It may have taken double overtime, but a Patrick Kane backhand has sent this series back to the United Center with the opportunity for the Blackhawks to force a Game 7.
The first period was not much to talk about. Only 10 combined shots were fired between the two teams, with only another 10 combined blocks.
It was the second when things started heating up. Chicago opened the scoring at the 11:32 mark with Marian Hossa connecting on a shorthanded wrister, assisted by Niklas Hjalmarsson. Hjalmarsson collected a Blues dump into the zone and banked a pass off the boards to Hossa, who advanced the puck to Brian Elliott’s glove side face-off dot before top-shelfing it over Moose’s shoulder.
They only held the lead for 57 seconds before Third Star of the Game Jaden Schwartz leveled on a power play slap shot (yes, the same penalty involved in the shorty), assisted by Alex Pietrangelo and Colton Parayko. Pietro sent a right-to-left cross-ice pass to Schwartz from just across mid-ice to the blue line. Schwartz advanced the puck to the left face-off circle before sneaking one in on Corey Crawford’s glove side.
The Blackhawks reclaimed the lead with 4:36 remaining in the period with an Artem Anisimov wrister, assisted by Artemi Panarin and Teuvo Teravainen. Just before the clock read zeroes for the period, Panarin fired a slap shot to set the score at 3-1, assisted by First Star Kane and Jonathan Toews.
6:57 into the third, Second Star Robby Fabbri brought the Notes back within a score with a strong wrister, assisted by Pietrangelo. The Notes‘ surge continued with 5:10 remaining in regulation on a David Backes tally, with assists from Pietrangelo and Fabbri. Neither team could find the back of the net before the final horn, so the second game of this series entered into overtime.
St. Louis fired 11 shots in the first overtime period, but neither Crawford nor Elliott would let a puck by, forcing the first double overtime game of this season’s playoffs.
Only 3:07 after returning to the ice, Kane ended the game with backhander, assisted by Richard Panik. It was a lazy, deflected puck off Elliott just waiting to be put into the back of the net. After firing the initial shot, Kane drifted behind the cage, and then scored the rebound of his own initial attempt.
Crawford ends the night with the win after saving 43 of 46 shots faced (93.5%), while Elliott takes the overtime loss, saving 31 of 35 (88.6%).
Game 6 will be played in Chicago on Saturday, April 23. Puck drop will be at 8 p.m. eastern, and the contest may be viewed on CBC, NBC or TVAS2.
In yesterday’s Game of the Day, the New York Rangers held home ice to beat the Washington Capitals 5-2.
The Blueshirts opened the scoring just before the ninth minute began when Kevin Hayes and Viktor Stalberg assisted Third Star of the Game Oscar Lindberg to his sixth goal of the season, but the Capitals leveled the game at one-all at the 15:45 mark when Nate Schmidt assisted Alex Ovechkin to his sixth tally of the season. New York broke the tie 2:01 later when Lindberg and Marc Staal assisted Hayes to his third of the year. The 2-1 lead held into the first intermission.
At the end of the second minute of the second period, Second Star Derick Brassard assisted Kevin Klein to what came to be the game-winner, followed 5:06 later by Brassard’s fourth of the season, setting the score at 4-1. Washington scored the final goal of the period at the 18:53 mark when Karl Alzner and Justin Williams assist Marcus Johansson to his third of the season.
The lone goal of the final period belongs to Jarret Stoll and the Rangers, assisted by Keith Yandle and Klein at the 10:53 mark.
First Star Henrik Lundqvist saved 32 of 34 Capital shots (94.1%) to earn his sixth victory of the season (6-2-2 overall), while Braden Holtby earned his third loss (6-3-0 overall) after stopping only 16 of 21 (76.2%).
The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 18-7-3 in favor of the home squad, who leads the roadies by 17 points.
After a busy nine-game schedule last night, Wednesday provides a light break in the action with only four games. The festivities get started at 7 p.m. eastern when Winnipeg visits Toronto (SN/SN1), followed an hour later by St. Louis at Chicago (NBCSN/TVAS). SN/SN1 viewers get an extra helping tonight, as their TVs will turn to Pittsburgh at Vancouver following the completion of the Jets–Leafs game. That game gets started at 10 p.m. eastern. Finally, Florida faces Anaheim on The Pond at 10:30 p.m. eastern.
St. Louis at Chicago is the only divisional rivalry being played this evening, and Pittsburgh at Vancouver is the only game between two playoff squads. While the Penguins–Canucks game is tantalizing since it also includes the return of Nick Bonino to Rogers Arena, the Blues–Blackhawks rivalry has been too good in recent years to pass up.
Last night, the 8-2-1 Blues were shutout by Jhonas Enroth and the Los Angeles Kings on home ice. Jake Allen gave up two goals on 33 shots (93.9%). Although those numbers sting, it still does not change the fact that St. Louis puts a team on the ice that features a strong defense. The Blues currently sit second in both the Central Division and the Eastern Western Conference (trailing Dallas by three points).
So far this season, the Notes have given up only 26 goals (five below the league average), even though their goaltenders have faced 47 more shots than the league average. Assisted by Colton Parayko’s 22 blocks, 4-2-0 Allen and 4-0-1 Brian Elliott (whom I expect will get the start this evening) are even shutting down the opposition’s power play opportunities. While the Blues have given up the average number of power play goals (seven), they’ve had to defend against four more opportunities, setting their penalty kill-rate 2.17% higher than the league average.
On the other hand, the offense hasn’t quite been as strong as Coach Ken Hitchcock would like. His squad has only managed 30 goals so far (one under league average), even though Vladimir Tarasenko and Alex Steen already have five or more goals to their credit. The most frustrating part about not being as potent as in years past is it is not due to effort. The Blues have put 355 shots on goal so far this season, 18 more than the league average, but their shot percentage is a lowly 8.5%, .6% lower than the league average.
Especially distressing has been the power play. The Blues have only notched four tallies with the man-advantage, for a measly 10.53% success rate (8.31% below league average).
Turning our attention to the 7-5-0 Blackhawks, we find a team sitting in sixth place in the Central Division and eighth in the Western Conference, a position that does not qualify them for the playoffs. In their last game played, Chicago bested the same Kings that shutout the Blues yesterday by a score of 4-2. You can read a short recap about that game here.
Similar to tonight’s opposition, they have not been able to rely on their offense, so Corey Crawford and Co. have been responsible for much of the Hawks‘ success. They’ve only allowed 26 goals so far this season, five below the league average. Although Niklas Hjalmarsson’s 28 blocks have surely been much appreciated, it has been Crawford and his backup (1-2-0 Scott Darling) that have been busy, as they’ve had to save 342 shots against, of which they’re successful 92.4% of the time. Even when a man-down, the Blackhawks have found a way to prevent the opposition from scoring 84.38% of the time and allowed only five man-advantage goals.
On the other hand, the offense has not been completely on par with the rest of the league. They’ve only scored 28 times (led by Patrick Kane’s seven goals), which trails the league average by three tallies. Similar to the Blues, it may simply be bad puck luck for the Hawks, as they’ve put 374 shots on goal, 37 more than the league average, but only 7.5% of those shots have found the back of the net.
Luckily for Chicago, the power play has been able to find success, scoring 19.51% of the time (compared to the 18.84% league average). On 41 attempts, that is a total of eight goals in favor of the Hawks.
Last season, the Blues won the season series 3-2-0 by winning both April matchups, but were not able to utilize the momentum in the playoffs and fell in the Western Conference Quarterfinals to Minnesota in six games. On the other hand the Hawks won the Stanley Cup, so maybe they aren’t too worried about winning the series? Yeah, right.
This rivalry runs deep, maybe to the point of being one of, if not the best rivalry in the Western Conference. In addition to the Blues–Blackhawks rivalry, these cities also have the infamous Cardinals–Cubs rivalry that was rekindled this season when the Cubbies beat the Redbirds in the National League divisional round. Don’t think even for an instant that the St. Louis faithful don’t want to serve a little payback to Chi-Town.
That being said, the Hawks are favored in tonight’s matchup at -124. With home ice behind them in this rivalry, it is hard to pick against Chicago, especially since they are playing on a day of rest and their much stronger power play.
Yesterday’s Game of the Day between the Winnipeg Jets and the Montréal Canadiens ended in a 5-1 victory for the home squad.
The Habs opened the scoring at the 6:34 mark of the first with a shorty from Third Star of the Game Paul Byron, assisted by Torrey Mitchell and Jeff Petry. The game-winner came almost 10 minutes exactly from Second Star Tomas Fleischmann, assisted by First Star David Desharnais and Alexei Emelin. The two-goal shutout held into the first intermission.
Thirty-five seconds after dropping the puck in the second, Fleischmann scored his second of the night, assisted by Dale Weise and Desharnais. Two and a half minutes later, the Canadiens set the score at 4-0 with a tally from Desharnais, assisted by Fleischmann and Nathan Beaulieu. Montréal ended their offensive onslaught at the 17:51 mark when Lars Eller, assisted by Andrei Markov and P.K. Subban, fired his power play goal past Ondrej Pavelec. The five-goal shutout held into the second intermission.
Finally, the Jets got on the board at the 13:57 mark of the final period when Mark Scheifele and Nikolaj Ehlers assisted Chris Thorburn to his second goal of the season.
The Mike Condon Era (albeit only a week or so long) got off to a good start as he earned his fourth victory in as many starts by saving 18 of 19 (94.7%), while 4-1-0 Michael Hutchinson earned his first loss of the season after saving five of nine (55.6%). Pavelec replaced him after Desharnais’ goal and saved 16 of 17 (94.1%) for no decision.
The DtFR Game of the Day series now stands at 16-7-3, still favoring the home team by 13 points. Montréal improves to 4-0-0 when featured in our series, while Winnipeg falls to 0-1-1.
After a busy holiday weekend, there are only three games on the schedule this evening. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. eastern at the Air Canada Centre are Dallas and Toronto (TVAS), followed an hour later by Los Angeles at Chicago (NHL Network). The nightcap gets its start at 10 p.m. eastern when Philadelphia visits Vancouver.
None of tonight’s matchups involve divisional rivals or two teams qualifying for the playoffs, but given the expectations for the Hawks, their game against the Kings provides for an interesting game.
After losing their first three games by a combined score of 12-2, the Los Angeles Kings have won seven straight games (their last victory a 4-3 win over the Predators on Saturday) to propel them to first place in the Pacific Division. Their strength: the defense and goaltending.
So far this season, the Kings‘ defense has only allowed 295 shots on goal (led by Alec Martinez’ 19 blocks), a total that trails the league average by 24 attempts. Even better is the goals against total (21) that trails the NHL average by eight tallies. Put those numbers together, and you’ll find Jonathan Quick and his backup, 1-0-0 Jhonas Enroth, owning a 93.2% combined save percentage, exceeding the league average by 1.8%. Even on the penalty kill, the Kings have found success. Although their seven power play goals against is on par with the league, they’ve held that number even though they’ve faced five more man-advantages. Their 82.93% kill rate bests the league average by 1.73%.
Los Angeles‘ offense has been working overtime to cover up their early season shortcomings, made evident by the 24 goals they’ve scored so far this season. Center Tyler Toffoli leads the team by five tallies with nine goals to his credit.
Probably the biggest struggle for this squad has been putting shots on goal, as well as getting them into the back of the net. They’ve only managed 305 shots so far, which trails the league average by 15 shots. Bring into account their 7.9% shot percentage that trails the league average by 1.2%, and we find a team that, should they resolve these issues, becomes a serious threat in the Western Conference.
Turning our attention to the home side, we find a 6-5-0 team that hasn’t quite found the success yet that they’ve grown so accustomed to in seasons past. Similar to Los Angeles, they’ve had to rely on their defense and goaltending for almost every point in the standings they’ve earned so far. They enter the game on a two-game losing streak, their most recent a 5-4 loss in Minnesota on Friday.
Goaltender Corey Crawford (5-3-0) and his backup, 1-2-0 Scott Darling, have only allowed 24 goals this season, trailing the league average by five tallies, but they’ve received a lot of help from Niklas Hjalmarsson (24 blocks) and the Hawks‘ defense. Because of their efforts, Crawford and co. have only faced 307 shots and saved 92.2% of them, both numbers that are better than the league average. Even on the penalty kill, the defense has been strong. On 30 attempts, opponents have only scored five times (two less than average), giving the Hawks a 83.33% kill rate that leads the league average by 2.13%.
The offense has only scored 24 goals this season, which trails the league average by five goals. It has not been due to effort, though, as the offense has notched 348 shots, 28 over the league average. But, because of that number, their 6.9% shot percentage trails the league average by 1.2%.
Although the standard offense may not be up to standard, the power play lines earn DtFR Gold Stars, as they have eight goals to their credit with a 20% power play success rate.
Last season, Chicago won two of three games against Los Angeles, but the more famous recent series occurred during the 2014 Stanley Cup Playoffs when the Kings beat the Hawks in seven games in the Western Conference Finals en route to the four games to one routing of the New York Rangers in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Chicago is favored at -125 at home, but it is hard to ignore a Kings team looking for their eighth straight victory. I think I’m picking the Hawks to win, but it should be an excellent game.
Head Coach Dan Bylsma’s return to the Consol Energy Center ended poorly, as his Buffalo Sabres fell 4-3 to the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Pens opened the scoring only 56 seconds into the game, as Sidney Crosby and First Star of the Game Ben Lovejoy assisted Pascal Dupuis to his first goal of the season. Pittsburgh followed up that early goal with another at the 7:16 mark, when Crosby and Olli Maatta provided the helpers to Second Star Patric Hornqvist. The two-goal lead held until the 14:25 mark, when Jamie McGinn, assisted by Tim Schaller and Rasmus Ristolainen, fired a shot past backup goalie Jeff Zatkoff, followed 2:15 later by a Nicolas Deslauriers goal, assisted by Third Star Ryan O’Reilly and Ristolainen, to set the score a two-all, which held into intermission.
It was all Pittsburgh in the second period. Lovejoy broke the tie at the 8:18 mark, assisted by Evgeni Malkin. Malkin’s line had only just begun, as he is responsible for the game-winner 6:39 later, assisted by Hornqvist and Phil Kessel.
Just as Pittsburgh controlled the second, Buffalo dominated the third. In fact, the Sabres put 24 shots on goal in the final period, compared to a lowly four for Pittsburgh. One of those shots, this one fired by Matt Moulson and assisted by O’Reilly and David Legwand, broke through in the 18th minute to set the final 4-3 score.
Chad Johnson’s record fell to 3-6-0 with tonight’s loss. He saved 25 of 29 shots (86.2%), while Zatkoff saved 50 of 53 (94.3%) to earn his first win in his first start of the season.
After tonight’s game, the DtFR Game of the Day series stands at 14-6-3, favoring the home squad by 11 points.
Tonight’s schedule is another busy one, as there are nine games on the Friday schedule. Four of those games get started at 7 p.m. eastern (Philadelphia at Buffalo [Bell TV], Toronto at the New York Rangers [SN360], Columbus at Washington and Colorado at Carolina), followed half an hour later by two more (Ottawa at Detroit [RDSI] and Boston at Florida). Chicago and Minnesota drop the opening puck at 8 p.m. eastern, followed an hour later by Montréal at Calgary (RDS). The final game gets started at 10 p.m. eastern between Vancouver and Arizona.
Five of the nine games tonight are divisional rivalries (Columbus at Washington, Ottawa at Detroit, Boston at Florida, Chicago at Minnesota and Vancouver at Arizona), and only one is between teams qualifying for the playoffs (Vancouver at Arizona). But, only one is a rematch from last season’s playoffs: the Chicago–Minnesota matchup. Since it’s also a divisional matchup, we’ll look a little further into that one.
The 6-3-0 Chicago Blackhawks have relied on their defense to find their early success. Led by 5-2-0 Corey Crawford and Niklas Hjalmarsson (23 blocks), the Hawks have only allowed 246 shots on goal, saving 93.5% of those attempts. That converts into only 16 goals so far this season, eight below the league average. Even when down a man, Chicago has still found a way to keep the opposition off the board, as they’ve only given up three power play goals on 25 attempts for a 88% penalty kill rate, 7.35% above the league average.
The offense, on the other hand, has not been quite as stellar. as they’ve only notched 19 goals so far, five below the league average. That being said, the power play has scored just as many as the rest of the league (six), albeit on six more opportunities. Therefore, Chicago‘s 16.67% power play trails the league average by 1.68%.
Turning our attention to the 6-2-1 home squad, we find a Minnesota team that leans on their offense for success. They’ve scored 28 goals so far this season, seven of which are a result of the power play (one above the league average). On 30 attempts, their 23.33% power play percentage leads the league average by 4.98%. The most exciting facet of this offense has been their two shorties scored this season. While not something the team can rely on, these tallies can certainly sway the momentum of a game in their favor, and it is beneficial to the squad to know they have that capability going forward.
While the defense hasn’t been as successful as the offense, it still has been fairly stout. The squad has only given up one more goal than league average, of which only five have been on the power play. This stat is slightly misleading though, as the team has only defended 23 power plays, giving them a 78.26% kill rate (3.39% below league average).
Probably the biggest shortcoming of this Wild team is their lack of shots. Minnesota has only notched 245 shots on goal this season, 23 below the NHL average. Fortunately for them, they’ve scored 11.4% of those shots (2.3% over the league average), but it may not be wise to rely on that percentage for long without increasing their shot count.
Last season, Chicago won the regular season series against the Wild 3-2-0 before sweeping them in the Western Conference Semifinals.
Some players to watch in tonight’s game include Chicago‘s Crawford (two shutouts [tied for league lead], five wins [tied for fourth in the league], 1.76 GAA [tied for sixth in the league] and .938 save percentage [tied for eighth in the leauge]) & Patrick Kane (13 points [fourth in the league] on six goals [tied for sixth in the league]) and Minnesota‘s Devan Dubunyk (six wins [tied for second in the league] and one shutout [tied for sixth in the league]) & Zach Parise (seven goals [tied for second in the leauge]).
The line for tonight’s game reads -145 in favor of Minnesota, but given Chicago‘s success against Minnesota last year, I am weary of siding with Vegas in this one.
Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks proved once again, exactly why they are Jonathan Toews and the Chicago Blackhawks, defeating the Anaheim Ducks, 5-3, on Saturday night in Game 7 of the 2015 Western Conference Finals. The Blackhawks are the 2015 Western Conference Champions and will face the Tampa Bay Lightning in the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals.
Toews had a two-goal night and became the first player in NHL history to score two goals in a Game 5 and Game 7 on the road in one series. Corey Crawford made 35 saves on 38 shots against en route to securing the win, while Frederik Andersen made 21 saves on 26 shots on goal in the Ducks loss.
The Chicago Blackhawks got off to a quick start in Game 7 with Toews scoring his first goal of the game at 2:23 of the period. Patrick Kane made a quick pass to Niklas Hjalmarsson, who shot it from the point, generating a rebound opportunity that Toews cashed in on for the 1-0 lead. The team that scored first in each game won every game of this series.
About halfway into the 1st period, things were still looking pretty good for Anaheim, despite trailing 1-0. Shots on goal were tied 4-4 and both teams had plenty of chances at each end. At 11:08, Jakob Silfverberg was penalized for hooking Brandon Saad- negating an excellent scoring opportunity for Saad, something that would become a theme throughout the night.
Nearly 50 seconds into the power play, Chicago’s Jonathan Toews, was at it again, this time on a great shot from the slot with help from Brad Richards and Duncan Keith. The goal was Toews’s second of the night and 9th of the playoffs. The Blackhawks suddenly had a staggering 2-0 lead a little over halfway into the 1st period.
Heading into the 2nd period, the Ducks knew they had to do better if they wanted to remain relevant in the game. Yet 1:18 into the period, Brandon Saad found a rebound and sent it straight to the twine for a 3-0 Blackhawks lead. Saad’s 6th of the playoffs was assisted by Patrick Kane and Johnny Oduya.
Kane shortly had a breakaway soon after Saad’s goal, but was denied by Andersen. It was Frederik Andersen’s 7th save on 10 shots on goal with about 14 minutes remaining in the 2nd period and was a boost of confidence for the otherwise struggling Anaheim goaltender and his teammates.
But then Marian Hossa deflected the puck with his skate in what appeared to be a kicking motion, but was called a goal on the ice and confirmed by video review, for a 4-0 lead for Chicago. This year’s new interpretation of a “distinct kicking motion” favored Hossa’s redirection as an apparent intentional positioning of his leg, but not a full fledging- follow through inclusive- kick.
At 17:55 of the 2nd period, Marcus Kruger tripped Tomas Fleischmann (in for the scratched Emerson Etem) and gave Anaheim a short lived power play. Almost a minute later, Sami Vatanen denied Brandon Saad proper entry on a breakaway by tying him up with a hook, resulting in a penalty, and 4 on 4 hockey. Anaheim was outshooting Chicago 26-15 when the call was made, despite still trailing 4-0 on the scoreboard.
On the ensuing 4 on 4 play, Ryan Kesler got the Ducks on the scoreboard with his 7th of the playoffs, assisted by Jakob Silfverberg and Francois Beauchemin. Duncan Keith was subsequently stoned cold by Andersen on a breakaway for the Blackhawks with 35 seconds left in the period. Kesler would hear his name come up again, before the period ended, when he was called for slashing Saad.
The Ducks killed off a 5 on 3 power play for the Blackhawks early in the 3rd period. With 9:28 to go in the game, Anaheim was outshooting Chicago 31-22 and desperately trying to get anything and everything on goal. Corey Perry notched his 10th of the playoffs at 11:36 of the 3rd period with help from Patrick Maroon and Ryan Getzlaf. Perry’s goal brought the Ducks to within two, but it wasn’t a 4-2 game for long.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Cam Fowler was called for hooking at 12:49 of the period, giving the Blackhawks their fourth power play of the night. Brent Seabrook capitalized on the man advantage with a rocket from the point and made it a 5-2 hockey game at 13:23 of the 3rd period.
Seabrook’s 6th of the playoffs was assisted by Kane and Keith and all but put the game officially out of reach for an Anaheim comeback. In fact, for nearly four minutes after Seabrook’s goal, the Ducks couldn’t record a shot on goal.
With 3:15 left in the game, the Chicago Blackhawks called a timeout while the Anaheim Ducks pulled their goalie. The resulting 6 on 5 play quickly became a 6 on 4 advantage for Anaheim, as Oduya was sent to the box for sending the puck out of play, resulting in a delay of game penalty at 18:58 of the 3rd.
On just their 2nd power play opportunity of the night, Matt Beleskey cashed in for the Ducks. The pending free agent scored his 8th of the playoffs with help from Cam Fowler and Hampus Lindholm, making it a 5-3 game.
Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
But it was too little too late. Despite a late rally and 38 shots on goal in the game, the Anaheim Ducks couldn’t come up with the Game 7 win at home. Just as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the New York Rangers on road ice to advance to this year’s Stanley Cup Finals, the Chicago Blackhawks advanced in enemy territory.
Whereas Anaheim outshot Chicago 38-26 and outhit the Blackhawks 37-15, the Ducks were no match in other aspects of the game. A stronger faceoff presence by Anaheim than in Game 6 kept faceoff wins at 32-32 for both teams, but the Blackhawks led blocked shots for once, 15-14, and took advantage of 2 of their 4 power play’s on the night.
The brash Ducks couldn’t stand against the well versed and experienced Blackhawks. Chicago made the Honda Center their own, as if that wasn’t already apparent enough in the fact that many Blackhawks fans were in attendance and cheering loudly as their team won 5-3 on Saturday night.
Chicago is making their 3rd Stanley Cup Finals appearance in six years. They won the Cup back in 2010 and in 2013 and are set to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning and their league leading offense. Tampa is making just their 2nd Stanley Cup Finals appearance in franchise history, having won the Cup back in 2004.
Game 1 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Finals will be Wednesday, June 3rd, at Amalie Arena in Tampa, Florida. Puck drop is scheduled for 8 PM EST and coverage in the United States will be on NBC for games 1 and 2. Games 3 and 4 will air on NBCSN. If necessary, Game 5, 6, and/or 7 will be announced at a later time.
In front of a packed Honda Center the 2015 Western Conference Finals between the Anaheim Ducks and the Chicago Blackhawks got underway with Game 1 on Sunday afternoon. The Ducks beat the Blackhawks 4-1 as Frederik Andersen picked up the win in a 32 save performance. Chicago’s, Corey Crawford, was dealt the loss despite his 24 saves on 27 shots on goal. Anaheim’s Hampus Lindholm opened up the scoring in the series at 8:48 of the first period to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead, despite trailing in shots on goal for the entire period.
After a dominating first period without any results on the scoreboard to prove it, the Blackhawks had little to show in the second period for nineteen minutes of it. Anaheim continued to impress with their complete domination, a trend that they’ve held in their first nine Stanley Cup Playoff games played this year.
Kyle Palmieri put the Ducks up 2-0, with his first goal of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs, assisted by Nate Thompshon at 4:17 of the 2nd period. Anaheim would then go about ten minutes without another shot on goal.
After Corey Perry’s lone penalty for the Ducks in the first period, Chicago’s Niklas Hjalmarsson was sent to the box for tripping Jakub Silfverberg. Anaheim wasn’t able to capitalize on their first power play opportunity, despite recording two shots on goal in the duration of their man advantage.
At 19:20 of the 2nd period, Brad Richards stole the puck and fired home a wrist shot on Frederik Andersen, getting the Blackhawks on the board and trimming Anaheim’s lead in half. The score was then a close 2-1 game heading into intermission.
The third period saw more of the same. The Ducks were charging hard, while Andersen and a lack of puck luck kept denying the Blackhawks. Nate Thompson tacked on a goal for Anaheim to make it 3-1 with 7:55 remaining. Chicago pulled Crawford with about two minutes left in regulation, but the Ducks capitalized on a rare Jonathan Toews turnover that led to a Silfverberg empty net goal to make it 4-1.
With the win the Ducks improved to 6-0 at home during the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs while the Blackhawks fell to 3-3 on the road. Anaheim leads the series 1-0 and looks to remain unbeatable on home ice in Game 2 as Chicago looks to ruin the party and hand the Ducks their first loss on home ice. Game 2 is on Tuesday night at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California on NBCSN.
Down the Frozen River 
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