Kopecky scores winner as Blackhawks beat Flyers in

CHICAGO - The Chicago Blackhawks and Philadelphia Flyers waged a Stanley Cup Finals opener that was at times wild and sloppy, a high-scoring, up-and-down game with five lead changes and a winning goal from an unlikely hero.

Tomas Kopecky, scratched in the previous five games and playing because of an injury to Andrew Ladd, took a great pass from Kris Versteeg and scored from a tough angle past backup goalie Brian Boucher at 8:25 of the third period to send Chicago to a 6-5 victory last night.

Game 2 will be played Monday night at the United Center. "The ice is below average," the Flyers' Scott Hartnell said. "It's really chippy. A lot of snow accumulates really fast, so after the first couple of minutes, you don't see those nice crisp passes and things like that. It's hot outside and humid and stuff like that, so hopefully they'll be able to do a better job for Game 2, the ice guys."

Hartnell and Danny Briere had a goal and two assists each for the Flyers. Ville Leino, Blair Betts and Arron Asham also scored.

"You lose the first game of the Stanley Cup Finals and it's hard to sit here and thumb through the positives right now," Flyers coach Peter Laviolette said. "We'll take a look at it tonight and tomorrow. We'll be ready to go."

Chicago's Troy Brouwer scored two goals, the second putting the Blackhawks ahead 5-4 in the second period and prompting the Flyers to replace Michael Leighton with Boucher. "A lot of action. Shootout at the OK Corral," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "Things settled down as the game progressed. Certainly, I don't think anybody envisioned 5-5 heading into the third period."

Dave Bolland had a short-handed breakaway goal and Patrick Sharp and Kris Versteeg also scored for Chicago.

The Blackhawks are in their first Stanley Cup Finals since 1992 and are aiming for the franchise's first championship since 1961. The Flyers, who last made the Finals in 1997, are shooting for their first title since the Broad Street Bullies won the second of two straight championships in 1975.

The Flyers weren't bullies last night. They played the entire game without a penalty.