• "The party in Chicago is going to be all-world. It's been a long time." - Coach Joe Quenneville [Blackhawks.com]
• "It was crazy. At the moment it's just like, 'We won the Stanley Cup' and that's all you're thinking about. To play this game, this is the only thing I want to do in the world and be a part of moments like this." - Patrick Kane [Tribune]
• "We're brothers for life now. We're champions. We're champions for life. This is the pinnacle of our sport, and we won it, and I can't tell you how I feel." - Kris Vertseeg [ESPN]

For the first time in 49 years, the Chicago Blackhawks are Stanley Cup Champions, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-3 in a dramatic Game Six, using aggressive offense, a locked-down defense, and stellar goal-tending to clinch victory in an overtime thriller and hoist the Cup. more ›

Hey there, readers. We hear there's something of an important hockey game happening tonight. We imagine many of you will be out and about the town watching the game at a bar of your choosing or somewhere like the Brew & View which is showing the game on the big screen for free. It could be a big night for the Blackhawks but we don't want to jinx it, so we're going to word this request very carefully. At the conclusion of tonight's game, depending on the outcome, many of you may participate in certain post-game activities. We're asking two things of you if this is the case: more ›

• "That was the pace we've been looking for." - Joel Quenneville [Blackhawks.com]
• "All year we've mixed the lines around, and everyone has really played with everyone. So it wasn't a real big thing. It was just going out there and playing together as a team and moving our feet and doing the right things." - Dustin Byfuglien [ESPN]
• "If we play like that every night, it will be hard to beat us." - Patrick Kane [Tribune]

There was no place like home for the Blackhawks on Sunday night. Coming off of two straight losses on the road in Philadelphia, the Blackhawks rebounded to beat the Flyers 7-4 in Game Five of the Stanley Cup Finals to take a 3-2 series lead. With Michael Jordan in the building, the Blackhawks were looking for a great game worthy of his Royal Airness and they got off to a dominant start that paved the way to a high-scoring victory that leaves the team just one win shy of the Stanley Cup. more ›

• "I said when we left (Chicago), I thought we could have won both games. I like our game. I like what we're doing." - Flyers coach Peter Laviolette [Blackhawks.com]
• "We didn't do a lot of little things, especially defensively in the first. We got behind the 8-ball (and) they're a good team, so it's tough to battle back." - Andrew Lad [Tribune]
• "I thought we were very generous in the first period on what we gave them as far as goals went." - Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville [Blackhawks.com]

The Philadelphia Flyers got off to a big early lead and held off a late Blackhawks rally to beat Chicago 5-3 in Game Four of the Stanley Cup Finals. The series now stands tied at 2-2. The Flyers opened scoring less than five minutes in when Mike Richards scored on a power play. It was a little over 10 minutes later that the Flyers added to that, taking a 2-0 lead. Patrick Sharp scored with less than 90 seconds left in the period to cut the lead in half, but the Flyers answered right back, netting their third goal of the period less than a minute later, taking a 3-1 lead to the first intermission. After the four-goal first period, the second period went scoreless as the Flyers maintained the same lead into the second intermission. Less than seven minutes into the third period, the Flyers extended the lead when Ville Leino deflected a shot off of Kris Vertseeg's skate past Anttie Niemi to put the Flyers up 4-1. But the Blackhawks didn't give up, energizing and upping the pressure in the third period. They capitalized on a two-man advantage as Dave Bolland scored with 7:59 left in the game to cut the lead to 4-2. Then, with 4:10 left, a Brian Campbell pass went off of Kimmo Timonen's stick for a goal credited to Jonathan Toews, cutting the lead to 4-3. A frantic finish followed, shots flying from the Blackhawks in the closing minutes, creating opportunities and shots that escaped them earlier in the game. But with an empty net, the Blackhawks lost control of the puck and the Flyers put away an insurance goal in the waning seconds to clinch the victory. more ›

• "We're up 2-1. That's a great situation to be in... It's just one loss. Yeah, it's a tough way to lose, especially in OT, and you have the lead in the third. But we're not going to beat ourselves up." - Jonathan Toews [Tribune]
• "Desperation was the key word, I think. It's almost do or die." - the Flyers' Claude Giroux [ESPN]
• "It was nice to come right back. You think it's over. We don't get it. We just go back to work." - Flyers' coach Peter Laviolette [Philly Inquirer]

Having won the first two games on their home ice, the Blackhawks' quest for the Stanley Cup moved to Philadelphia for Game Three. In a tightly contested game, the 'Hawks and Flyers required overtime to determine the winner Wednesday night and Philly eventually left the Wachovia Center ice as 4-3 winners, cutting the Blackhawks' series lead to 2-1. Each of the games have been decided by a single goal. more ›

• "It was a lot of fun. And, I almost had a heart attack." - Kris Versteeg [Blackhawks.com]
• "Shootout at the OK Corral. I don't think anybody envisioned 5-5 heading into the third period." - Coach Quenneville [Tribune]
• "They challenge the puck a little bit, so I was just kind of a little patient and I just slid it in." - Tomas Kopecky [ESPN]

Today, we've talked about tigers and we've talked about hockey. Finally, the two converged this afternoon when a tiger at the Lincoln Park Zoo showed us all what Toews, Kane, Sharp, Buffy, Campbell, Niemi, and the rest of the high-flying Blackhawks will do to the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stanley Cup Finals. Phillyist was going to respond but the Philly zoo was closed down when the only exhibit left - full of Eagles fans - was shut down after the inhabitants escaped following Donovan McNabb's trade to the Redskins. more ›

It's all set now: the schedule and the Blackhawks' opponent for the 2010 Stanley Cup Finals, the Philadelphia Flyers. more ›

The Blackhawks saw an opportunity to pick up another win pass them by as they fell in the closing seconds to Philadelphia 3-2 yesterday. After a scoreless first two periods, the Flyers struck first in the third to take a 1-0 lead but Kris Versteeg netted a power-play goal to tie the game up. Later in the third, Hossa, who had an assist on Versteeg's goal, scored himself to give the 'Hawks the 2-1 lead. But with just over two minutes left, the Flyers scored again and Chris Pronger slipped one just past Cristobal Huet in the final seconds to give the Flyers the victory. There's no rest, though, as the 'Hawks take to the ice early tomorrow for a brunchtime match-up against the Washington Caps (11:30 a.m., NBC). more ›

Sharp celebrates his first period goal - AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh