The negative in this one was another painful loss as Philadelphia Flyers goallie Michael Leighton gave up two goals in a 28-second span in the second period and that proved to be all the Blackhawks needed to beat the Flyboys in game-two of the best-of-seven Stanley Cup Finals series.
The positive was the Flyers domination of the third period in Chicago which could lead to a turnaround in this series.  They cut the Blackhawks 2-0 lead in half, while out shooting Chicago 13-4 and totally outplayed their opponent.
Like in the first game Blackhawks goallie Ante Niemi outplayed Leighton, as he held up against a barrage of good Flyers chances in that third period and it wound up being the difference.
The game started out as a completely different type of hockey match than the shootout which occurred in game one.  Nobody scored in the first period this time and Philadelphia fans were hopeful that the Flyers would be able to steal this one in Chicago.
“Just because we’re tightening up defensively doesn’t mean no points, no offense, said disappointed Flyers forward Danny Briere. “I thought in the first two periods, we were way too conservative.”
“I don’t think we tested him very much,” Briere said. “We had outside shots. We didn’t create much traffic. We did not have quality chances.”
In the second period Marian Hossa got a hold of a rebound then 28-seconds later, former Flyer Ben Eager scored on a long shot which Leighton said he never saw because defenseman Matt Carle blocked his vision.
Simon Gagne cut the lead in half in the third period when he scored with a second to go on a power play, but that’s as close as the Flyers got.
The outstanding play in the third quarter was promising and it’s the main reason coach Peter Laviolette is optimistic going forward.
“I’m not sure we should be frustrated,” Laviolette said. “I don’t think we got outplayed. [We] didn’t get the results we were looking for. We had more than enough looks to tie up that game and opportunities to get out of it. It didn’t happen.”
The hope for the Flyers is that they continue the energy and aggressiveness which they showed in third period when they play game three against the Blackhawks here in Philadelphia on Wednesday night.
Yeah, they can dominate the third period all they want….they still didn’t win and now we’re in a 2-0 hole!