from the beginning of the season that we were meant to be here."

Prior to Game 3 in Philadelphia, Blackhawks veteran forward John Madden -- who won two Stanley Cups in New Jersey -- said Chicago was so efficient on the road because the coaching staff and players did not concern themselves with line matchups. They just went out and played.

In the biggest game of the year -- make that decades-- for the Blackhawks, Kane's overtime goal has given the city of Chicago its first Stanley Cup in 49 years.