When they won the first two games of the Stanley Cup finals, the Chicago Blackhawks were soaring. A trip to Philadelphia brought them back to reality in a hurry.
After two wins by the gritty Flyers on their home ice tied the series, the championship round is now a best-of-3.
For tonight's Game 5 back at the United Center, the Blackhawks know they have adjust -- to the Flyers' speed, to Philly's rugged defense led by veteran Chris Pronger, to their own inability to get scoring from their top players -- or risk losing what they've come this far to achieve.
Coach Joel Quenneville is expected to mix some lines, and Chicago's defense hopes to give goalie Antti Niemi more support against a balanced Flyers' attack that has shown to be the Blackhawks' equal.
To re-establish themselves, the Blackhawks know they can’t repeat their mistakes from Games 3-4. Defenseman Niklas Hjalmarsson’s poor puck handling led to a pair of goals by the Flyers en route to a 5-3 victory.
And Chicago was too slow with a line change in Game 3, helping set up Philly’s game-winning goal in overtime that produced a 4-3 victory.
The puck drops just after 7 p.m. on NBC5.
