Stanley Cup Finals: Game 6 Preview

It will be 49 years in the making for the Chicago Blackhawks as they head to the Wachovia Center Wednesday night to take on the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals. For the Flyers, it will take nothing short of a miracle to hold off the Blackhawks, who came out firing in Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the series.


For those of you who have been too busy with the NBA Finals, let me bring you up to speed. The Chicago Blackhawks roster consists of young electrifying players who, for some, are getting their first taste of playoff hockey. Led by captain Jonathan Toews, the youngest captain in the NHL at 22 years of age, the Blackhawks will need to fight for every puck against the rough and rowdy Philadelphia Flyers. The Flyers, led by captain Mike Richards, will look to continue their hard-nosed style of hockey with their veteran defenseman, Chris Pronger, leading the charge.


Keys to Wednesday's matchup:


Chicago Blackhawks:

1. Captain Toews is going to need to step and get more involved in the scoring. He has a mere 2 points through 5 games this series.
2. Dustin Byfuglien v. Chris Pronger...need I say more? If anyone has watched any of this series you will know what I'm talking about. Big Buff will need to continue to make his presence felt in front of the net, despite Pronger's best efforts to just clean house.
3. Has anyone seen Marian Hossa lately? He's a boss through the neutral zone. He's winning pucks down low and just playing with a reckless abandonment. I love it.
4. Annti Niemi. The Flyers like to shoot from the point a lot and scoop up the rebounds. Niemi is going to need to control his rebounds a lot more if he wants to keep the Flyers from racking up the points.

Philadelphia Flyers:

1. A huge factor this series has been home ice. Each team has won at their own respective arena and this could be a huge factor when the Flyers get a momentum swing.
2. Danny Briere. The guy had 54 points all regular season. He has 27 points throughout the playoffs. The guy just lives for playoff hockey.
3. Chris Pronger and Scott Hartnell. As much as you despise them, you gotta admit they bring their A game when it comes to the playoffs. Not to mention, their physicality.
4. Leighton or Boucher? Leighton has been nothing short of spectacular when he took over for Boucher when he went down. But his goals against average this series is over 4. The Blackhawks have peppered him with shots. Boucher on the other hand has played a total of 64 minutes this series and has a 3.75 goals against average thus far. He came in during the latter half of game 5 and gave up 3 goals. If I were Peter Laviolette, but I'm not, I would go with Leighton.

If game 6 of the Stanley Cup Finals is anything like game 5, then we are in for a treat. Each team has been playing tough and it is simply amazing to watch. Watch Wednesday night as the Blackhawks look to close out the series against the Flyers at 8:00 pm on NBC.