After Game 1 Slugfest, Game 2 low Scoring Affair with Hawks Coming Out on Top

Game 1 of the Cup Finals was a real Slugfest. Game 2 was more of the Defensive Battle we were all expecting. The 1st period was a quiet defensive battle, with a ton of hitting but no scoring at all. Daniel Carcillo had been put into the lineup for Game 2 to cause havoc, and boy did he ever. He was running after guys like a madman. At one point Carcillo and teammate Jeff Carter both went to hit Tomas Kopecky and actually rammed into each other as Kopescky avoided contact. So after a scoreless first period, we move on to the 2nd. It took over 17 minutes of the 2nd for somebody to finally break through and it turned out to be Marian Hossa who found his own rebound at the side of the net and was able to lift it up over a fallen Michael Leighton. Then :28 later Ben Eager beat Leighton high glove side to give the Hawks a 2-0 lead. The only score for the Flyers in the contest came on a power play goal from Simon Gagne 5 minutes into the 3rd period. The Hawks would hold the fort and hang on for the 2-1 victory in the game and a 2-0 lead in the series. Leighton stopped 24 of 26 Hawks shots while Niemi stoppedf 32 of 33 shots fired by the Flyers.

There were 2 things worth noting from this hockey game besides the low score and physical play. First is the pipe job by Patrick Sharp in the 3rd on a Flyers empty net. Philly had pulled Leighton and Sharp got the loose puck at center ice and came into Flyer real estate and took a shot from just inside the blue line that rang of the post of the empty net. See for yourself :


This is not the first time that something like this has happened as in 2008 Patrick Stefan of the Dallas Stars misses an empty net and allows the Edmonton Oilers to come all the way back and tie the game with 2 seconds left. Here is the video proof:


Thankfully for Patrick Sharp, the Flyers did not tie the game and that leaves Patrick Stefan with egg still on his face

Now one other thing worth noting. In the last 35 years of Stanley Cup Finals play only TWICE has a team won the first 2 games of the series and then LOST the series. The first was in 1970-71 when the Blackhawks fell to the Canadians in 6 despirte having a 2-0 series lead. Also it happened again last year when the Detroit Red Wings were up 2-0 on the Penguins and the Pens won the Cup in 7. So we will have to wait and see what happens with the Hawks in the rest of the series. Game 3 is Wednesday Night at 8 on Versus from Wacovia Center in Philly!