Fueled by line and lineup changes, the Blackhawks scored three times in the first period alone and rolled to a 7-4 victory in front of 22,305 boisterous fans at the United Center. With the win, Chicago earned a 3-2 series lead in the best-of-seven Stanley Cup finals, inching one game closer to clinching the Cup for the first time in 49 years.
In franchise history, the Flyers are just 2-13 in a series when trailing three games to two.
For the first time since their second-round series with the Bruins - in which they staved off four straight elimination attempts - the Flyers will face the prospect of their season ending Wednesday night at the Wachovia Center.
Including their elimination game against the Rangers in game No. 82, way back on April 11, Game 6 will be the Flyers' sixth elimination game this season. They will have to hold off Chicago two more times in order to be the NHL's last team standing on Friday night.
The Flyers didn't start out like they would be the last team standing last night, coughing up pucks and passes from the first faceoff.
Ville Leino chalked that up to the Flyers being nervous.
"I don't know if we were nervous, or if we were thinking it was a big game," Leino said. "I think we were ready but we were a little too ready. I think we were a little nervous. Nobody wanted the puck. We didn't make plays, we were just giving it to then."
Chicago's offensive pressure was almost unbearable for the Flyers, who struggled to get the puck out of their zone often in the first period. That left Michael Leighton to make big saves. Leighton did that the first 12 minutes before cracking when Brent Seabrook bounced a power-play point shot off Chris Pronger's stick and into the net, giving the Blackhawks a 1-0 lead.
