25 IN 25: Comeback for the Ages

The first real hint that the 2009-10 Blackhawks season was going to be a magical one came during the fifth game of the regular season.

On a Monday night at the United Center, the Blackhawks found themselves trailing the Flames 5-0 before they knew what hit them. "Calgary was just having their way with us," Blackhawks defenseman Brent Seabrook said. "We were having a tough time doing anything."
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Calgary jumped all over starting goaltender Cristobal Huet with three goals on its first eight shots and added two more on backup Antti Niemi, all within the first 11:43 of the opening period.
"We were down 5-0 and when you're down that much it's not that you throw in towel, but it's a battle to get back," center Dave Bolland said.
Battle is exactly what they did as John Madden gave the Blackhawks some life with a late goal in the first to cut the deficit to 5-1.
Still, trailing by four goals entering the second period made for a bleak scene in front of 20,074 fans. At the 7:47 mark, Patrick Kane sent a jolt through the Blackhawks - and the crowd - with a goal to bring the Blackhawks to within 5-2.
"Some of us could have written it off and said, 'Geez, this is a terrible loss. We have to lick our wounds and move on,'" Bolland said. "But that team we had was a battling team. We never gave up."

Late in the second, Dustin Byfuglien and Bolland scored 41 seconds apart on Flames goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff to make it 5-4 and give the Blackhawks plenty of momentum heading into the third.
"It was just one of those things: We took some momentum into the dressing room and came out flying in the third," Seabrook said.
Patrick Sharp got the equalizer early in the third and the game eventually went to overtime where Seabrook completed the comeback for the ages with a wrist shot from near the top of the left circle to give the Blackhawks a 6-5 victory.
"It was one of those plays in overtime, it was nothing special," Seabrook said. "I think I shot it through three or four guys and it went in along the ice on Kiprusoff. That was sort of it."
The stunning victory set the tone for a Blackhawks team that developed a never-say-die attitude all the way to capuring their first Stanley Cup in 49 years.
"When you look back at that group we could be down or up and we were just confident in what we could do," Seabrook said. "We never thought we were out of a game."