One will carry the Cup, but captains in finals haven’t carried their teams

From Philadelphia -- Two weeks ago, Chicago Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews was hailed as one of the NHL’s best two-way players and a prime candidate for the Conn Smythe trophy as the most valuable player in the Stanley Cup playoffs.

Around the same time, Philadelphia Flyers captain Mike Richards was touted as a modern-day Bobby Clarke for his one-goal, two-assist performance in the Eastern Conference clincher against Montreal, a showcase of his grit, timely scoring and playmaking.

Surprisingly, neither center has approached that level during the Cup finals. Their success at changing that Wednesday in Game 6 will be crucial in determining whether the Blackhawks leave the Wachovia Center with the Cup or the Flyers pull another Houdini act and extend this to the proverbial anything-can-happen seventh game Friday at the United Center.

The captaincy in hockey means more than in any other sport. The captain must command teammates’ attention, inspire them, read their emotional temperature. He should be a leader by deed — as Toews and Richards are — or fiery word.

But can a leader credibly tell teammates what to do if he’s not getting results on the score sheet?

Toews, the Blackhawks’ second-leading goal scorer this season with 25 and third-leading scorer with 69 points, has two assists in the final and a minus-four defensive rating. Richards, who led the Flyers with 62 points this season, has a goal and an assist and is minus-six.

Because their lines didn’t generate much offense, each had new wingers Sunday in Game 5. The changes worked for the Blackhawks, who had more balance and bite in a 7-4 victory that pushed the Flyers to the brink of elimination for the fifth time this postseason. Toews had an assist and was minus-one.

Nothing worked well for the Flyers. Richards was minus-two, though that was a fender-bender in their multi-vehicle wreck of a performance.

“Confidence is such a big thing in hockey, where if you have it you’re almost unstoppable. If you don’t, it’s tough to get anything going,” Richards said Tuesday after the team practiced at the Wachovia Center.

“But we’re getting great chances at the net. You have to think sooner than later they’re going to go in. Let’s hope [Wednesday] night is the night.”

The Flyers can take heart from many factors.

Home teams are 5-0 in this series, and they won the third and fourth games here to improve their home playoff record to 9-1. They showed their resilience in rallying from an 0-3 deficit in the second round. Coach Peter Laviolette also noted that goaltender Michael Leighton, though replaced in Game 5 for the second time in the finals, has the best playoff goals-against average at 2.34 and will start Wednesday.

In listing the Flyers’ assets, Laviolette also cited Richards as a clutch performer.

“It’s a big game. Mike Richards has proven to be, I think in everybody’s eyes, a big-time player,” Laviolette said. “I would expect a big game from Mike.”

Claude Giroux, one of Richards’ wingers Sunday, said players aren’t worried about him. “He’s responsible with the puck, responsible defensively,” Giroux said. “And he’s maybe not scoring as many goals as you guys want but he’s showing up every game, he’s working hard, and he’s still playing well.”

Richards said he’s encouraged that he’s still getting scoring chances. “I don’t feel I need to press for goals. I think they’re going to come naturally if I keep working hard and keep going to the net,” he said. “You’re bearing down as much as you can without squeezing the stick. They’re eventually going to come hopefully [Wednesday] night.”

Toews said he dreamed of holding the Cup aloft “countless times growing up.” Watching Sidney Crosby and the Pittsburgh Penguins triumph last spring made the dream more real to him because the Blackhawks, like the Penguins, rose from oblivion through draft picks, judicious free-agent signings and adding veterans with playoff experience.

Another parallel: Crosby, then 21, was the youngest captain to lift the Cup. Toews, 22, would be the second-youngest.

“That’s the dream. That’s the one thing you keep telling yourself. In your heart you kind of know you’re going to do it someday,” Toews said. “It’s been a long year but I think we all knew all along that we can make it this far.”

Teammate Patrick Sharp joked that Toews is so mature that teammates must check his birth certificate to remember how young he is. “He takes things seriously. He prepares to play just as hard as anybody else,” Sharp said. “He cares about the game and winning. It’s been great to see over the years.

“We’ll see what happens. … But he’s a great leader if he wins or not.”

helene.elliott@latimes.com

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