∞  -- Number of times you should watch this, the greatest .gif in the history of pixels. Click to animate.

Happy anniversary, everybody.

It's a slow news day (pre-emptive) in part due to the snow and in part due to the All-Star Break, but we got this tip from a reader today and since there's nothing else to talk about, we might as well throw this up.

Chris Pronger's puck-stealing was a story again last week thanks to the Flyers' return to Chicago. That spurned BSH reader Matt Delisle to look back at the video following Game 4. He found this.

That's Hartnell picking up the puck after the game and handing it to Pronger. INTRIGUE!

Alright, since this isn't really a story, let's turn it into a caption contest. Maybe Scott's actually proposing here? We may never know.

Blueland Blog, the official blog of the Atlanta Thrashers, published a list of home openers for each team today. The full schedule comes out tomorrow, but we learn quite a bit from this list.

The Flyers will open their home schedule and raise the Eastern Conference Champions banner on Monday, October 11 when they host the Colorado Avalanche. It couldn't have been the Penguins or Rangers or Devils or Caps, could it? Thanks, guys.

Chicago, of course, gets to hoist their banners against archrival Detroit.

We do, however, get the chance to spoil Pittsburgh's opening night party at their new building, the Consol Energy Center. We found this out last month, but now we have a date: on Thursday, October 7, the Flyers will visit the Penguins to open their new building.

The orange and black are also involved in the St. Louis Blues' home opener on Saturday, October 9.

So, as it stands, it looks like a two game road trip to kick off the season in Pittsburgh and St. Louis, followed by the home opener in game number three against Colorado.

Blackhawks win series, 4-2; are Stanley Cup Champions
[Box Score] - [Wire Recap] - [SBN Game Page] - [Chicago Reaction]
[Corsi and Fenwick] - [Head-to-Head TOI] - [EV Faceoffs] - [Shift Charts]

PHILADELPHIA -- As I sit here and write these words right now, I'm the only person left in the upper deck of the Wachovia Center. Shocked Flyers fans have peeled themselves out of their seats, and Blackhawks fans have found their way to the lower level, where they're cheering within a few feet of their heroes.

There's a "Let's Go Hawks!" chant. An impromptu rendition of "Chelsea Dagger." John Madden is skating around with his kids. Orange is all but gone, save a few curious onlookers. We might as well be in Chicago right now.

The juxtaposition between where I sit in the upper level and the ice is staggering. Up here, there are crews beginning to clean up the building for the final time after a hockey game until September. Down there, it's history, but it's not the type of history that we hoped for, of course.

It's not coming back from elimination five times on the way to the Cup. It's not barely squeaking in to the postseason after a roller-coaster regular season before a storybook playoff run ending in the Cup. Nope, instead it's the culmination of the resurgence of a storied Original Six franchise. It's the end of a cursed player. It's the weight of a different city lifted.

It's not our history tonight. It's their history, and it's taking place on our ice. That brutal fact is going to hurt for a very, very long time. But when you think about it, that in and of itself is absolutely incredible. In a strange way, we should be proud that this is all unfolding on our ice tonight. It's hard to see it right now, but it's symbolic of what the Flyers were able to accomplish this season. The fact that they're even here at all.

We don't need to go over the list -- we all know it by heart at this point. This Flyers team will go down as probably the third best Flyers team ever, simply because of the amazing run they took us on this spring.

There will be plenty of time to look ahead to next season, or even to review the bizarre nature of Chicago's overtime winner tonight, but right now, it's time to take a step back and remember the ride that the 2009-2010 Philadelphia Flyers took us on. From the expectations of the preseason to the doldrums of November to the hope and excitement of the playoffs and everything in between, this team showed us a lot this season.

We have a banner to raise in October and a championship to defend. It might not be the one we want, but it's still one we can be damn well proud of. After the jump, questions with answers and the comment of the night.

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Tonight's goaltenders:

After the jump, full lineups, questions to answer and our in-game discussion.

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Stanley Cup Final, Game 6
Chicago Blackhawks at Philadelphia Flyers
Blackhawks lead series 3-2
Wachovia Center - 8:00 PM ET - Philadelphia, PA
TV: NBC HD, CBC HD, RDS HD
Radio: 610 WIP (internet stream here), XM 204, SIRIUS 208
Get the Chicago perspective at Second City Hockey

PHILADELPHIA -- The Flyers are in yet another do or die situation tonight as they face the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final at the Wachovia Center.

Maybe I'm stupid, but I'm not worried. I'm a bit nervous, I guess, but that's pretty natural given the circumstances here. After all, a team can win the Stanley Cup at the Wachovia Center tonight.

But as far as confidence, and the belief that the Flyers will pull out a victory tonight, I believe it's going to happen. How could we not believe at this point, really?

We know the obvious reasons -- "they're relentless!" -- but the most telling thing to me is how this team has responded after stinkers in these playoffs. In Game 3 against Montreal, the Flyers were absolutely terrible on every side of the puck. Game 4? Completely different story. The Flyers didn't necessarily cruise to victory that afternoon, which saw the return of Jeff Carter to the lineup, but they certainly controlled the game for just about the duration.

More notably, we all know -- seriously, I don't even think it's a question -- that Chris Pronger will rebound tonight and have a superb night of puck. When he's on his A game, the game is played at his level, and Pronger has the ability to slow the game down when his teammates need it to be slowed down. When he senses a burst, he can speed the game up with one of his patented stretch passes through the neutral zone.

To me, Pronger is the key to Game 6, the Flyers fifth elimination game this season. And he's going to have a fantastic showing. He has to, really, or we all know the Flyers season will be over. He knows this, too, and he'll be ready.

Obviously, there are other questions. Will Mike Richards bury his chances tonight? Will Jeff Carter look like Jeff Carter again? Will Dustin Byfuglien quiet down after an amped up Game 5? Will the Flyers be able to counter the line changes Joel Quenneville implemented in Game 5? Will Michael Leighton rebound?

This team knows the goal here. They've been in this spot this for. It's not about winning the Stanley Cup tonight. It's not about winning a Game 7. It's about winning a Game 6, and that's it. Can the beat the Chicago Blackhawks tonight, as Peter Laviolette would say?

They most certainly can, and I believe they most certainly will. Game thread at 5:30ish.

Well, here we are. One game left in the Flyers season, perhaps. They're 5-0 in this situation, but this Finals thing is a different animal. We don't know how this will turn out, and honestly, the Boston series and the entire past doesn't matter at this point.

We do, however, know a few things. We know that the Flyers lost Game 5, for example. On this week's BSH Radio, Ben, Geoff and I talk about how the Flyers got here. What went wrong in Game 5? Was pulling Michael Leighton the right move? Can they take the performance from the second half of that game and improve upon it for Game 6?

And what about Game 6? Will we see any line shuffling? Will Chris Pronger return to form? Will Dustin Byfuglien, then, revert to his Game 1 thru 4 form? Ultimately, can the Flyers force a Game 7 back in Chicago on Friday night?

As always, get the show after the jump.

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This doesn't even need to be editorialized. The following writing is, verbatim, right from the newsroom of WGN in Chicago.

For Blackhawks fans, it's not if, it's when. Destiny is in the air and the team is possibly a game away from causing its legion of fans to explode in celebration.

The city is anticipating a win and has planned a ticker tape parade Friday or Monday depending on when the Hawks clinch. Notice there's no wiggle room here, Hawk fans expect the team to bring home the Stanley Cup, something they haven't done since 1961.

If the Hawks win in Game 6 tonight, expect a Friday celebration. Should the Hawks lose tonight and win Friday, the city will have its celebration Monday.

Details about time and place haven't been disclosed, but if the White Sox winning the World Series is any indication, the Loop will be wall to wall people, so get there early. As in, if you want to see the actual Stanley Cup champions in person, dawn might be a good time to stake out a spot.

The words above aren't an implication on the writer of the article, who happens to be Pat Curry of WGN News. It's more of a window into how the city of Chicago feels about their 'Hawks, as highlighted by the lede. We notice that "there's no wiggle room here" and that Blackhawks fans clearly believe the Cup is their destiny.

The parade is planned for Friday or Monday, depending on when they win. They don't even think to entertain the possiblity that,  you know, the Flyers could actually win a Game 7 on Friday night.

Sure, as has been pointed out, planning is a necessary logistical step, but even whispering that those plans are being made just absolutely stinks. By comparison, Philadelphia didn't announce a parade for the 2008 Phillies until October 30th, the day after the clinching win, and Mayor Michael Nutter routinely declined comment on parade plans.

This type of arrogance is reminiscent of the Yankees. That's not a compliment. You'd think a city with a sporting history such as Chicago's would be smarter than this.