CHICAGO – Report card on the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers for Game 5 of the Stanley Cup final on Sunday (with grades out of 10):
Chicago Blackhawks
Goaltenders
Antti Niemi: Made a glorious pad save on Mike Richards at crucial time of the game. 7.
Defencemen
Duncan Keith: Norris Trophy candidate seemed to be on the ice every other shift. 6.
Brent Seabrook: Wisely snuck in from the point to open the scoring. 7.
Niklas Hjalmarsson: No ugly turnovers like Game 4 in Philly. 6.
Brian Campbell: Seems to have earned back his coach’s confidence after tough start to the series. 6.
Brent Sopel: A key part of Chicago’s successful penalty killing unit. 6.
Nick Boynton: Did all that was asked of him. 5.
Forwards
Jonathan Toews: Backed up his words with an inspired effort and is now just one win from accepting the Stanley Cup from Gary Bettman. 8.
Patrick Kane: Fit in well on a line with Patrick Sharp and Andrew Ladd. 7.
Dustin Byfuglien: Welcome to the series, Big Buff. Finishes off beautiful passing play on second-period goal and adds empty-netter for good measure. 7.
Patrick Sharp: Ignited a party in the United Center stands by making it 6-3 late. 7.
Marian Hossa: Still looks a little snake-bitten, missed a good opportunity during the second period. 5.
Troy Brouwer: There might not be another NHL team who could play him on the fourth line. 6.
Andrew Ladd: In just second game back from injury, he made a nice play to set up Kane. 6.
Dave Bolland: Scores a goal, kills penalties and mixes it up — a valuable package in the playoffs. 7.
Kris Versteeg: His goal to make it 3-0 late in the first period was arguably the most important of the night. 7.
Tomas Kopecky: Love the feisty edge to his game. Fit in well on top line and drew a penalty early on. 7.
Ben Eager: Hardly saw the ice with coach Quenneville shuffling his lines. 5.
John Madden: Wasn’t on the ice enough to make much of an impact. 5.
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Philadelphia Flyers
Goaltenders
Michael Leighton: He’s probably trying to get “Chelsea Dagger” out of his head after getting pulled in this building for a second time. 4.
Brian Boucher: Does he get the start in Game 6? 5.
Defencemen
Chris Pronger: Hold the Conn Smythe votes — he was on the ice for the first four goals against and finished with an ugly minus-5 rating. 4.
Matt Carle: A shaky night just like his partner Pronger. 5.
Kimmo Timonen: Scores a goal and finishes with a plus-2 rating. Nicely done. 8.
Braydon Coburn: Steady performance from a guy who was a combined minus-8 in first four games. 6.
Lukas Krajicek: Takes cross-checking penalty less than three minutes into the game. 5.
Oskars Bartulis: Saw just one shift in first 40 minutes. No rating.
Forwards
Mike Richards: The determination was there but the offence wasn’t. 5.
Simon Gagne: Late goal doesn’t change the fact he needs to be more dangerous in the offensive zone. 5.
Jeff Carter: After scoring just once in the series, he gets dropped from top line. 5.
Scott Hartnell: Appeared to get injured while throwing a hit late in the second period. 6.
Claude Giroux: A tough night for the pride of Hearst, Ont. — he was on for too many goals against. 4.
Danny Briere: Once again was one of his team’s most dynamic players. 7.
James van Riemsdyk: Forced a turnover before scoring in the third period. 6.
Ville Leino: After a pretty solid night, he’ll be left wondering about the open net he missed in the second period. 7.
Ian Laperriere: Veteran saw limited ice time. 5.
Darroll Powe: Gives a strong effort on the penalty kill. 6.
Blair Betts: One of the only Flyers to have a good night in the faceoff circle. 6.
Arron Asham: Played a nice physical game. 6.