Blackhawks vs Flyers: Hawks just one game away from glory
Returning to familiar surroundings the Chicago Blackhawks gave their fans some stress relief by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 7-4 in the Stanley Cup finals game five.
Led by Dustin Byfuglien, the Blackhawks are now just one game away from winning their first Stanley Cup in nearly 50 years. Byfuglien’s performance comes after he and Patrick Kane were bumped from the first line, but with two goals and two assists Byfuglien won’t mind what line he’s on.
"Getting down there two games in their building, we had to come back with some fire and get on them and show them we weren't going to quit. Right from the get-go we moved our feet and were physical,” Byfuglien said.
After losing both games in Philadelphia the Blackhawks had to change things around and splitting up the line that included Byfuglien, Kane and captain Jonathan Toews was the answer.
"We had to change things up. We didn't really have time to sit and think about who we were playing with. It was kind of like the last second," Byfuglien said.
"All year we've mixed the lines around, and everyone has really played with everyone. So it wasn't a real big thing. It was just going out there and playing together as a team and moving our feet and doing the right things."
Chicago raced into a 3-0 lead in the first period, helped by Byfuglien’s two assists, and from there on the Flyers were in a hole too deep to get out. Brent Seabrook, Dave Bolland and Kris Versteeg got the goals to in essence put the Flyers on the brink.
The Flyers have, however, been in a bigger hole than this. After being 3-0 down against the Boston Bruins in the Eastern Conference semi-finals, Philadelphia rallied back to win the series 4-3 and as they have shown in the finals, home-ice advantage is huge.
"We've got to go back home now and start all over," Flyers forward Ville Leino said.
"I think we were ready. We were a little too ready. I think we were a little nervous. Nobody wanted the puck. We didn't make plays. We were just giving it to the net. We've got to be smarter and work harder."
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