NHL.com takes a look five things the Blackhawks and Flyers will be looking to accomplish.
 CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS |
 PHILADELPHIA FLYERS |
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1. Shuffle the deck?:
Chicago coach Joel Quenneville wasn't tipping his hand on potential line changes and none of the
"We've always gone along making adjustments based on how we're playing, what we like and don't like," Quenneville said. "I think we have a lot of options and tonight we'll look at them." |
1. Stay in the moment:
The Flyers have won two games, but there are two more to be won if their goal of lifting the Stanley Cup is to be
"We know, and I know, that we're halfway there," veteran forward Ian Laperriere said. "(Today) is going to be the toughest game so far. After that it's just going to get tougher and tougher. I really try to just think about the next day and go shift by shift, period by period and not try to think -- I think everybody is like that. We don't think too far ahead. We just go game-by-game." |
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| 2. Own the first 20: Road teams talk about surviving the first 10 minutes in hostile environments. Well, the
"Our starts need to be a lot better," Patrick Sharp said. "Hopefully we can come out and push the pace and use the crowd to our advantage with the energy in the building. We know we have to be better and score that first goal." |
2. Stay focused: There has been a ton of speculation that Chicago will change its lines for Game 5.
"I guess it could go two ways," Pronger said of the line changes. "One, they haven't played together that much. So maybe they're a little out of whack. Or it sparks them and fresh linemates and a new look, that gives them a little bit more offensive puck. I don't know. We'll see. But that's really out of our hands. All we can do is continue to get better, play even better defensively, and make sure that we're keeping them in the perimeter and Mike (Leighton) can see all the shots." |
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| 3. Eights are alive: Patrick Kane, No. 88 in a Hawks sweater, was a minus-4 with only three shots on goal and five
"You always want to perform at this stage for sure, but throughout my whole career I have been pretty good under pressure and I like the pressure situations," Kane said. "Hopefully I can prove myself again." |
3. Road, sweet road: Despite losing the first two games of the Stanley Cup Final here at United Center, the
"We've been a great road team all year long," captain Mike Richards said. "We've been a great road team in the playoffs. And to win in difficult buildings, Boston, Montreal, we don't want to change anything up from what we did in the first two games. It's just a matter of execution. Hopefully, that will come tomorrow night." |
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| 4. Paging Mr. Hossa: Marian Hossa was brilliant in Games 1 and 2 and finished with a pair of assists and a goal.
"Whether he's scoring or not he's a factor by controlling the play, responsibility defensively, having the puck offensively and seeing the play," Quenneville said. "I think he's been a threat and a danger to be concerned with." |
4. Defense to offense: Philadelphia's second line has dominated the offensive scoring for the Flyers in this series
"If you go back and look, our forwards have done a great job," Pronger said. "You look at the line that's scoring against them, it's the Briere line. It's done a great job of making them play defense; which, obviously, they don't want to do. They want to play offense." |
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| 5. No more cheap penalties: Chicago was called for seven minor penalties in Game 4 and it gave the Flyers six power-play
"You have to find that balance where you're playing hard but keep your sticks on the ice and make sure they're not coming up for those little chincy penalties like hooking and high sticks," Kane said. "Special teams wins and they're pretty much dominating it right now." |
5. Hang loose: The pressure is almost suffocating at this point. Both teams have sacrificed so much to
"There's pressure out there, but carrying it around isn't going to do any good for you carrying it on the ice," Flyer coach Peter Laviolette said. "I think our guys do a pretty good job of that. We're not a tight group, we're a confident group. I think that is really important." |
