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2010 Stanley Cup Finals, Game 4: Hawks talk about 3rd period struggles

Image (1) Sopel-thumb-250x192-12959.jpg for post 1949

The Chicago Blackhawks may be leading this series 2-1, with a good chance to head back to Chicago with a chance to clinch the Stanley Cup, but the Philadelphia Flyers have the momentum. After walking away from a sloppy Game 1 confident that they can keep up with the talented and deep Blackhawks, the Flyers have used a surprisingly strong surge in the latter half of the past two games to climb right back in this series.

The Flyers grossly outplayed and outshot the Hawks in the third of Game 2, but thanks to a timely and surprisingly deft goal by Ben Eager walked away the losers in a close game. They talked about building on that momentum and getting a good start here in Philadelphia, and put together arguably their best overall effort in Game 3.

Still, their best effort of the series still saw the Flyers playing in a tight game that could have gone either way. Once again the Flyers grossly outplayed the Hawks in the third period, outshooting their opponent 15-4 and easily seizing control of the game.

It’s a disturbing trend for the Blackhawks, who until this series had used their great depth to put together a complete, 60-minute effort in nearly every game of the postseason. There were some hiccups here and there, but this has been the first time the Hawks have struggled this much in consecutive games.

“Playing with the lead, sometimes you tend to sit back a bit which we don’t want to do,” Patrick Kane said when asked about his team’s struggles in the third period.

“I think they’ve been building off their momentum in the third periods which is probably why they had more chances in overtime and ended up winning the game. Sometimes when you have the lead you tend to sit back a bit.”

The Hawks have certainly been sitting back, especially when you consider that they took the lead early in the third last game and were trying to protect a two-goal lead in Game 2. Yet it hasn’t just been a matter of the Hawks sitting back; some of the credit has to go to the Flyers as well.

“They have a good team concept and they seem to stick to it,” said Patrick Sharp. “They don’t change if their up a goal or down a goal, and that makes it tough to play against.”

One thing that has been evident is that the Flyers have used their hard forecheck all game long to seemingly beat back the counterattack of the Blackhawks. Brent Sopel feels that forecheck harder than most, and he agrees that the Flyers are a cut above the rest.

“They’re tenacious, they don’t give up,” said Sopel. “They’re resilient, the whole team is that way. They definitely come a lot harder than other teams [on the forecheck]. Obviously everyone uses their forecheck differently, but they’ve got speed and they try to use that to their advantage.”

Troy Brouwer agreed, that there is one thing that the Flyers use better than any other team they’ve faced in the playoffs. What is that one part of the game they do so well?

“Pressure,” Brouwer said. “They have a lot of desire on that team and a lot of will to win. When it comes down to crunch time and you have to press for a goal or press for the lead, they’ve done really well in that aspect.”

The Blackhawks were almost gushing about the way the Flyers play, especially in the third period. Yet when asked what they’ll be doing differently moving forward to try and have a better effort in the third, the Blackhawks were adamant they don’t need to change anything, really.

“We don’t change our game because it’s the third period,” Brouwer said. “We got a lead in the third period last game and the very next shift they got a nice bounce right on the tape for an open net goal. What can you do, really? It’s a tough break, and we don’t change the way we play because of it.”

Brent Sopel was even more direct. He didn’t want to hear any questions about the third period, stating several times that the past is the past and they can’t change it. All the Blackhawks can do is focus on what is ahead of them.

“We’re not worried about the third period, we’re just worried about the first period here in Game 4.”