S9 STANLEY CUP FINALS

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

GAME 1

2 v. 5 Final

Scoring Summary
1st Period
0:26Lemieux 97 (Robitaille 92, MacInnis 93)
17:00Daze 85 (Odelein 80, Norstrom 80)

2nd Period
3:46Cassels 84 (Unassisted)
7:48Pivonka 86 (Chelios 93, Rucinsky 86)

3rd Period
14:38Chelios 93 (MacInnis 93, Lemieux 90)
18:57Chelios 93 ENG (Corson 85, Audette 86)
19:57Robitaille 92 (Lemieux 97)

Penalty Summary
1st Period
1:34Jovanovski 87 Slashing (Minor)
2:27Bondra 89 Slashing (Minor)

2nd Period
No Penalties

3rd Period
No Penalties

LEADS 1-0

Game 1 Notes:

For the first 40 minutes, this was a game of give and take on chances. Shots were 8-7 Pens in the first, and 14-8 Chicago in the second, and both teams left 2-2. In the third period, the Pens outshot the Hawks 14-11, but it took almost 15 minutes for Chelios to score a blast from the point to break the deadlock. From there, Chelios added an empty netter, and in the dying seconds, with the game already over, Robitaille added another tally to really give the perspective that the Pens dominated this game, but they did not. Chelios walks away with the 1st star of the game for his 2 goal, 3 point night. Patrick Roy posted an incredible 0.937SV% turning away 30 of 32 shots.

---

GAME 2

8 v. 4 Final

Scoring Summary
1st Period
1:12Satan 86 SHG (Ricci 84)
3:12Eriksson 82 (Ricci 84, Beauchemin 82)
5:48Robitaille 92 (Jovanovski 87)
8:01Pronger 92 (Babych 84, Fisher 84)
9:31Beauchemin 82 (Gelinas 83, Cassels 84)
14:53Ciccarelli 91 (Pronger 92, Babych 84)
16:26Daze 85 (Beauchemin 82, Ricci 84)
18:02Stevens 87 (Foote 86, Jovanovski 87)
19:05Eriksson 82 (Ciccarelli 91, Selanne 94)

2nd Period
18:15Foote 86 (Chelios 93, Lemieux 97)

3rd Period
6:57Bondra 89 (Stevens 87, Lemieux 97)
14:29Verbeek 87 (Unassisted)

Penalty Summary
1st Period
0:43Pronger 92 Holding (Minor)
10:15Ciccarelli 91 Roughing (Minor)
10:15Corson 85 Roughing (Minor)

2nd Period
5:47Beauchemin 82 Interference (Minor)

3rd Period
No Penalties

SERIES TIED 1-1

Game 2 Notes:

Anyone that could only tune into the first period basically watched the entire game. This was another outing that showcased, all post-season long, that the Blackhawks have scoring for days and days on this lineup. They scored 7 goals alone in the first period, and just for a little knife in the wound, scored the last goal in the game for good measure. When you're down 7-2 after the first period, it's hard to muster up any motivation to try and turn the game around, and the Hawks held the Pens to just 3 shots in the 2nd Period and 6 shots in the third. That's just not going to cut it if the Pens want to cash in on their first cup. Mike Ricci led the charge with 3 assists on the night, but Francois Beauchemin takes the first star with a goal and 2 assists. Patrick Roy stayed in the net and went down with the ship with a 0.724SV%, letting in 8 goals on 29 shots.

---

GAME 3

6 v. 4 Final

Scoring Summary
1st Period
5:06Selanne 94 (Beauchemin 82, Eriksson 82)
7:08Pronger 92 (Daze 85, Courtnall 86)
8:25Pivonka 86 (Ribeiro 87, Chelios 93)
13:27Verbeek 87 PPG (Ciccarelli 91, Pronger 92)
16:21Lemieux 97 (Chelios 93, MacInnis 93)
19:44Lemieux 90 PPG (MacInnis 93)

2nd Period
0:20Lemieux 90 (Robitaille 92, Chelios 93)
19:27Stevens 87 PPG (Pivonka 86, Foote 86)

3rd Period
0:44Dineen 87 PPG (Ricci 84, Healy 82)
18:52Robitaille 92 ENG (Lemieux 90, MacInnis 93)

Penalty Summary
1st Period
12:37MacInnis 93 Delay of Game (Minor)
18:32Fisher 84 Cross-Checking (Minor)

2nd Period
6:00Dineen 87 Slashing (Minor)
18:06Courtnall 86 Slashing (Minor)
18:10Pronger 92 High-Sticking (Minor)
18:44Jovanovski 87 Cross-Checking (Minor)

3rd Period
No Penalties

LEADS 2-1

Game 3 Notes:

This was another game where Chicago came out setting the tone early. It wasn't really until Mario scored to bring the game within 1 goal that things started to turn. Fisher's cross-checking penalty immediately led to a Claude Lemieux powerplay marker, and suddenly a game that looked to be on its way to a rout was tied up, and the Pens carried that momentum at home into the second period. It only took 20 seconds for the top line for Pittsburgh to go up a goal and carry the pace for the period, outshooting Chicago 14-9 in the frame. A late period marker from Kevin Stevens seemed to sink the dagger on Chicago. A quick third period start with Dineen scoring on a powerplay brought the Hawks within striking distance, but Pittsburgh continued to push the pace with a 14-6 shot period, adding an empty netter to move within 2 wins of a cup. It will be interesting to see if the Hawks can rebound off this loss and even up the series. Claude Lemieux earned the first star for 2 goals and an assist in this outing.

---

GAME 4

5 v. 6 Final

Scoring Summary
1st Period
14:40Selanne 94 (Verbeek 87, Beauchemin 82)
14:50Foote 86 (Unassisted)

2nd Period
5:59Eriksson 82 (Dineen 87, Satan 86)
19:09Satan 86 (Dineen 87, Eriksson 82)

3rd Period
0:41Robitaille 92 (Lemieux 90, Lemieux 97)
1:37Ricci 84 (Eriksson 82, Vokoun 88)
8:25Ribeiro 87 (Rucinsky 86, Chelios 93)
16:13Gelinas 83 (Pronger 92, Afinogenov 84)
16:40Bondra 89 (Jovanovski 87, Ferraro 89)
17:46Selanne 94 (Eriksson 82)
20:00Lemieux 97 PPG (Chelios 93, Lemieux 90)

Penalty Summary
1st Period
5:50Norstrom 80 Roughing (Minor)

2nd Period
1:11Selanne 94 Delay of Game (Minor)
5:40Selanne 94 Fighting (Major)
5:40Audette 86 Fighting (Major)

3rd Period
18:55Norstrom 80 Tripping (Minor)

SERIES TIED 2-2

Game 4 Notes:

Chicago turned to Tomas Vokoun to start Game 4, and it immediately paid dividends, evening the series at 2 games apiece. A late game push by Pittsburgh nearly forced the overtime, with a goal coming right at the buzzer to give the more respectable score of 6-5, but Teemu Selanne's late goal kept the Hawks on top to break even and turn this best of 7 into a best of 3. An unlikely fight between Selanne and Audette broke out in period 2, which sparked both teams to trade goals back and forth until the horn in the third period. Anders Eriksson earns first star with a goal and 3 apples in this game.

---

GAME 5

2 v. 4 Final

Scoring Summary
1st Period
9:19Dineen 87 PPG (Unassisted)
11:53Corson 85 (Unassisted)
13:57Afinogenov 84 (Cassels 84, Gelinas 83)

2nd Period
18:14Rucinsky 86 SHG (Roy 95)

3rd Period
19:13MacInnis 93 (Bertuzzi 86, Corson 85)
19:46Jovanovski 87 ENG (Lemieux 97)

Penalty Summary
1st Period
7:49Chelios 93 Roughing (Minor)

2nd Period
16:18Chelios 93 Charging (Minor)

3rd Period
No Penalties

LEADS 3-2

Game 5 Notes:

All credit to the Pens defense in this game, this is a game they should have lost. Goaltending bailed them out - hard. Chicago outshot the Pens 33 to 19 in the game, but most importantly, 24 to 10 in the first 40 minutes. In that time, Patrick Roy stood on his head, posting a 0.937SV% in the game. The difference maker came from Martin Rucinsky's short handed goal that seemed to curb the Hawks pressure and even the game. The final period saw the shots 9-9, and MacInnis drove a blast home late to steal the thunder, with Jovanovski icing the game away from a disheartened Hawks team. This pushes Game 6 to be in Pittsburgh, giving them a chance to win the cup on home ice. Patrick Roy - undoubtedly - earns first star of the game for stealing this one away from Chicago. And now, the pressure is on!

---

GAME 6

7 v. 5 Final

Scoring Summary
1st Period
7:41Afinogenov 84 (Cassels 84, Fisher 84)
11:31Lemieux 97 (Zalapski 85, Robitaille 92)
19:48Verbeek 87 (Selanne 94, Norstrom 80)

2nd Period
17:48Lemieux 90 (Unassisted)
18:07Lemieux 97 (Robitaille 92, Foote 86)

3rd Period
0:37Selanne 94 (Verbeek 87, Pronger 92)
8:05Bondra 89 (MacInnis 93, Ferraro 89)
8:52Daze 85 (Unassisted)
9:14Ribeiro 87 (Jovanovski 87)
11:31Selanne 94 (Ciccarelli 91, Babych 84)
14:17Rucinsky 86 (Pivonka 86, Ribeiro 87)
19:17Chelios 93 ENG (Unassisted)

Penalty Summary
1st Period
15:46Daze 85 Interference (Minor)

2nd Period
12:52Ferraro 89 Delay of Game (Minor)
17:33Ciccarelli 91 Fighting (Major)
17:33MacInnis 93 Fighting (Major)

3rd Period
1:32Ricci 84 Interference (Minor)

Game 6 Notes:

If you were looking for a dramatic finish, you couldn't ask for much more. This game had everything. For the first time this series, the Pens were the ones that came out with their engines firing on all cylinders, outshooting the Hawks 13-6 and 15-7 in the first two periods. The frustration kicked in near the end of the second period for the Penguins, as they only had a tie game to show for their hard-pressed effort. Tempers flared in front of the net, and Al MacInnis and Dino Ciccarelli found themselves with the gloves off for a late period fight. Mario took the queue from there and buried another to put the Pens up 3-2 heading into the third, and feeling good about themselves.

In the third period, Chicago pushed back with a 12-10 shot effort, and opened the scoring early with Selanne finding the 3-3 equalizer just 37 seconds in. Under 8 minutes later and MacInnis feeds Bondra to take back the lead. Buckled, but not undone, the Hawks come right back in the neutral zone, stealing the puck and setting Eric Daze in on his own for an unassisted goal to tie it right back up at 4s. Before his name can be called on the PA System, Mike Ribeiro sneaks in a go ahead goal to put the Pens back on top 5-4. Two minutes later, Selanne strikes again to tie it at 5. The Pens take a breather, knowing that trading chances with Chicago (with an incredible amount of scoring depth) can seal your teams fate. But Ribeiro comes out again with another sneaky play, setting up Martin Rucinsky for the eventual game winner.

Chris Chelios iced the Hawks chances with an empty net goal to close it out 7-5. Teemu Selanne took first star in the loss, and Mario cashed in for 2nd star with his 2 goal night. Martin Rucinsky earned the third star for the game winning goal. And the Pittsburgh Penguins win their first ever NHL90 Stanley Cup!

WINS SERIES 4-2

WINS THE S9 STANLEY CUP!

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

XX - Hoofhearted - XX / XX - Former Devils - XX

3 games in. Let me know if you want to make any lineup changes. I know Pittsburgh Penguins is holding steady.

[XX - Hoofhearted - XX]

put Vokoun in and pray I guess

[XX - Hoofhearted - XX]

let's hold onto these fast starts now!!!

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

UPDATED WITH GAME 4

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

UPDATED WITH GAME 5

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

XX - Hoofhearted - XX

Down 3-2 after 5 games. March on, or make changes?

[XX - Hoofhearted - XX]

lets go on, just have to outplay them again and put the puck in the net this game

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

UPDATED WITH GAME 6

[Detroit Red Wings]

Yay to having fresh champs!

[Detroit Red Wings]

But Jesus what a season Chicago

[XX - Hoofhearted - XX]

damn this team just can't finish games. Congrats Pittsburgh

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

I can't stress just how EVEN those two teams were, it's insane. If you look at the Hawks top 2 scorers vs. the Pens top 2 scorers it's almost identical. This series was almost just "which way was the wind blowing" for who would take each game.

[Colorado Avalanche]

Congrats Pens!

[Toronto Maple Leafs]

I honestly think this year could be such a mixed bag for Conn Smythe voting.