If it comes down to coaching adjustments, Peter Laviolette has the edge.
Win this thing, and they'll limp together forever.
Flyers in 6
SAM DONNELLON
I've gone back and forth, but home ice, youth and speed all seem to be ganging up on Cinderella.
It could not have played out better for the Flyers up to this point.
In Pittsburgh and Washington, they dodged two teams with skill and speed much like Chicago's - two teams that gave them fits over the season.
The three teams they beat to get here were all limited offensively. Chicago is not.
So the heart says parade in six. But the head isn't cooperating.
Blackhawks in 7
RICH HOFMANN
This is going to be a series decided by secondary scoring. Chris Pronger and Mike Richards' line are going to smother Jonathan Toews' line, and Duncan Keith and Toews are going to do the same to Richards' line. It is going to be a magnificent death struggle.
But that leaves the rest. Both teams have scoring on every line. Danny Briere-Ville Leino-Scott Hartnell have been a little quiet lately, though. That puts a ton of heat on Claude Giroux.
I don't know. I have gone back and forth on this. Either goalie could crack; either could be great; I just don't know. And here's my biggest problem: I have been so impressed by the heart the Flyers have displayed that it has affected my thinking - and anybody who has lived these last 6 weeks understands. I'm pretty sure it's clouding my judgment. Vegas is shouting at me that it's clouding my judgment.
Belatedly, unsure, I'm listening.
Blackhawks in 7
MARCUS HAYES
Youth is wasted on the young in few arenas more than in sport.
Whenever older athletes speak of their lives' greater regrets, chief among them, always, is their lack of urgency when they went deep in the playoffs as younger men.
