Hawks win first title in 49 years in bizarre finish to Game 6
Hockey fans in the great city of Chicago had to wait 49 years to experience the moment again, but on Wednesday night it finally happened.
In a thrilling, yet completely bizarre finish to the title series, the Blackhawks hoisted the Stanley Cup with their 4-3 victory over the Flyers in overtime. Patrick Kane scored the game-winning goal 4:06 into OT, but nobody outside of him knew that the puck had slipped past Philly goalie Michael Leighton because the net indicator never went off. The announcers didn’t even know that the puck had got passed Leighton until they saw Kane skating down the ice with his arms up in the air and the rest of his teammates clear the bench to greet him at the other end.
In all honesty, the moment killed the excitement that had been building for over three periods. Chicago fans obviously don’t care how it ended because the Hawks won, but for casual fans, it was undoubtedly a lackluster finish. (Or at least, a lackluster finish for a game-winning, series-clinching overtime goal.) It was strange to watch the Hawks celebrate while the Flyers stood on the ice waiting for the referees to make an official announcement about whether or not the goal had counted.
Regardless, it was a thrilling moment for the Hawks and their fans. With four minutes remaining in the third period, it looked as though Chicago would win in regulation but then Scott Hartnell beat Antti Niemi to eventually force overtime. Of course, without Niemi, both teams would be heading back to Chicago for a Game 7 right now. He made a couple of key saves late in the game to keep the Hawks afloat. In fact, he saved a point-blank shot by Jeff Carter with less than two minutes to play in regulation, right in front of the Hawks’ net.
All in all, this was a great moment for hockey and for Chicago fans, who are extremely loyal and who cherish titles. It was an exciting series and the NHL can’t be upset about how this one turned out.
Photo from fOTOGLIF
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Posted in: NHL
Tags: Antti Niemi, Chicago Blackhawks, Jeff Carter, Michael Leighton, Patrick Kane, Philadelphia Flyers, Scott Hartnell
Huge win.
Big fan of both teams, but man.
The Blackhawks were the better team and they proved it again tonight.
That was the most exciting hocky game I have seen in all year!
Also, saw it go in right away.
Not sure what happened to Flyers net buzzer and light but that thing was a clear goal.
Yeah, there’s no doubt about the fact that it was a goal. From a broadcasting standpoint, it’s a shame that the buzzer didn’t go off because there was confusion at the exact moment where excitement should have ensued.
It doesn’t really matter in the end, but in the moment I wanted more as a viewer!
yeah its sad because most media is calling it a suprising goal or a controversial goal.
But it was a clean wrister.
One of the most exciting games ever seen.
I’m surprised that some in the media are calling it controversial. I haven’t heard that yet, but maybe you’ve seen something local. (The replays showed that it was a clear goal, so there’s nothing controversial about it.)
And I agree – the game was thrilling.