Sunday, May 31

Jonathan Toews:

"There was no easy games. There was nothing given to us. There was no moments in this series were there any lulls, where we felt Anaheim maybe didn't play their best hockey and we got away with it. We felt like we had to earn everything against that team. That was an incredible test for both teams"
...
Toews scored two goals in the opening minutes, Corey Crawford made 35 saves and Chicago roared into the Stanley Cup Finals with a 5-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night.

Brandon Saad, Marian Hossa and Brent Seabrook also scored for the Blackhawks, who will play for their third NHL championship in six seasons when they face the Tampa Bay Lightning beginning Wednesday night in Florida.
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The Blackhawks have defied conventional NHL parity to reach three Stanley Cup Finals and five conference finals in a seven-year stretch under coach Joel Quenneville. That's because their stars are unmatched: From Toews and Kane to Seabrook and Duncan Keith, nobody knows how to win like Chicago.
...
"Last year was a tough loss, (and) this year was even worse," Ducks forward Patrick Maroon said. "We're one game away. We had them on the ropes. We're going up 3-2 in their barn. You saw what happened there. Then we're looking better because we have home-ice advantage and can play in front of our fans, and ... I don't know. I have no words."
The harder the hits,
the stronger the soul?