Flyers Fall Into 2-0 Hole To Blackhawks

The Flyers couldn't muster much offense tonight against the Chicago Blackhawks as they drop Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals 2-1.

The 2nd period ended up ruining the Flyers chances at pulling this one out. Specifically a 28-second span in the 2nd where the Blackhawks scored two goals and never looked back.

The bad news is that the Flyers are now down 2-0 in the series and can only at best manage a split if they win both games at the Wachovia Center.

The good news is that the Flyers are finally coming home and will definitely be energized by being back on South Broad Street and in front of fans who have been waiting for Stanley Cup action since 1997.

The Flyers have to remember that they've seen much worse situations than this one. Just two rounds ago, they were on the brink of elimination four times and in Game 7 were down 3-0.

But the Chicago Blackhawks are a vastly superior team to the Boston Bruins.

Leighton definitely held his own tonight and performed much better than he did in Game 1 and was in far better control. He didn't let those fateful 28 seconds in the 2nd period destroy his confidence and played well after the two goals by Marian Hossa and Former Flyer Ben Eager. Leighton finished with 24 saves on the evening.

The Flyers were much better on defense tonight and responded in the 3rd period by scoring a goal and really controlling the ice in front of the Blackhawks net getting 14 shots on goal in the 3rd period. But Blackhawks goalie Antti Niemi was up to the challenge stopping 13 out of 14 attempts and making 32 saves on the night.

The Flyers aren't out of it yet, but a loss in Game 3 on Wednesday in Philadelphia would put the Flyers in yet another 3-0 deficit and I don't think the Flyers can shock the hockey world twice.

Leighton Will Be In Net For Game 2 Of The Stanley Cup Finals

Flyers coach Peter Laviolette announced that Michael Leighton will indeed be in net as the starter for Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals tonight.

Leighton was pulled after less than two periods of action after allowing 5 goals on 20 attempts in a questionable move.

The Flyers went on to lose 6-5 after Brian Boucher entered the game and allowed the game-winning goal to Tomas Kopecky, which was his 4th goal of the postseason.

The last time Leighton was pulled in this 2010 playoffs was in a 5-1 loss to Montreal in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference Finals. Leighton followed that performance up with a 3-0 shutout. Leighton turned away all 17 shots he faced, but he will definitely be seeing more tonight.

The Blackhawks are a very aggressive team, a team that fired 15 shots in the 2nd period alone of Game 1 on Saturday night.

Leighton commented on his performance on Saturday night.

"I'm just going to try not to think about what happened," Leighton said.

It will be interesting to see where the Flyers energy level is tonight after being outplayed and controlled in the 3rd period of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

Will the Flyers respond like they have this entire postseason or will they find themselves in another 2-0 series deficit remiscent of the Boston series?

Game 2 in less than two hours!

Philadelphia Falls Out Of First Place As They Lose To The Braves

The Phillies actually scored some runs today, but it still isn't enough as they fall to the Braves 9-3 and they relinquish first place in the NL East for only the 2nd time this season.

Joe Blanton was on the mound for the Phillies (28-22) and he struggled in the early going.

Blanton allowed 6 runs in the first 3 innings and didn't get much help from his defense either. Ross Gload and Ryan Howard committed crucial errors that extended innings and lead to runs for the Braves.

Blanton only gave up 3 earned runs out of the 6 allowed and settled down after the early fireworks, which included Charlie Manuel getting ejected in the 3rd inning.

Manuel was thrown out for arguing about an overturned call. It was originally ruled that Greg Dobbs was hit by a pitch in the top of the 3rd, but after Bobby Cox argued the decision, the ruling was switched after the umpires conferred.

The Braves now lead the division for the first time this season and the Phillies are in 2nd place for the first time since May 1st.

Atlanta (29-22) has now won 6 games in a row and are 16-4 since May 10th.

Manuel experimented with a almost completely reconfigured lineup today. A lineup that included Ross Gload leading off, Greg Dobbs in the 2 hole, Shane Victorino batting cleanup and Jason Werth was given another day off.

Werth broke his silence when he spoke to Philly.com about his slump.

"I've been here before," Werth said.

"It comes and goes," Werth said. "It was pretty good there for a while."

Lastly, Brad Lidge returned to the active roster today. Lidge missed 18 games with elbow infammation and pitched a perfect 8th inning.

The Phillies are looking for some more good news out of Cole Hamels tomorrow evening as he looks to continue his string of good starts for the Phils. Hamels was 5-1 in May with an ERA of 2.45.