Dustin Byfuglien scored two goals with two assists on Sunday to help Chicago to a 7-4 victory over Philadelphia that gave the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead in the NHL Stanley Cup finals.
Chicago, seeking their first National Hockey League championship since 1961, need just one more victory to triumph in the best-of-seven series, which switches to Philadelphia for game six tomorrow.
A Flyers victory there would force a game seven in Chicago on Friday.
PHOTO: AFP
“We’re not going to think about that now. We have to keep levelheaded and go into that building with the same mindset and have fun,” Kris Versteeg said of the chance to wrap it up tomorrow.
Brent Seabrook added a power-play goal and Dave Bolland, Versteeg, Patrick Kane and Patrick Sharp were also on target for the Blackhawks.
Scott Hartnell, Kimmo Timonen, James van Riemsdyk and Simon Gagne scored for the Flyers.
Gagne’s goal with 2:36 trimmed the deficit to 6-4 but less than a minute later Byfuglien converted an empty-netter.
After winning the first two games of the series at home, Chicago dropped two in Philadelphia but they appeared re-energized by the return home.
“Getting down there two games in their building, we had to come back with some fire and get on them and show them we weren’t going to quit,” Byfuglien said. “Right from the get-go we moved our feet and were physical.”
Chicago tagged Flyers goalie Michael Leighton with three goals in the final eight minutes of the first period and Brian Boucher replaced Leighton in goal to start the second.
Philadelphia, down 3-0 entering the second, went to work to narrow the gap, but Ville Leino’s shot hit goalie Antti Niemi and the puck lay off the line when Hartnell pushed it home 32 seconds into the period.
Kane, who had been with Byfuglien on a struggling Chicago first line that coach Joel Quenneville split up, got his second goal of the series on a pass from Andrew Ladd, whose own shot had been blocked by Chris Pronger.
Ladd recovered the puck and passed to Kane who beat Boucher to give Chicago a 4-1 lead.
The Flyers responded with a goal from Timonen, then, with Philadelphia’s Pronger in the penalty box Byfuglien got his first goal of the finals off a pass from Chicago captain Jonathan Toews to make it 5-2 going into the third period.
Van Riemsdyk scored on a rebound in the third to cut the deficit, but the Blackhawks responded through Sharp.
Stung by the two defeats in Philadelphia, the Blackhawks were aggressive from the start.
Seabrook opened the scoring on a power play, taking a pass from Versteeg and firing past Leighton.
Bolland doubled the advantage, collecting the puck off the boards and scooping it in off Leighton’s skate.
Less than three minutes later Versteeg took a pass at center ice, skated between the circles and fired past Leighton.
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