Stanley Cup Champs

The Chicago Blackhawks defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning 4-2 in the Stanley Cup playoffs, clinching the Windy City’s third NHL championship in six years! Game 6 was last Monday at the United Center in Chicago, where the Blackhawks beat the Lightning, 2-0.

Chicago won game 1 of the series, 2-1, but dropped the next two games, losing 3-4 and 2-3. The Blackhawks then went on to win three in a row in less than a one week span, allowing the team to take hockey’s most coveted title once again.

Before facing off against the Lightning, the Hawks had to defeat some of their western division rivals. Chicago first defeated the Nashville Predators in mid-late April, in a hard fought six game series. The first and fourth games each had multiple OT periods, as the score remained tied at the end of regulation.

Next, the Blackhawks went on to sweep the Minnesota Wild in four games, followed by a battle against the Anaheim Ducks. This series lasted five games, including two with OT play. The Blackhawks defeated the Ducks 3-2 in the series on May 30th before moving on to the finals.

The Blackhawks have a talented roster including Jonathan Toews and Patrick Kane, 26 and 27 year old top talent. Toews was drafted third in the 2006 NHL Draft and Kane was drafted first in 2007. Toews serves as the team’s captain and both players signed eight-year extensions with the Blackhawks in July 2014, keeping them under contract until 2023. They have now been Stanley Cup Champions three times.

In each of Chicago’s last three Stanley Cup victories, the series has gone to six games. The 2015 championship was the first time the team has won at home since 1938. In the most recent championships in 2010 and 2013, Chicago won in Philadelphia and Boston.

Despite heavy rain, Chicago celebrated the Blackhawk’s impressive feat with a parade through the city and a rally at Soldier Field. Kane told fans at the rally to watch out for him in the next week because he would be partying hard.