The TV ratings have been good, the attendance has been great, so why not turn the Stanley Cup finals into a best-of-nine series instead of best of seven?

Flyers Coach Peter Laviolette surely would love to change the format, because a loss by his team Wednesday night at the Wachovia Center would allow the Chicago Blackhawks to win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1961. A win by the Flyers would force a seventh game Friday at the United Center in Chicago.

Asked after the Flyers’ game-day skate Wednesday if they have enough of their trademark resilience left to prolong the series, Laviolette sounded as if he wants it to go on forever.

"I definitely think there’s enough to go two more. We can go more if we had to," he said. "It’s not the position that we want to be in. I’m sure everybody would rather be up 3-0 or 3-1 and looking at a game where we could close out in Game 6 in our building. That’s just not the path we’ve taken this series."

This is the fifth time the Flyers will face elimination in the playoffs, and they had to win a shootout in the final game of the regular season just to make the postseason tournament. But they’re not ready for it to end either.

"It’s been a special year, and right now we have another chance in front of us," forward Claude Giroux said. “It’s a challenge."

Win or lose, it will be the Flyers’ home finale. They take a seven-game home winning streak and 9-1 home playoff record into the game -- and their record since they've had Kate Smith (via tape) and Lauren Hart (live) singing “God Bless America” is 11-1-0. They announced 30 sellouts this season and have drawn record crowds during the Cup finals.

"We believe we’re going to keep going after tonight, but it’s our last game here. I expect our fans to be crazy like they’ve been all year," forward Ian Laperriere said. "This is a special breed of fans. And I’m just glad I’m part of the Flyers. I need to be on the good side of this."

Blackhawks Coach Joel Quenneville praised his team’s morning skate as "businesslike," adding that he felt the team wasn’t distracted by knowing the Cup will be in the building Wednesday night and could be traveling back to Chicago on the team plane.

"The guys seemed focused. They seemed in tune,” he said. “I think whether it was jitters going into the morning skate, I didn't see any signs of that's an issue. I think going into the game, that's a concern. Their approach has been exactly how you would like it."

Marian Hossa, who made history by being the first NHL player to participate in the finals for three straight seasons with three different teams, said he was calmer and more relaxed than he was a year ago. He played for the Pittsburgh Penguins when they lost to the Detroit Red Wings in 2008, switched sides last season only to lose to the Penguins last spring and signed with the Blackhawks as a free agent last summer.

He said he’s approaching this as a game, not an end to a curse.

"You don’t try to think of all the big things around it. We’ll try to stay focused that way," said the Slovakian winger, whose afternoon plans included hanging out with teammates and taking a pregame nap.

But how is it possible, especially after playing on the losing side the last two years, to block out the knowledge that he’s so near to finally winning the Cup?

"Good question," he said. "On the other hand, you just have to think just about the game, nothing else."

More later at www.latimes.com/sports

-- Helene Elliott in Philadelphia

Overnight ratings for Game 5 of the NHL's Stanley Cup finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday translated into 5.85 million viewers and a 3.3/6 rating. That's the best showing for a nonovertime Stanley Cup finals game since 2002, when the Carolina Hurricanes and Detroit Red Wings drew 6.85 million. Game 5 between Detroit and the Pittsburgh Penguins last year drew 4.45 million viewers. The highest-rated Stanley Cup finals game in recent years was a triple-overtime matchup between Detroit and Pittsburgh in 2008 that drew 6.25 million viewers.

-- Diane Pucin

Photo: Brent Sopel (5) and Niklas Hjalmarsson (4) of the Chicago Blackhawks handle the puck behind the net of teammate Antti Niemi in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals. Credit: Andre Ringuette / Getty Images.

Four-time Stanley Cup winner Scott Niedermayer of the Ducks shares his unique perspective and thoughts with The Times' readers during the Stanley Cup finals. Here he reviews Chicago's Game 5 victory over Philadelphia.

One win away from the Stanley Cup, but now comes the biggest challenge for Chicago. I’ve been lucky  enough to be in their position a few times, one win from a championship.  It’s a feeling unlike any other. You’re tremendously excited, and it’s very hard to control your emotions. I don’t think I’ve ever slept being in that position – I usually have a nap before every game, and I don’t think I’ve managed even two minutes of sleep before a game when you know you can clinch a Stanley Cup. They’re in an exciting position and it’s pretty important that they do their best to focus on what they did last game where they probably played their best game of the series.

I’m sure the leaders in the Chicago locker room will  just tell the team to "keep doing what we’ve been doing, focus on what we’ve been trying to do throughout the whole playoffs." I don’t know how much those words really get through, though, because it’s really exciting to be a hockey player and be that close to winning the Stanley Cup. You do your best though … of course you’re going to have your nerves and a bit of excitement before the game starts. But if you settle down quickly, you’re going to have your best chance of winning the Stanley Cup that night.

Another high-scoring game on Sunday. The game, the way it’s played now, it’s very unpredictable. Momentum changes numerous times each period. It’s tough to defend. The defenders aren’t allowed to do a lot of things to slow things down anymore. The offensive guys can control the puck in the offensive zone and they’ve all seem to be doing that.

Dustin Byfuglien really came alive last night. He’s performed so well for Chicago at different times during the playoffs. Then he’s had times where he’s been quiet. So, for him to step up in a big game like this and have the type of game he did was probably a big reason why the Hawks won. He seemed to be playing with a lot more intensity and with a big guy like that, he’s hard to stop.

Chris Pronger didn’t have his best game, but I’m sure he’ll be able to rebound. He’s played many big games and even a great player like him has had some bad ones. He knows how to regroup and refocus … he’s very good at it. I’m pretty confident he’s going to play a strong game on Wednesday.

Michael Leighton had a tough night too, but I think he can regain his confidence. It’s not going to be easy though. Chicago is going to want to finish it off in Philly. On the other hand, Philly has had success back at their rink, so they’ll get back in there and feel good about what they can do, as individuals and as a team. Hopefully they can, I’d like to see a Game 7!

--Scott Niedermayer

Photo: Chicago's Dustin Byfuglien and Philadelphia's Chris Pronger battle for position during the second period in Game 5 on Sunday. Jeff Haynes / Reuters

Among the many attractions of writing about hockey is that so many of the players are good guys and so few are jerks. Most players are accommodating and some truly are terrific people that you’re glad you got to know.

Ian Laperriere, the scrappy Flyers forward and former King, is one of the nicest and most honest and unaffected guys you’ll meet in any sport. He made his NHL debut in the 1993-94 season with St. Louis and has gone on to play more than 1,000 games for the Rangers, Kings (where he spent parts of nine seasons), Avalanche and Flyers.

Until this season he never got close to playing in the Stanley Cup finals.

Being here, he said after the Flyers skated at the United Center Sunday morning in advance of Game 5 against the Blackhawks, has been an eye-opener -- but not for the reason you’d think.

“This is crazy,” he said, gesturing at the clusters of reporters interviewing players in the Flyers’ locker room.

“This is surreal. Like I’ve never seen anything like it. But it makes sense. There’s two teams left and everybody goes to the same spot. But until you see it you don’t really realize.”

The games themselves have not been surprising.

“On the ice the intensity is all I expected,” he said. “You try to enjoy it but you don’t until the end. You just go day by day.

“They say embrace it, enjoy, but you’ve got work to do. We only have five days left no matter. Hopefully looking back I’m going to have a huge smile on my face.”

There are captains who lead their teams with loud pregame speeches and motivational talks -- think Mark Messier in his Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers days -- and there are captains who lead by quiet, tireless example, like Detroit’s Nick Lidstrom or the Ducks’ Scott Niedermayer.

One method isn’t better than the other. The effectiveness of the leadership depends on the captain’s personality and his team’s temperament.

Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews falls into the quiet-leader category, but on Sunday he had some strong words about himself and his team as they approached Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals at the United Center.

The Blackhawks won the first two games, at home, but lost the next two at Philadelphia, the first time in this playoff run that they had lost two games in a row. Toews’ comments were all the more powerful because he didn’t yell or throw anything but spoke with a controlled and unmistakable intensity.

“There’s no more time to waste. It’s time to bring everything you’ve got,” he said after the Blackhawks’ morning skate.

“We’ve got to believe that it’s ours and it truly is. We’ve just got to find a way to go out there and take it. It’s down to a best-of-three series and no better way to start that than at home.

“You don’t play this far into the season into June for nothing. I think we can all as teammates and as a team look at each other and I think we can dig a little deeper and find a little extra something there. Because we know as a team how good we are and we haven’t reached that limit yet. So we only have three more games to do that.”

To change his team’s look and generate more offense, Chicago Coach Joel Quenneville reconfigured his lines late in the team’s 5-3 loss at Philadelphia on Friday, taking Patrick Kane off the top line and replacing him with Andrew Ladd alongside Toews and Dustin Byfuglien. Kane played with Dave Bolland and Kris Versteeg.

Four-time Stanley Cup winner Scott Niedermayer of the Ducks shares his unique perspective and thoughts with The Times' readers during the Stanley Cup finals. Here he reviews the Philadelphia Flyers' 5-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 4.

Well here we are, all tied up at two games apiece. It’s now down to a best-of-three series and if the first four games were any indication, it should be a great finish.

The home team has won all four games of the series and that doesn’t happen very often. When I was in New Jersey and played Anaheim in the 2003 Stanley Cup finals, that’s the way the entire series played out. The series went to a Game 7 and we ended up winning the Stanley Cup in New Jersey. The travel between Chicago and Philadelphia isn’t as bad as it was in 2003, so I don’t think that is having any effect on the teams. It will be interesting to see the outcome of this series, but for whatever reason I think the home team had a definite advantage in 2003. If I had to guess why that was, I’d suspect playing in rinks you weren’t familiar with, traveling that neither team was accustomed to and the overall makeup of the teams.

The Flyers stepped up in their home rink and played two good games of hockey. I think they really set off their fans and used that to create an intensity that Chicago wasn’t able to match.

I’m not surprised at how well my former teammate Chris Pronger is playing. Everybody says that he’s an aggressive, physical player who is hard to play against, which he is. To me, he is a very, very smart player. That goes a long way no matter if you’re 6-6 or 5-10. He knows how to use his strengths as a player to take advantage of the opposition. He is very good with the puck and understands the game very well. It makes him effective and he’s helped the Flyers even this series.

He created some talk after picking up the game pucks following losses in Games 1 and 2 in Chicago. He enjoys annoying people and I think that’s what he thought it would do. I don’t know if it did annoy the Blackhawks but I wasn’t surprised to hear what he did. That’s part of his makeup as a player and his personality as a player. He loves to make it tough on the other team, whether it’s mentally or physically.

It’s always nice to have a guy like that on your side because when he’s not, he’s getting under your skin and that’s no fun. It’s tough playing against him. He’s a good defender who makes you earn everything. He’s smart with the puck and I think that really helps the offense. He has a good shot and he knows how and when to use it. He’s effective in many areas of the game.

Game 5 will be Chicago’s toughest test of these playoffs. You would think they would get it sometime in the Stanley Cup finals and they’re getting it now. If they want to be a champion, now is the time to realize how they need to play and do it Sunday night. It’s a big game for the Blackhawks.

Overall, it’s been a great series so far. I would love for it to continue along those lines and get even better. The nature of being at the end of the series is going to make for some extremely entertaining hockey. As a fan of hockey, that’s what I’m looking for – a great, evenly matched and hard-fought series. It looks like that’s exactly what we are getting.

-- Scott Niedermayer

Photo: Flyers defenseman Chris Pronger tries to move Chicago's Dustin Byfuglien out of the crease for goalkeeper Michael Leighton during Game 4 on Friday night. Credit: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images 

It has become a tradition for the NHL to bring the top prospects for the annual entry draft to the Stanley Cup Final to meet players and the media, and the five youngsters ranked first through fifth by the Central Scouting Bureau got to meet the Flyers and Blackhawks after the teams finished their morning skates Friday at the Wachovia Center.

They were scheduled to attend Game 4 of the Final Friday night, a memorable experience. But they’re in for an even bigger thrill when the draft is held June 25-26 at Staples Center. The occasion will be the first visit to California for No. 1-ranked Tyler Seguin of the Ontario Hockey League’s Plymouth Whalers and No. 2-ranked Taylor Hall of the OHL’s Windsor Spitfires, and they’re looking forward to it.

“I’ve heard it’s beautiful,” said Seguin, a center who shared the league scoring title with Hall at 106 points each. “It’s going to be an exciting day for my family and I. Just one step closer to the dream.”

Hall, a left wing, said he plans to be in the area for four days and will take batting practice with the Dodgers one day. “That’s going to be an awesome experience,” he said.

Edmonton has the No. 1 pick, with Boston scheduled to draft second because it got Toronto’s pick in the Phil Kessel trade. The Kings will choose 19th. The Ducks will choose 12th and either 29th or 30th, depending on the outcome of the Cup Final.

They acquired the Flyers’ first-round pick in the Chris Pronger trade last summer and that will be No. 29 if the Flyers lose to the Blackhawks and No. 30 if the Flyers rally to win the Cup.

Seguin and Hall are considered very close in talent level and potential. Seguin said even though they play different positions, their drive makes them more similar. “We’re both very competitive, passionate guys and we both want to be the best,” he said. “We both pushed each other all year long, whether it’s for the point race, which we tied in, or the rivalry between both our teams.”

Having Hall push him helped, Seguin said. “I think it was just a little extra. Even though we’d be up 5-1 I’d go out there and try to work my hardest. Maybe in the back of my mind it’s "Hey, you want to win the scoring race,” Seguin said.

“Obviously you want to be the best. Goal No. 1, I wanted to get No. 1 in the scoring race so that was a bit more for a drive.”

Hall compared his style to that of New Jersey winger Zach Parise. “He’s a feisty winger. He’s got that down-low-to-the-ground skating style and he’s a great player,” Hall said. He also said that while it would be an honor to be chosen first, he’s not hung up on that designation -- and that he spoke to Blackhawks winger Patrick Kane about Kane’s experiences before being chosen No. 1 in 2007.

“There were a few guys vying for the No. 1 pick when he was there,” Hall said, “and he said it really doesn’t matter in your NHL career. Either way you’re going to have an NHL career and it’s what you make of it there. So I think it would be an honor to go No. 1 and be included with those guys there but if not, I’m not going to be too depressed.”

Before Kane was drafted he was a guest at the 2007 Cup finals and was in Anaheim for the Ducks’ 1-0 victory over Ottawa in Game 2. “It was a really tight-checking game, so it was pretty cool,” he said. “The place was on fire.... We got to go see California and different things and meet a lot of high-end people at this level.”

More later from the Stanley Cup finals at www.latimes.com/sports

-- Helene Elliott, in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Flyers, who made the playoffs by winning a shootout on the last day of the regular season and rebounded from an 0-3 deficit in the second round against Boston, are accustomed to playing — and winning — must-win games.

That could work in their favor tonight, when they try to win their second successive home game and tie their Stanley Cup Final series against the Chicago Blackhawks at two games each.

But the Blackhawks, who lost to the Flyers in overtime Wednesday in Game 3, have not lost two games in a row in the playoffs this spring. So an argument can be made that they’re well-prepared to bounce back tonight and put themselves in position to win the Cup in Chicago Sunday in Game 5.

That’s why they play the games, eh?

Flyers Coach Peter Laviolette, asked why his team seems so loose, said after the morning skate Friday that his team has no reason to feel tense because the pressure sits on the shoulders of the Blackhawks. He left out the minor detail about Chicago still leading the series two games to one.

“We're in a position where the pressure for us … it's almost like we're on borrowed time,” Laviolette said. “Like I said before, at Christmastime we were 29th in the league.  It comes down to the last game of the season.

“We are just a resilient group.  We keep pushing.  The pressure, I think, is more for teams that are expected to win, as the Blackhawks are, and everybody picked them before the series.  We don't concede anything.  We feel like we've got a confident group that's capable of winning hockey games.

“But I don't know if we feel the pressure as much.  We're trying to keep it light.  We're trying to have a whole bunch of fun.”

Not everyone picked the Blackhawks, but why let the facts get in the way of a good ploy?

Anyway, the Blackhawks  weren’t buying. Asked if Laviolette was playing mind games, Patrick Kane nodded yes.

“I’m sure it is,” the Blackhawks' winger said. “We don’t feel any pressure. We feel that we’re in the driver’s seat up, 2-1. We’re in a great position. We win this one and we can go back home and hopefully do some special things in front of our crowd.”

Kane scored his first goal of the Final on Wednesday, converting a breakaway. He’s hoping that will get him going.

“Anytime you can score and put some points on the board it helps your overall confidence,” he said. “Overall I thought I had a pretty good game. I thought I was headed in the right direction. Right now the biggest thing is building off that and try to get more opportunities and try to create even more.”

The Blackhawks might have one lineup change. Forward Andrew Ladd, who missed the first three games because of an unspecified injury, is a game-time decision, Coach Joel Quenneville said. If he’s back, it’s likely that Adam Burish would be scratched. 

Laviolette wouldn’t say if he plans to make any lineup changes.

More later at www.latimes.com/sports, including some comments from Taylor Hall and Tyler Seguin, projected to be the first and second picks at the NHL entry draft June 25 at Staples Center.

-- Helene Elliott in Philadelphia

Four-time Stanley Cup winner Scott Niedermayer of the Ducks shares his unique perspective and thoughts with The Times' readers during the Stanley Cup finals. Here he reviews the Philadelphia Flyers' 4-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3.

Another close, competitive, hard-fought game. This has been a great series to watch with all the games going down to the last minute. It seemed to me that Philadelphia was more aggressive. They finished more checks, they had an extra jump in their step, they were moving the puck better, they were putting the puck on net and had guys crashing the net more than Chicago did. I think they got rewarded for doing all of those things.

Getting that tying goal 20 seconds after falling behind was a huge thing for Philly. They seemed to carry the momentum after that. They had most of the opportunities after that and then getting the win in overtime. So, to be able to answer a goal like that very quickly was a huge help for them.

For Philly to get two power-play goals and to hold Chicago to none, that’s a huge advantage. Chicago is going to need a power-play goal here at some point to win the series and get their power play going. It seemed to me that Chicago’s power play last night was very much around the outside. They weren’t trying to direct the puck to the net or get people in the middle of the ice as much as they need to. So maybe that’s something they can try to do a better job at.

In the third, I think Philly just had that extra jump in their step. They seemed to be the team that was instigating a lot of things. They were the aggressive team trying to get the puck to the net. When you do that, you’re going to get shots and opportunities. It’s a big reason why they won the game.

Four-time Stanley Cup winner Scott Niedermayer of the Ducks will share his unique perspective and thoughts with The Times' readers during the Stanley Cup finals. Today, he reviews the Blackhawks' 2-1 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers in Game 2.

What a wild end to the game! I’m sure Philadelphia feels that if they’d played a little more that way for the whole game, they could have gotten a win. On the other side, Antti Niemi was doing his job very well. That was a bit of a question mark for the Blackhawks going into the playoffs. Just watching him play last night…he seemed to be really focused and on top of his game. You just had the feeling that it was going to be tough to beat him. And it proved to be that way, especially in the third period. He controlled the game. Even though Philadelphia was getting its chances, he was the big difference.

Ben Eager’s goal was obviously huge. I think you’ve seen that any team that’s had success through the playoffs, when you have two months of hockey, you can’t just rely on one, two or three guys to score your goals. You need to have contributions from everybody. The timing has to be right. What better time for a guy like that, a fourth-line guy, to score a huge goal and it turned out to be the game-winner. That’s a huge ingredient to success in the playoffs.

If you look back with what Philadelphia’s been through this playoffs, they’ve been able to dig themselves out of worse situations. The games have been close. I’m sure they feel a better play here, or one less mistake there and the game would have been theirs. Knowing Prongs, (Chris Pronger) he’s making sure everyone keeps their focus on their game. That’s always an important thing when there’s a lot of distractions, you stick with what got you there. I’m sure that’s what he’s talking about and trying to portray to the rest of the guys.

Monday night's Stanley Cup Game 2 between the Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers has earned the best overnight television rating on record for a Game 2 (data before 1975 is unavailable). The overnight rating for NBC is a 4.1 with a 7 audience share. That's up 21% over last year's Game 2 between Detroit and Pittsburgh. 

The information from Nielsen Media Research indicates the game had its highest viewership between 7:30 and 8 p.m. PT. The Chicago market showed a 25.1 rating and a 39 share; in Philadelphia it was 18.5 and 29. The game also won the overall night in the rankings for NBC.

The Blackhawks and Flyers are also playing well in Canada. Game 1 had an average audience of 3.16 million on the CBC, an 83% increase over Game 1 in 2009.

After Chicago and Philadelphia, the rest of the top 10 markets for NBC so far are, in order, Buffalo, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, Detroit, Fort Myers, Las Vegas and Orlando, Columbus and St. Louis all tied for ninth.

According to the numbers, three non-NHL markets have shown big increases this year, with Seattle's numbers up 213% from last year, Kansas City up 140% and Memphis up 120%. 

-- Diane Pucin

Hey, hey, let’s play two today!

OK, wrong sport: that was Cubs first baseman Ernie Banks’ favorite saying. But it’s a beautiful day in Chicago, where the Cubs are playing the Cardinals this afternoon and the Stanley Cup finals open later at the United Center. Great city, great weather, great weekend.

First, the injury news: Chicago winger Andrew Ladd, who sustained an upper-body injury in the Blackhawks’ last game of the West finals against San Jose, won’t play. He will be replaced by Tomas Kopecky (pictured above), though Coach Joel Quenneville said he expects Ladd to return sometime during the finals.

Quenneville wouldn’t say who Kopecky’s linemates will be but Kopecky practiced with Kris Versteeg and Dave Bolland the last few days. Quenneville said Kopecky “has got some patience. Sees the play, sees the ice. He can check as well. That whole group has been pretty effective.”

Ladd was a presence around the net, and he might be missed.

“Laddie is a big loss for us,” Bolland said, adding that Kopecky seemed to be eager to get a chance after being scratched the previous five games. “To be back in the finals to play he’s got to be really excited. It should be good tonight,” Bolland said.”

For the Flyers, goaltender Brian Boucher will dress as the backup to Michael Leighton, the first time Boucher will be in uniform since he suffered a knee injury during Game 5 of Philadelphia’s second-round comeback victory over Boston. He compiled a 1.59 goals-against average and .940 save percentage in the Flyers’ first-round upset of New Jersey, tops among all goalies in the first round.

“We were a seventh seed in the East but I think we all feel we’re a better team than that,” Boucher said. “We all kind of stumbled around there for a while and lost our way but we know deep down inside we’re a good hockey team when we play to our capabilities.”