Chicago Black Hawks Sweep San Jose Sharks, Advance To Stanley Cup Finals
May 24th, 2010- By Bryan Cross
The Chicago Blackhawks cemented a spot in the 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Finals on Sunday, courtesy of a four-game sweep over the San Jose Sharks in the Western Conference Finals.
Behind continued stellar play from Dustin Byfuglien, who tabbed his third goal of the series that gave the Blackhawks a lead, the Chicago came from behind to defeat the Sharks 4-2, and close out the series.
“Seems like he likes the spotlight. He likes being the hero. He steps up in big time,” fellow Chicago teammate Patrick Sharp said in a post-game interview. “He told me before the third period he was going to be the guy to go get it. True to his word, he got it.”
It is the first appearance in the Stanley Cup Finals for the Blackhawks since 1992.
With their spot supplanted, Chicago awaits the winner of the Montreal/Philadelphia series on the Eastern side of the bracket. The Blackhawks have not won the Stanley Cup since 1961.
“It’s an honor to be going to the Stanley Cup. We beat a very good team over there. It wasn’t easy,” Byfuglien said after the game.
The difference in Game 4 proved to be the performance from both teams on the Power Play, as Byfuglien was able to get one past Evengi Nabokov in the third period to give the Blackhawks a 3-2 lead with 14:05 remaining in the game. From there, Chicago added an insurance goal on an empty net and celebrated victory.
“I got my stick open in front of the net, and Kaner game me a nice little feed,” Byfuglien remarked after the game.
Byfuglien was the hero of Game 3, scoring the winning goal in overtime in a 3-2 victory that put Chicago in complete control of the series.
Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane have played a large part in the success of Byfuglien, who has been the recipient of several clutch passes from the duo.
“When you’re playing with those two kids, the pucks are going to find you when you’re not expecting it,” Byfuglien said of his teammates.
On the other side of the ice, the Sharks fin playoff disappointment yet again, after claiming the top seed in the conference.
Managing only seven goals in four games, San Jose’s offensive output was not enough to compete with Chicago, despite tabbing more shots on goal.
“There’s a level of frustration about the way we approached this whole series,” San Joe defenseman Rob Blake said. “We put ourselves in a position to be successful throughout the season and we didn’t accomplish what we needed to.”
San Jose seemed in control of Game 4 until the final period, as they let the Power Play goal get by them.
“I’m not going to criticize the effort,” San Jose player Dan Boyle said. “A combination of them playing well defensively, him playing well. The blame was on us, too. We didn’t find a way to get it through and I’m not really sure why that is.”
As a result of their strong showing in the Western conference Finals, the Blackhawks are installed as an asserted favorite to claim the 2010 Stanley cup on Online Sportsbooks, with odds at 4/11.
Related posts:
- Chicago Blackhawks Take Game 1 over San Jose Sharks In Western Conference Finals
- Chicago BlackHawks Advance To Conference Finals Of NHL Playoffs
- San Jose and Chicago Prepare For Conference Finals Match Up
- Western Conference Semi-Finals Contenders Decided in 2010 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs
- Sharks Snap Red Wings, Advance To Conference Finals
