I can forgive him the two goals in the third period. One came on a dastardly tip-in on a 5-on-3 and the other was a fluky, bouncing goal that careened off two players and over his pad. Until that point in the game, and even after the Chicago Blackhawks had pulled within 4-3 late in the third, I felt that Michael Leighton was having his best game of the series.
There were still some iffy moments, with pucks going off the crossbar and a couple of scary moments off the rush, but he was confident in the net and making several big saves each time the Blackhawks threatened to seize the momentum in the game.
He was especially good in the second period, when the Flyers sat back a little and were outplayed by stretched by Chicago, as he made a number of big saves to keep his team ahead by two goals. Obviously, that lead would fall apart in the latter stages of the game but a allowing two goals in the second period would have been much more devastating.
“I actually felt my best today, too,” Leighton said after the win. “I was comfortable. I wasn’t nervous. I just -- I had confidence in our team that we would play well. And in the first period I felt I made a couple of saves that really got me into the game and kept our team in. And we scored a goal early and kind of fed off that.”
Leighton has a had a bit of a tougher series against Chicago than when he basically rolled through the Montreal Canadiens, something that was completely expected. The Hawks are one of the deepest offensive teams in the NHL, and they have the ability to roll line after line against you with neverending pressure.
The Flyers have done a tremendous job of keeping the Hawks to the perimeter, not allowing Chicago to get any interior positioning and to keep the shots coming from the outside. Leighton says that’s a big reason he has been so successful this series against a team like the Hawks.
“We knew they were going to come out and put pucks on the net,” Leighton said when asked about Chicago’s attack. “That was kind of our thing. Lavi said don’t let pucks get to the net. Those little wrist shots from the point, try to step in front of the guys and knock those down. We did a great job. They did let something get through. Without screens it was pretty easy some of them.”
The Blackhawks have struggled with getting traffic in front of Leighton, as Dustin Byfuglien has been completely rendered inconsequential by Chris Pronger and company. The Hawks have tried a number of other combinations to try and make Leighton uncomfortable in net, but so far he’s been able to see pretty much every shot that comes his way.
Headed back to Chicago, the Blackhawks will once again be looking to use their matchups to their advantage and to get back to what was so successful in Games 1 and 2. Leighton contends that it wasn’t so much what the Hawks were doing in Game 1 that was frustrating him, but perhaps a bit of nerves about being in the finals. Still, he says he hasn’t changed anything as the series has progressed.
“I’m playing the same way. I know they’re a good offensive team. They’re going to get chances. Game 1, I felt okay.
“But I wasn’t making the big saves and keeping our team into it. So right from that game, I just said I have to make a few of those saves, and we would have won Game 1 if I would have made two or three really good stops. Just trying not to let in a bad goal. You play solid and make the odd great save. Tonight it worked out.”
While there were the two goals allowed in the third period, it’s tough to say that Leighton allowed a “bad goal”. Those goals plagued him in Chicago, and I’m sure that Ben Eager’s game-winning goal in Game 2 is haunting him. Still, each game he’s grown more and more comfortable and has settled down in net for the Flyers.
Michael Leighton is two games away from being perhaps the most improbable Stanley Cup winning goaltender in recent history. He may not be the flashiest, but he’s done a hell of a job against one of the best offensive teams the NHL has had in a long time. But for that to continue, the Flyers will have to do something they haven’t done yet in this series; win in Chicago.
“We’re going back to Chicago,” Leighton said. “We have to win a game there eventually.”
“So this is going to be the most important game for us. Tonight was obviously a big win for us. We have to go into Chicago and give the same effort and hopefully get the same results.”