Chicago has a lot to play for in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final tonight. A victory will not only clinch the team's third championship in the past six years, more importantly, it would be the 'Hawks first Cup win on home ice since 1938.
"Obviously there's a lot of buzz, a lot of excitement," said Chicago Captain Jonathan Toews.
As of late Monday afternoon, the cheapest ticket available for the game on Stubhub was listed at just over a $1,000, and that was standing room. If you wanted to sit and watch the game, that was over $1600.
For the Lightning, who played hard but suffered their second straight 2-1 loss to Chicago on Saturday, the challenge in trying to force a Game 7 looks huge.
Chicago's United Center is already, arguably, the loudest arena in professional hockey. It will be decibels louder than ever tonight. And there is no question that this veteran Chicago team, which looks to be broken up this summer over salary cap issues, will want to win this one at home.
"It's tough to put your mind off that and think about other things that don't include the end result of winning here tonight. It's going to be in your mind no matter what," Chicago veteran forward Patrick Kane told reporters Monday.
But Tampa Bay Captain Steve Stamkos says they're ready to be spoilers.
"We'll find a way," he said, "There's really no choice that we have."
I guess you can call that cornered-animal optimism. And Stamkos is more cornered than most on his team. A power forward who is regularly among the league's scoring leaders, Stamkos has scored exactly zero goals in this Final.
The result is that even his home-team paper, the Tampa Bay Times, is calling him out, with Sport Columnist Tom Jones writing:
"Has Stamkos been good enough in this series? And the answer is absolutely not... This is the game Stamlos has to show up."
But there are signs of hope for the Lightning. The teams second-leading scorer, Nikita Kucherov, looks likely to play tonight. Part of the high-scoring Triplets line, Kucherov left Saturday's game after colliding first with Chicago goalie Corey Crawford and then with the goalpost.
"You can't keep Kuch out for long," says linemate and the playoffs' leading scorer Tyler Johnson, who appears to be nursing injuries of his own.
And Lightning goalie, Ben Bishop, who missed Game 4 with an undisclosed injury, also says that whatever it is ailing him is "getting better every day."
Also consider the fact that this is the first Stanely Cup Final ever to be decided by one goal in the first five games. Neither team has had a two-goal lead. With games this close, missed chances and lucky bounces can make the difference. It could easily go either way.
Game 6 is tonight at 8pm EDT.
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