So what’s a kid do for an encore?
Wednesday night in Philadelphia, Patrick Kane scored a weak goal in overtime to give the Chicago Blackhawks a 4-3 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup final. It turned out to be the final game of the championship round of the NHL’s post-season and Chicago will now get to go home and have a parade.
Kane had a tremendous championship series, but not nearly as good a Stanley Cup playoff as Winnipeg’s own Jonathan Toews.
Toews was absolutely remarkable from the start of the playoffs right up to the last goal in Wednesday’s finale. He finished second in scoring in the post-season with 29 points (the Winnipeg Jets final draft pick, Daniel Briere won the scoring title with three points to Toews one in the final game to finish with 30 points). He was a leader in every respect and after the Hawks celebrated their victory, Toews was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.
What a sensational year for Toews. Last fall there were people in the Eastern part of our nation who didn’t think Toews should be on Canada’s Olympic team. Not only did he make the team, he scored a big goal in the gold medal game, led Canada to a magnificent victory and was named the Olympic tournament’s top forward.
Wednesday night, Toews picked up an assist and played nearly 24 minutes (the most of any Blackhawks forward) as he led the Blackhawks to their first Stanley Cup since 1961. He was also the most valuable player at the most important time of the year.
And he’s only 22.
Related posts: