Giroux Send the Wach into a Frenzy After a Game 3 Overtime Win

This is exactly what the NHL wanted, a series between two big markets that's delivering on drama and excitement and suspense and tonight it also gave us a classic finish.

Game 3 of the Stanley Cup Finals came down to a clutch goal by winger Claude Giroux in overtime as the Philadelphia Flyers pulled out a must-win Game 3 over the Chicago Blackhawks 4-3.

In what was a controversial Game 3, the Flyers proved more resilient than the Blackhawks.

Giroux who scored the game-winning overtime goal and his ninth goal this postseason was ready to go from the start. It was reported to ESPN that Giroux and the entire Flyers team was loose and relaxed all day and ready for the puck to drop.

There was a slight war of words between Chris Pronger and former Flyer Ben Eager going into tonight's game over the stealing of game-used pucks following Chicago's wins in Games 1 & 2.

There wasn't much talk about that once the game started, it was all about how the Flyers attacked and responded to adversity all night long.

Daniel Briere started it off with a fantastic effort in the first period to score the first goal of the game. It was Briere's 11th goal of the postseason and it reminded people of why the Flyers spent the big bucks on the one-time Buffalo Sabre.

The Flyers are now an impressive 8-1 at home this postseason. A record crowd of 20,297 was in attendance, the largest crowd to watch a hockey game in the state of Pennsylvania and on Friday night, the Blackhawks can expect more of the same hopefully without all the excessive nail biting.

Ain't No Sunshine where the Philadelphia Phillies Are

What can anyone say about the Philadelphia Phillies at this point in time that isn't negative.

This team is clearly in a free-fall and the arrival of the best team in the NL this weekend could either fix problems or make things worse.

The Philadelphia Phillies (28-24) fell again on Wednesday by a score of 2-1 to Atlanta, which completed the three-game sweep for the first-place Braves.

The Braves now sit two and a half games in front of the floundering Phils and are in the midst of the hottest stretch of their season. The Braves at one point in time this season sat in last place and now they've climbed back up to reclaim the top spot in a division they have dominated for most of the 90's.

Derek Lowe got the start for the Braves and went eight innings allowing sit hits and only one Philadelphia run.

The run came courtesy an RBI single by Jayson Werth, who is one of the biggest faces of Philadelphia's current struggles.

The Phils have lost four games in a row and nine out of 11. They haven't scored more than three runs in any game during this span of losing. They've scored only 14 runs in the last 11 games which is historic for all the wrong reasons. The Phils finished their road trip with a 2-7 mark which is their worst mark in four years. And it goes on and on.

The losing has clearly gotten to Charlie Manuel, as he made a statement following Thursday's loss.

"It's hard for a manager to kick all the complacency out," Manuel said.

That's one way to look at this team, but another way would be to say that they just aren't as focused as they were earlier in the season to make a point. Whether the loss of Jimmy Rollins and Placido Polanco has affected the teams focus can't be truly measured. But what can be measured is the teams win-loss record since they've left and it isn't good.

One can only hope that this team is ready for the 32-21 San Diego Padres for a huge 4-game series this weekend at the Bank. 'What's Ill' will be there for the games for complete coverage.