The Philadelphia Flyers versus the Chicago Blackhawks is Wednesday at 7 p.m. CST on NBCSN. It will be the first of two matchups this season between the Flyers and Blackhawks, and only their second meeting since Game 6 of the 2010 Stanley Cup Final. The Flyers lost 5-1 in Dallas on Saturday, and face the Ottawa Senators tonight, while the Blackhawks will bring the league’s best record (47 pts) to Dallas on Tuesday before their Wednesday Night Rivalry showdown against Philadelphia.
I know what you’re saying…the Blackhawks and Broad Street Bullies have a rivalry with each other? Huh? Well, one network thinks so. Or at least the network’s marketing department thinks so, and wants us to buy in to a Blackhawks versus Flyers bloodfeud.
NHL Rivals, which debuts this week on Tuesday at 9:30 p.m. CST on NBCSN, dovetails off of NBCSN’s Wednesday Night Rivalry, which Forbes dubbed “the hottest new brand in sports.” This week’s episode will feature the Philadelphia Flyers and Chicago Blackhawks, a rivalry highlighted by their intense battle in the 2010 Stanley Cup Final, in which Patrick Kane scored the game-winning goal 4:06 into overtime of Game 6 to clinch Chicago’s first title since 1961.
Following are excerpts from this week’s episode of NHL Rivals.
NBC NHL analyst and former Flyer Jeremy Roenick: “When you’re in Philadelphia, you’re around a lot of the ‘Broad Street Bullies.’ You are around the guys that created the history of Philadelphia hockey.”
Patrick Kane on scoring Stanley Cup-clinching goal: “I think you always dream that maybe you’ll score a Stanley Cup-winning goal in overtime.”
The Blackhawks got the No. 1 pick in the 2007 NHL Draft ahead of Flyers’ No. 2. So the ’10 Final featured the #1 versus the #2 draft choice. The Blackhawks took Patrick Kane, a dynamic player…who became the face of American hockey and the Blackhawks franchise. That face is often drunk, shirtless and surrounded by many women, but it’s still the face. Jonathan Toews was taken with the second overall pick the year before. So Kaner and Tazer really restarted the Blackhawks into a winning program. They deserve much more of the credit for the Blackhawks turnaround than Rocky Wirtz or John McDonough.
Paul M. Banks is the owner of The Sports Bank.net, an affiliate of Fox Sports. He’s also an analyst for multiple news talk radio stations across the country; with regular weekly segments on NBC and Fox Sports Radio. Follow him on Twitter (@paulmbanks) and RSS Catch him Tuesdays talking Illini and Northwestern for KOZN 1620 The Zone, Fridays talking Chicago Bears for WAOR 95.7 The Fan