After the Blackhawks’ 2-1 victory Monday night — with Ben Eager scoring the deciding goal — Eager noticed Philadelphia defenseman Chris Pronger scoop up the puck, so he made a bee line to confront him.
“He’s been picking the pucks up after the games and I told him he could keep it,” Eager said.
Eager got his own memento — the championship belt that Blackhawks players bestow upon whomever they determine the best player after games.
After Marian Hossa scored his first goal in eight games for a 1-0 lead in the second period, Eager scored 28 seconds later. It was his first goal in 22 playoff games dating back to May 2, 2009.
“That was pretty exciting,” said Eager, who is better known as an enforcer than scorer. “I’ve been working pretty hard this postseason. It was definitely a nice feeling to see that one go in. It was a big shift before us. Hoss scored a big goal for us. It got the bench going. We got a good bounce.”
Eager started his NHL career in the Flyers organization and played there until 2007, when he was traded to the Hawks.
“Its’ going to be fun,” Eager said of returning to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4 Wednesday and Friday. “I had a lot of great times in Philadelphia. They gave me a chance to play in the NHL and I’m thankful for that. It’s one thing to play (in the finals), but to play against the Flyers is pretty cool.”
Post up: The last half-minute was a bit more frenetic than it could have been, had Patrick Sharp’s shot toward the empty net not pinged off the post.
The Hawks winger recalled that moment with a rueful smile afterward.
“I was just hoping they wouldn’t come down and score and I’d have to answer questions why it didn’t go in,” Sharp said. “The guys bailed me out there in the last 19 seconds. What are you gonna do. I’m not going to change anything. If I had it again, I’d shoot it just as hard and hopefully an inch to the left.”
No go for Ladd: Andrew Ladd skated lightly Monday morning but sat out his second straight game. He suffered an undisclosed upper-body injury in Game 4 of the conference finals.
“We expect him to (play in the series),” coach Joel Quenneville said.
Brian Hamilton contributed to this report.
