All this anticipation adds to the build up of Game 6. The Cup is in waiting and no one know just what to expect going into this game.

Will Chicago come out and play a defensive shutdown road game? Will they play another intense 1st period in attack mode, knowing the cup is within their grasp. Knowing all it takes is 60 minutes of their best hockey, leaving it all on the ice. Blackhawks hockey. Hockey we hadn’t seen till Game 5. After a dominant performance Sunday, have the Hawks found what it takes to beat Philly? Will this be another home win, making this a total home series? Why were the first 3 rounds favorable to the road team, and in the finals, road teams have competed but can’t buy a win.

After Game 4, there was piles of criticism towards Coach Q and the Hawks “scrambling” to change up lines, to match up Philly. The Hawks were called “desperate”. So line juggling occurred and dominance ensued. How will the Flyers respond? What lines will Philly throw at Chicago in response to Game 5? Does that make Philly desperate?  Will Carcillo see the ice, knowing he could hurt either team.

Who will the next, overplayed “History Will Be Made” feature? Someone has got to be the hero. The goalies were a storyline going into this series, and neither has played well or consistently. Will a goalie step up and steal a game?  Who is it going to be?

Who is it going to be? There has been talk about the Conn Smythe hardware if this ends tonight, there are no stand out at this time. Before this series started, Toews may have had in the bag, but he has had a quiet final. Duncan Keith? Chris Pronger? Byfuglien? The Conn Smythe is awarded to the player judged most valuable to his team during the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup playoffs. So we are not judging it on the finals.

How long into the telecast will we have to wait until we hear about “Chrissy Pronger”. Who will pick up the game puck? Will Leighton get chased again? Will Pronger ever get called for a slash or cross-check in this series? Will I stop with the questions all ready?

All our questions will be answered in 3 hours or less.

What will Game 2 bring us?

In Game 1, we were treated to goals o’plenty. But this was not the game anyone expected. After the opening nerves settle down. What will it take to win?

What happened in Game 1? Did the Hawks get off to another slow series start? After 2 periods of chasing, the Hawks seemed to settle down and find their game. Once that happened, they looked more confident and dictated play. Was it nerves both teams had to play through?

Though the goaltending wasn’t its sharpest at either end, both teams broke down defensively. Both Leighton and Niemi have found success in the playoffs leaning heavily on their D. In Game 1, that wasn’t there. Sloppy play and turnovers were the theme for periods one and two. The defensive core of both teams is better that the 11 goal onslaught we saw on Saturday.

As for the goalies, instead of asking which will collapse first, maybe we should be asking which one will step up first? Will either of there goalies “steal” a game?

We haven’t seen the best of either team yet. The top lines were MIA (Toews-Kane-Byfuglien and Richards-Gagne-Carter), combining for 0 point and a plus/minus of -16 (Hawks -9 and 5 shots, Flyers -7 and 10 shots). This plays into the Hawks favor, as they are a much deeper team that Philly.

The hype of Flyers hockey is their physical play, but in game 1, there was no dominance in physical play. Byfuglien was credited with 10 hits, which goes hand in hand with his offensive stats. You are only hitting when you don’t have the puck. Puck possession was not strong for the Hawks through the first 40 minutes. Philly was credited with 3 more hits that Chicago.

As these 2 teams settle into the series, look for Philly to settle things down, slow the pace and try controlling the neutral zone. They can’t allow the speedy Hawks to enter the zone with a head of steam. They also need to control the slot area. More than half of Chicago’s goal were scored uncontested from the slot area. The Flyers style of play is to use their size to take away the speed of the Hawks. They just need to catch them first.

The Blackhawks need to pick up where they left off in the 3rd period. They need to tighten things up, reduce the turnovers and finish a period strong. In both the first and second period in Game 1, Philly got goals late in the period (1st period with :27 left and in the 2nd with 1:11 left to play), both generated off turnovers.

Just wanted to leave you with this little gem from Scott Hartnell.