Patrick Kane skates frantically down the ice. He throws his stick and gloves into the air. He is screaming and celebrating as he jumps into his goalie, Antti Niemi. The rest of he Blackhawks begin to celebrate as well, but no one is exactly sure if what just happened actually happened.
This is the moment that will live in the memories of Blackhawks fans for the rest of their lives. Four minutes and six seconds into overtime, Kane sneaked the Stanley Cup winning goal underneath Flyers goaltender Michael Leighton to end a 49 year hockey championship drought in Chicago.
The winning moment was quite confusing at first, however. After the puck shot through the five hole of Leighton, it was lodged underneath the mesh bottom of the goal. The referees, television announcers, coaches, and even the other players were not sure the puck was really in.
“I tried to sell the celebration a little bit,” Kane told the Associated Press. “Everyone came down, and I think some of the guys were still kind of iffy to see if the puck was in the net.”
The puck was in and after a short review by the referees, the Blackhawks were officially awarded the goal to give them a 4-3 championship victory.
Jonathan Toews was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy, the award for the playoff MVP. He finished his 2010 playoffs with 29 points (7 goals and 22 assists) and capped off an unbelievable year in which he was awarded an Olympic Gold medal as well as the Conn Smythe and Stanley Cup.
Another noteworthy storyline in the Finals this year was Marian Hossa, who entered the Finals for a third straight year with his third different team. In his two previous appearances, Hossa fell short of the crown both times. Turns out the third time was a charm.
Game 6 seemed to be in the Hawks favor for most of the night. Entering the third period up 3-2, the Hawks controlled the pace of the period for the first 10-12 minutes, but the Flyers refused to go down easily. With 3:59 left in the final frame, Ville Leino skipped a puck in front of the net that bounced off two Hawks players before finding Scott Hartnell’s stick and bouncing past Niemi for the game tying goal.
Only two minutes later, Niemi saved the game, and the championship, by stopping a Jeff Carter shot from point blank in front of the net and keeping the game tied.
Kane’s overtime winner is the first overtime championship clinching goal since the New Jersey Devil’s Jason Arnott scored in OT in the 2000 Finals, beating the Dallas Stars.
The official parade and championship celebration is planned for Friday afternoon in downtown Chicago, the first championship celebration since the White Sox won the World Series in 2005.