Patrick Kane scored the winning goal past Michael Leighton 4:10 into overtime as the Blackhawks became the first team to win on the road this series.
No one but the Blackhawks appeared to know what was going on for a few frozen moments. Kane and his linemates seemed the only players on the ice who knew the puck found the side of the net. The goal light never went on, but that didn't stop most of the Blackhawks from storming the ice and mobbing each other in celebration.
The review was a short one and Kane will go down as scoring one of the biggest winners in team history.
"I was just hoping to God it was just an actual goal," said captain Jonathan Toews, the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP. "They came back hard in the third and we just stuck with it." Kane raised his arms right away and skated behind the net, knowing the goal was good. While the Flyers sat on the bench in stunned silence with confused looks, the Blackhawks began to celebrate in their own end around goaltender Annti Niemi.
"I knew it went in right away," Kane said. "What a feeling. I can't believe it. We just won the Stanley Cup. I can't believe this just happened. ... It's something you dream about, scoring the final goal in the Stanley Cup finals." Toews was first to touch the Cup, taking it from commissioner Gary Bettman and hoisting it above his head in triumph. Marian Hossa, whose last two attempts at a title were denied the last two years with Detroit and Pittsburgh, was next. He lifted it and bench-pressed the big trophy, snapping his head back in exhilaration.
"There's so many great things about winning a Stanley Cup. This is it," Toews said. "This is the best feeling you can ever get. I just can't believe it's happened." The Blackhawks completed their revival from the bottom of the NHL to holding the silver trophy on the strength of rising stars Kane and Toews.
"I'm so happy I finally did it," Hossa said. "We couldn't just put our heads down. We had to work, and we knew we could do it." Niemi was solid in goal to help the Blackhawks wrap up their most successful season since Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita led the way 49 years ago.
It ends the longest active championship drought in the NHL. Kane is the first player to score the Stanley Cup clinching goal in overtime since Jason Arnott did it for New Jersey at Dallas exactly 10 years ago.
"I heard the sound, it was a funny sound," coach Joel Quenneville said of the Cup-winner. "Nobody knew where the puck was. Kaner thought it was in." The Flyers are still looking for their first Stanley Cup since winning consecutive championships in 1974 and 1975.
Just when it appeared the Flyers season was over, Scott Hartnell squeezed out another crucial goal.
With the offense revved into desperation mode, Hartnell was leveled by Toews right in front of the crease as he knocked a loose puck in to make it 3-3 with 3:59 left in the third.
The Flyers faithful turned their white towels into rally symbols only moments after they could have been used for surrender.
The fans politely applauded when the game was over, but the few thousand who stuck around booed as the Blackhawks took their turns hoisting the silver trophy.
The Blackhawks could almost taste the champagne at the end of the second period. They ruthlessly attacked the Flyers and it paid off with two should-have-been-stopped goals against Leighton.
Leighton, who had been flawless at home this postseason, couldn't come up with two crucial saves and that helped put Chicago in the driver's seat.
Andrew Ladd, an injury scratch the first three games, deflected Niklas Hjalmarsson's slap shot from the circle with 2:17 left in the second. That made it 3-2 and nearly stood as the winner His goal followed Patrick Sharp's soft wrister that scooted under Leighton's left skate to tie it a 2 midway through the period. Sharp's 11th goal of the postseason came during a 4-on-4.
Niemi was barely tested and had as much time to watch the action as the orange-clad fans. Daniel Briere beat him for a 2-1 lead when he came streaking down the right side and went high glove side off a crisp pass from Ville Leino with 12 minutes left. Briere carried through the Flyers all the way to the brink of the title.
