The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers matchup in the Stanley Cup final should provide the NHL with a highly competitive series featuring a great matchup between two outstanding young captains.
Flyers captain Mike Richards has had some quiet moments in the playoffs but in Game 5 against Montreal, he showed his leadership qualities. Richards is a physical, two-way forward who excels on the penalty kill and can score.
Richards is second in playoff scoring with 21 points in 17 games. He plays like the second coming of Bobby Clarke, who led the Flyers to their last Stanley Cup win in 1975.
Richards’s Canadian Olympic line mate Jonathan Toews is a leader in every sense of the word for the Blackhawks. He plays the big minutes, delivers the goods under pressure, and has recorded 26 points in 16 games so far these playoffs to lead all playoff scorers.
Drought
The Chicago Blackhawks have a chance to end the longest current Stanley Cup drought in the NHL. Their last Cup was won in 1961. While this 49-year drought isn’t nearly as long as the 102-year drought the Chicago Cubs are suffering through, as an original six NHL team, the Blackhawks haven’t enjoyed the kind of success their fellow original sixers have.
Of the original six NHL teams, the Detroit Red Wings have had the most recent success, winning four Cups in the last 12 years. The Montreal Canadiens, hockey’s most successful franchise, last won a Cup in 1993, the New York Rangers in 1994, the Boston Bruins in 1972, and the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1967.
