Favorite playoff memory: Sharp recalls Game 5 with Blackhawks in 2010

NHL.com is looking ahead to the Stanley Cup Playoffs by having former players discuss their favorite postseason game each Sunday and Monday. Today, Chicago Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp recalls a 7-4 victory in Game 5 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final against the Philadelphia Flyers on June 6, 2010.

Patrick Sharp was one of the first to celebrate forward Patrick Kane's overtime goal when the Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in Game 6 of the 2010 Final to win their first Stanley Cup since 1961.
But for the former NHL forward, who also won the Cup with the Blackhawks in 2013 and 2015, defeating the Flyers 7-4 in Game 5 at United Center stands out.
"Obviously it was a 2-2 series, and if we lose that game, we go into Philly with the Cup in the building. [If we win,] then we're one game away ourselves from winning that first Cup as a group," said Sharp, who had 620 points (287 goals, 333 assists) in 939 NHL games with the Blackhawks, Flyers and Dallas Stars. He's now a studio analyst for NBC Sports.
"The United Center's crowd energy went to another level. It had been building the previous season; we had a great couple of playoff victories, we had a bunch of young guys on our team and there was a lot of excitement over the offseason. It just seemed that everything was building toward that Stanley Cup, and that was the last game we played on home ice of that season, so it was just a real special feeling to be a part of. And I'm glad I was there for it."

The Blackhawks took a 3-0 lead in the first period. Defenseman Brent Seabrook scored a power-play goal from the left circle at 12:17 of the first and forward Dave Bolland knocked the puck off Flyers goalie Michael Leighton's skate to make it 2-0 at 15:26. Forward Kris Versteeg scored from the top of the slot for a 3-0 lead at 18:15.
"That first period was unreal," Sharp said. "The crowd was going nuts, everyone on our team was stepping up."

Sharp also remembers the impact of defenseman Dustin Byfuglien, especially his massive hit on Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger at 6:15 of the second period, when the Blackhawks led 4-2.
"It was like that iconic moment in the corner," Sharp said. "Pronger was the big tough bully of the Flyers and their leader and Buff was our guy and they collided, and our guy won the battle. It was awesome."
Byfuglien added offense, too, scoring a power-play goal at 15:45 of the second period to give the Blackhawks a 5-2 lead, and scoring the final goal into an empty net to make it 7-4 with 2:05 remaining.
"In those big moments, certain guys step up and seem to be good for us. We know [Patrick] Kane and [Jonathan] Toews have had their fair share of huge playoff moments over the years. You can say that about Duncan [Keith], and Brent as well [and] Marian Hossa. But there are those players that sometimes get forgotten, and Byfuglien was that guy for us in 2010. He just took his game to another level, and was such a force, especially against [the] San Jose [Sharks in the Western Conference Final] and Philly, to win that first Cup."

Sharp said the Blackhawks made their biggest statement in Game 5 against the Flyers, showing they could be an up-and-coming force in the League. They went into Game 6 in Philadelphia with confidence that they could end the Blackhawks' 49-year Cup drought.
"After that game, you could look around the room and think that everybody had a good game," he said. "We kind of showed everybody how good of a team we could be at a critical time, and I think that was maybe one of the best games that we played as a Blackhawks group in a long time.
"We had two cracks at [the Cup] was probably the feeling, but it was a different set of emotions for that group. It's tough to put yourself back in that situation now after all the guys went through to win those Stanley Cups, but when I look back, it was the first time we were in that situation. All of a sudden it was like, 'Oh, man. OK, mom and dad and the girlfriend are coming [to Philadelphia], we have to coordinate all this stuff because the Cup is in the building. It just brought a different set of emotions and being that close to achieving your dream was cool for us."