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It has been nearly five decades since long-suffering Chicago Blackhawks fans have seen their beloved team hoist the Stanley Cup. Not since the playing days of Bobby Hull, Stan Mikita and Pierre Pilote have the Hawks enjoyed a squad with as much talent as this one, and current stars like Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith have willed the team to within one victory of the club’s first Stanley Cup since 1961.

Standing in the way of the Hawks’ Stanley Cup glory is a gritty, determined Philadelphia Flyers squad that has already overcome incredible odds to get to where they are today. Though the Flyers have their backs against the wall, they are far from down and out. Tonight’s game six match-up takes place in Philly’s home building, where they’ve been all but unbeatable all playoffs long. They certainly aren’t going to roll over and hand Lord Stanley’s silver mug to the Hawks. Though they face an uphill climb they faced far longer odds as recently as the quarter-finals against the Boston Bruins. They were down 3-0 in that series and rallied to beat the Bruins in seven games, marking only the third time in NHL history such a comeback has been staged.

Keys to victory for the Blackhawks

Obviously, the number one key for any team in the playoffs is goaltending. First year netminder Antti Niemi has showed flashes of brilliance during Chicago’s playoff run, but he has also had some less than stellar performances, and his numbers so far in the finals have been subpar. He will have to find his A game tonight if the Hawks want to end this series in six.

Jonathan Toews must be a dominant force tonight. The young captain of the Hawks was awesome through the first three rounds of the playoffs, and is arguably the strongest candidate for this year’s Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP. However, he has seen his stock slip during the finals. The Flyers have found a way to neutralize the slick center, and keep him from having a noticeable impact in the series.

Keys to victory for the Flyers

Mike Richards has to be much better. Much like his counterpart on the Blackhawks, the Philly captain has been all but invisible over the first five games of this series. Against Boston and Montreal Richards showed his leadership, dealing out a punishing hit or scoring a timely goal to swing momentum in his team’s favor. He will need to go to that well again tonight and find a way to lift his team up when they need it most.

Chris Pronger will have to bounce back from a horrendous game five. Much has been made of the fact that Pronger was on the ice for six of Chicago’s goals and in the penalty box for a seventh in Philly’s 7-4 loss to the Hawks in game five. The towering defenseman finished the night with a career-worst minus-5 rating. Obviously this is a performance that can’t be repeated if the Flyers are to stave off elimination. Not that he needs it, but Pronger will have extra motivation to be better tonight after the Chicago Tribune ran an unflattering Photoshopped picture of Pronger wearing a figure skating skirt, with the moniker “Chrissy Pronger” assigned to him.

Naturally, both teams will require their respective supporting casts to step up tonight. Though Niemi, Toews, Richards and Pronger will be focal points, in all likelihood it will be an unsung hero that makes the difference in this crucial game six.

Will the Chicago Blackhawks win the Stanley Cup tonight? Will the sun set on the 2009-10 NHL season? Or will the Flyers once again find some magic, and force the Hawks to game seven at the United Center? One thing is for sure: it will be an all out war tonight, and whoever emerges victorious will be bloody and bruised…and smiling.

A couple of weeks ago when I wrote my article on the top 10 Conn Smythe Trophy favorites, Chicago’s Jonathan Toews didn’t appear anywhere on the list. However, in the intervening time he has arguably leap-frogged every other play other the list, including playoff standouts like Joe Pavelski and Jaroslav Halak, both of whom have seen their stock drop in the third round.

Other early favorites like Sidney Crosby, Mikael Samuelsson, and Tuukka Rask have all been sent packing, and thus are out of contention altogether. Of the remaining players the Montreal Canadiens’ Halak and Mike Cammalleri, and the Philadelphia Flyers’ Mike Richards remain the only legitimate threats to deny Toews the Conn Smythe this year.

Though he had a relatively slow start against the Nashville Predators in round one of the playoffs, Toews has been on a tear ever since. His dominating performance in the Chicago Blackhawks’ series against the Vancouver Canucks is the single biggest reason his team is still competing in this year’s playoffs. Forget Dustin Byfuglien, forget Niemi, if not for Toews and his performance, particularly in the hostile environment of GM Place, the Blackhawks would be golfing right now.

In the first two games of the series with the San Jose Sharks Toews has continued to wield a hot stick, and again proved himself the ultimate road warrior of this year’s playoffs. In two games against the Sharks so far Toews has three more points, giving him 23 overall, good enough for the league lead in that category. His 11 powerplay points are also first among playoff skaters and his 17 road points have helped his Blackhawks win a record-tying 7 straight road playoff games.

Yes, there is still a lot of hockey left to play, and a lot can happen in between now and the time Gary Bettman hands the Stanley Cup to the captain of the 2010 champions, but if Toews continues to play as well as he has been to date it is hard to imagine anyone but him as the favorite to take home the Conn Smythe this year.

Expectations are a funny thing. If you'd said to Habs fans back on April 8th, a few minutes after the Montreal Canadiens squeaked into the playoffs via the single point they earned in an uninspiring OT loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, that their team would bow out in the Stanley Cup Playoff semi-finals, after dispatching the President's Trophy-winning Washington Capitals and the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins along the way, they'd have taken that outcome in a heartbeat.

However, now that that extremely unlikely possibility has become reality Habs fans have a new set of expectations. They want to see their beloved team capture the Stanley Cup that has been denied them (or fans of any Canadian-based hockey club) for the past 17 years. Right now, anything less than Stanley Cup glory will be deemed a failure. The achievements of the past two rounds have already been forgotten, and there is very much a "What have you done for me lately?" attitude among the fan base right now.

While this might seem unfair, this is reality in professional sports. These are highly paid athletes, who are expected to perform at the peak of their ability when the big prize is on the line. By not scoring a single goal in the first two games of the series, the stars of the Habs have clearly been unable to fulfill that unwritten contract with their fans. Should they again fail to find the net in game three at the Bell Centre the cheers they've heard so often during this Cinderella playoff drive will quickly change to boos.

Yes, it is do or die tonight for this Cinderella team. A loss tonight would put them in a 3-0 hole in the series, and extinguish all but the faintest spark of hope for a Stanley Cup parade this June. Yes, the Flyers managed to overcome those same odds just last round, but given the fact they were the first team in 35 years, and the third ever to do so, it seems more than a little unrealistic to expect the Habs to turn the same trick.

If the Habs are going to get back in this series they need Jaroslav Halak to be the thief he was against Pittsburgh and Washington. He was every bit the brick wall depicted on his goalie mask in games the Canadiens absolutely had to have. This one certainly qualifies.

Mike Cammalleri has to find his scoring touch again. #13 was on an incredible run during the first two rounds, scoring 12 times in just 14 games. However, against Michael Leighton his hot stick has definitely cooled off. He has had a few stellar chances, but has been unable so far to solve the Flyers' goaltender.

Cammalleri also needs some help from the other Canadiens' weapons. If he didn't score another goal in these players, he could be said to have done his part. The same cannot be said of Scott Gomez, Tomas Plekanec and Andrei Kostitsyn. None of them has scored a goal since the Washington series. That is unacceptable, and cannot continue if the Habs want to get back in this series.

And finally, on defense, the Habs have to get back to the system that made them so successful against Washington and Pittsburgh. So far they haven't managed to be as adept at boxing out guys like Mike Richards, Simon Gagne or even Daniel Briere. These guys have reached the net with impunity, and that, more than any other reason, explains the difficulty Halak has had in replicating his earlier success.

It is desperation time for the Habs. If they can't find their A game tonight, then this series is over. Their "Cinderella Run" will instead be referred to as "The Big Tease" and you can bet fickle Habs fans will be angrier at this outcome than if their team had been swept out of the first round by the Caps.