Down the Frozen River

Tag: Ryan Getzlaf

  • Beleskey Ends it Early in OT (for once) and the Ducks are 1 Win Away from the Finals

    Beleskey Ends it Early in OT (for once) and the Ducks are 1 Win Away from the Finals

    2015 Western Conference Finals Game 5 Recap

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Unknown45 seconds into overtime was all it took for Matt Beleskey and the Anaheim Ducks to beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 on Monday night in Game 5 at the Honda Center. For the third time in the 2015 Western Conference Finals, overtime was necessary, but unlike the last two times in overtime, the Ducks won. Frederik Andersen, despite a shaky effort, made 24 saves on 28 shots against en route to the win, while Corey Crawford made 23 saves on 28 shots against in the loss.

    After an impressive Game 4 effort by both teams, Game 5 began with complete domination by the Anaheim Ducks. It seemed as though Chicago Blackhawks goaltender, Corey Crawford, and the rest of the team had forgotten about the start time of Game 5, as the Ducks quickly amassed a 3-0 lead by the end of the first period.

    Two goals in a span of 32 seconds from Cam Fowler and Ryan Kesler quickly gave the Ducks a 2-0 lead before Sami Vatanen tacked on his 3rd of the playoffs at 14:37 of the first period to make it 3-0 Anaheim. The Blackhawks had not even recorded a shot on goal and were down in a 3-0 hole as the Ducks were outshooting them 10-0. At 16:21 Chicago got their first shot on net.

    Shots on goal were both a rarity and in abundance. They were a rarity for Chicago during the first period and in abundance for Anaheim in the opening twenty minutes, but then the roles were reversed for the second frame. The Blackhawks quickly rallied back into the thick of it, only 1:11 into the period, making it a 3-1 game on a goal from Teuvo Teravainen, assisted by Antoine Vermette and Patrick Sharp.

    Unknown-2Chicago then fired 6 consecutive shots on goal before the Ducks had another shot on goal in the second period, sometime after the halfway mark. Both teams went 0 for 2 on power play opportunities in Game 5 and with 24.8 seconds left in the 2nd period, Brent Seabrook fired a blast past Frederik Andersen, giving Teravainen and Sharp assists on what began a run of soft goals given up by Andersen.

    The 3rd period began with a power play for the Chicago Blackhawks at 1:43 of the 3rd, as Clayton Stoner was sent to the box for hooking. Despite numerous chances, the power play unit was unsuccessful as the Ducks killed the penalty and held their ground. Things looked as though the Ducks would escape the third period unscathed for the large part as they began to possess the puck well and controlled the flow of the game.

    However, the Blackhawks had begun to outshoot the Ducks, something that had not happened for the entire game until there was roughly fourteen minutes left in the 3rd period. Despite trailing 3-2, it looked like things might revert back to the first period for Chicago and thus out of reach. Ryan Getzlaf sent a pass up ice to Sami Vatanen, who rushed in with Patrick Maroon crashing the net, setting Maroon up with a perfect pass that was deflected behind Crawford for a 4-2 Ducks lead. The goal was Maroon’s 6th of the playoffs.

    Ryan Getzlaf had thus set a new franchise record for the Ducks with his assist on Maroon’s goal for most points in a single postseason run in (19). And with a two goal lead a little more than halfway in the third period, things were looking good for Anaheim. In fact, of the final four teams remaining in the playoffs (ANA, CHI, NYR, and TB) the team leading after two periods was 24-1, so the odds were going pretty well for them, before the Ducks pulled off the win (thereby making that stat 25-1 now).

    With under 2:30 to go in regulation, Chicago pulled Crawford for an extra skater. At 18:10 of the 3rd period, Jonathan Toews rocketed a wrist shot past Andersen after Marian Hossa and Duncan Keith worked hard to keep the puck in the zone and set up Toews for the goal. A little over a minute later, Toews scored his 2nd of the game and 7th of the playoffs on an impossible angle from behind the goal line. Andersen had given up a rather soft goal earlier in the game, and gave up perhaps the softest goal of the game on Toews’s second goal.

    The game was tied, 4-4, and heading for overtime.

    Stephen Dunn/Getty Images
    Stephen Dunn/Getty Images

    In just 45 seconds of overtime, Anaheim put 4 shots on goal, including the game winner. Matt Beleskey scored his 7th of the playoffs on a juicy rebound given up by a diving Crawford from one side of the net to the other, to no avail. Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg were credited with assists on the game-winning goal.

    At the end of the day, the Anaheim Ducks outplayed the Chicago Blackhawks. While goaltending was certainly an issue for both teams, the Ducks were able to overcome given their control of the smaller, but equally important elements, of the game such as faceoff wins (39-26 in favor of ANA) and blocked shots, 21-11. While they’ll need superb goaltending from Frederik Andersen moving forward, especially if they look to move on, they’ll still head to Game 6 with a 3-2 series lead.

    Game 6 is on Wednesday night in Chicago at the United Center and can be seen at 8 PM EST on NBCSN.

  • Vermette Scores in 2OT to Win it for Chicago, ANA Scores 3 in 37 seconds in 3rd

    Vermette Scores in 2OT to Win it for Chicago, ANA Scores 3 in 37 seconds in 3rd

    2015 Western Conference Finals Game 4 Recap

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Unknown-2A sold out crowd at the United Center was rocking the arena’s foundation to its core on Saturday night as the Chicago Blackhawks and the Anaheim Ducks squared off in Game 4 of the 2015 Western Conference Finals. The building was sent into a frenzy many times and experienced plenty of lows at other times, but somehow the Blackhawks prevailed 5-4 in double overtime as Antoine Vermette scored his first game winning playoff goal since April 25th, 2006- back when he was a member of the Ottawa Senators.

    Corey Crawford, with the win, made 47 saves on 51 shots against, while Frederik Andersen saved 35 of 40 shots on goal. Chicago improved to 6-1 at home in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs as Anaheim fell to 4-2 on the road in the playoffs. The series, meanwhile is now tied 2-2.

    Chicago led in many categories at the end of the 1st period, finally dominating the dominators of the Stanley Cup Playoffs so far, the Anaheim Ducks. The Blackhawks had 14 shots on goal compared to the Ducks 6 shots on goal. Chicago also led faceoff wins 9-7 and takeaways 4-3. The physical game was also much closer at the end of twenty minutes in Game 4 than all of the previous games in the series as the Ducks lead 22-16 in hits.

    With 2:20 to go, Brent Seabrook took a minor penalty for slashing Anaheim’s, Ryan Kesler, and gave the Ducks their first power play opportunity of the night. Marcus Kruger had an important defensive zone faceoff win that led to the Blackhawks clearing the puck and killing time on the penalty. Anaheim was never fully able to gain an entrance into the offensive zone and caused a turnover that led to Chicago moving the puck past a stumbling Francois Beauchemin- who had tripped after making contact with referee, Chris Rooney- and to the tape of Brandon Saad.

    Saad prevented a diving Anaheim defenseman from knocking the puck off his stick and put one past Andersen for his 4th of the playoffs and the 1-0 lead at 19:13 of the 1st period. The Blackhawks came out as a much better team in Game 4 than they had been in Game 3, however, the Ducks further proved why they are a sixty minute effort team as they began to open things up in the 2nd period.

    UnknownShortly after Jonathan Toews’s high sticking penalty had come to an end, the Anaheim Ducks got on the scoreboard with a redirected goal from Emerson Etem (his 3rd of the playoffs) assisted by Kyle Palmieri and Francois Beauchemin. After two periods of play, both teams were 0 for 2 on the power play. The Ducks continued to lead in hits, 35-32, and blocked shots, 16-12, but Chicago was still dominating on the faceoff dot, 26-14.

    If the first period was all Blackhawks, then the second period was all Ducks, who limited Chicago to just 6 shots on goal in the 2nd. Anaheim, meanwhile, nearly doubled their shots on goal total in that period and tightened the total shots on goal to a close 20-19 statistic in favor of the Blackhawks. Despite the second period dominance from the Ducks, the Blackhawks did have one thing going in their favor- Corey Crawford’s reflexes.

    Crawford denied Matt Beleskey on a brilliant opportunity on the rebound with quick reflexes and athleticism that at the time held the 1-0 lead for Chicago, until Etem tied it later in the period. The 1st period was dominated by Chicago, the 2nd period was dominated by Anaheim, and the 3rd period, was wide open and one for the ages.

    Nearly three minutes into the 3rd period, Jonathan Toews fired home a wrist shot that beat Andersen and made it a one-goal lead for Chicago. Brandon Saad and Marian Hossa picked up assists on Toews’s goal. The Blackhawks had a 2-1 lead and were outshooting the Ducks 26-19 nearly seven minutes into the third.

    Brent Seabrook added his fourth of the playoffs on a slap shot from the point, giving Chicago a 3-1 lead, as Saad picked up his 2nd assist on the night and Toews earned his first. Saad wound up with a goal and two assists for a three-point night and a solid effort alongside Toews and Hossa on the Blackhawks first line.

    Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images
    Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images

    And then the magic happened. The Anaheim Ducks scored 3 goals in 37 seconds, going from trailing from 3-1 to leading 4-3. Ryan Kesler scored his 5th of the playoffs with help from Jakob Silfverberg and Andrew Cogliano at 8:42 of the third, then Matt Beleskey added his 6th of the playoffs on an individual effort at 9:05, and finally Corey Perry pocketed his 9th of the playoffs with his goal at 9:19 of the 3rd period, assisted by Ryan Getzlaf.

    The United Center went from the euphoria of a 3-1 lead to the silence and chaos of trailing 4-3.

    Anaheim’s miracle 3 goals in 37 seconds were the 2nd fastest three goals scored in Stanley Cup Playoffs history. Only the 1979 Toronto Maple Leafs did so faster in a playoff matchup with the Atlanta Flames- it only took them, an NHL record, 23 seconds.

    Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
    Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

    It wasn’t long before the Ducks took a penalty at 12:23 of the 3rd period, though. Silfverberg was sent to the box with a two-minute minor penalty for holding and the Chicago Blackhawks went on the power play for the third time on the night.

    You know as they say, the third time’s a charm, and it was for the Chicago’s power play unit as Patrick Kane tied the game 4-4 with a power play goal on a nice set up from Brad Richards and Duncan Keith. Kane’s 9th of the playoffs came at 12:39 of the period and capped off a span of 6 goals scored between both teams in a 10:01 span.

    At the end of regulation, Chicago led the shots on goal department, 33-31, and faceoff wins, 39-26. Anaheim, meanwhile, led in hits 44-42, and blocked shots 23-13. An exciting overtime was set after the intermission allowed for the Zamboni’s to resurface the ice and fans were able to regulate their heartbeats once again.

    The first overtime saw end-to-end action, as well as battles all over the ice. The Ducks had 10 shots on goal before the Blackhawks got their first shot on goal in overtime. At 9:44 of overtime, Sami Vatanen took a holding penalty and gave Chicago their fourth power play opportunity of the night. Fortunately for the Ducks, the Blackhawks were not able to capitalize on their man advantage and Anaheim killed off Vatanen’s penalty with ease.

    Neither team was able to score as the intensity wore off and the pace settled in. The end of overtime assured that for the 2nd time in the 2015 Western Conference Finals there would be at least double overtime before determining a winner. Anaheim had finally overtaken Chicago in shots on goal with 47-38 at the end of the first overtime. The Ducks were still out hitting the Blackhawks, 58-49, and blocked 32 shots compared to Chicago’s 18 blocked shots.

    The Blackhawks, meanwhile, still had a faceoff advantage having led faceoff wins 44-37 after four periods of hockey. In terms of special teams, neither team took another penalty in the game, so the Blackhawks were also winning that department by virtue of having scored a power play goal.

    Both teams emerged from the locker rooms for the second overtime and began with noticeable difference in energy. Perhaps still fatigued by the marathon triple overtime- nearly quadruple overtime- Game 2, neither team could get a grip on controlling the game-flow.

    Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images
    Photo by Bill Smith/NHLI via Getty Images

    At 5:37 of the second overtime, Antoine Vermette- acquired before the trade deadline in March by the Blackhawks- scored the game-winning goal on a rebound off of Anaheim goalie, Frederik Andersen.

    The goal was Vermette’s 2nd of the playoffs and was assisted by Patrick Sharp and Teuvo Teravainen. In keeping with typical Stanley Cup Playoffs fashion, the overtime winning goal was scored by an unexpected hero who had in fact, came up clutch when least thought possible, after having been a healthy scratch for Chicago in Game 3.

    The final shots on goal outcome was 51-40, in favor of Anaheim, who also led hits, 60-52, and blocked shots, 34-20, at the end of the night. Chicago laid claim to faceoff wins 48-40 and the more important, final score, 5-4 in double overtime.

    With the Blackhawks win the series is now tied at 2-2. Game 5 is Monday night at 9 PM EST at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California. The series is now virtually a best of three game competition with at least two more games to be held.

    One thing is for sure, these two teams are bringing out the best in each other- and that’s exciting hockey to watch.

  • Despres, Ducks, Down Blackhawks 2-1 in Game 3

    Despres, Ducks, Down Blackhawks 2-1 in Game 3

    2015 Western Conference Finals Game 3 Recap

    By: Nick Lanciani

    UnknownIn front of a sold out United Center the Chicago Blackhawks lost 2-1 on Thursday night to the Anaheim Ducks in Game 3 of the 2015 Western Conference Finals. Simon Despres scored the game winning goal for Anaheim and Frederik Andersen made 27 saves on 28 shots to earn the win. Chicago’s, Corey Crawford, made 25 saves on 27 shots faced in the loss.

    If anyone was still tired from Game 2, it didn’t show to start Game 3. Nearly thirteen minutes into the 1st period, Anaheim Ducks forward, Patrick Maroon, pocketed his 5th goal of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs in the back of the twine to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead. Despite four failed power play opportunities, the Chicago Blackhawks answered back on the scoreboard at 19:03 of the 1st period with a goal of their own. Patrick Kane registered his 8th of the playoffs and first of the series to make it a 1-1 hockey game heading into the first intermission.

    Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images
    Photo by Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images

    No penalties were called in the 2nd period, leading some to wonder if either team even touched the ice at all for the seemingly lost twenty minutes of play. That is until Simon Despres scored his first goal of the playoffs with 54 seconds left in the period to give Anaheim a 2-1 lead heading into the 2nd intermission.

    Although there were no penalties, or aggression, exchanged between both teams, there were plenty of scoring chances and saves made by Frederik Andersen and Corey Crawford. At the end of two periods of play, the Ducks led the shots on goal category 22-18. Anaheim also led in several other statistics, including hits (31-19) and blocked shots (18-9). Despite Anaheim’s dominance in stats, the United Center was still rocking through the night, packed full with Chicago Blackhawks fans.

    The 3rd period witnessed no scoring, but was full of penalties (at least compared to the 2nd period). Ryan Getzlaf was called for high sticking on a controversial call at 5:02 of the 3rd. Video replay showed that Getzlaf’s stick did not make any contact with Andrew Shaw. Nearly five minutes later, Ryan Keseler and Duncan Keith were sent off the ice with coincidental minor penalties, leaving the Ducks and the Blackhawks to some 4 on 4 hockey for two minutes.

    Unknown-2With 2 minutes left in the game, the Blackhawks pulled Crawford for an extra attacker. Unfortunately, after multiple offensive zone faceoff chances, Chicago could not capitalize on keeping the puck in the zone. Anaheim kept aiming for the empty net, but could not bury an insurance goal. With less than 10 seconds to go, Patrick Kane fired a last chance shot towards the goal that was waffle-boarded away by Andersen and the Ducks took home the victory.

    After showing no signs of fatigue in the first period, fatigue eventually set in during the second period and the rest of the game. Both teams played a slower paced game after the marathon triple overtime Game 2 on Tuesday night. Luck won out for the Ducks at the end of the day, who now have a 2-1 series lead heading into Saturday night’s Game 4 in Chicago.

  • 2015 Western Conference Finals Preview

    2015 Western Conference Finals Preview

    By: Nick Lanciani

    Unknown-2                                         2015 Western Conference Finals

    Unknown1) Anaheim Ducks vs. 3) Chicago Blackhawks

    Game 1 Sunday, May 17 3 PM EST on NBC

    ANA- Round 1- defeated WPG in 4 games. Round 2- defeated CGY in 5 games. First WCF appearance since 2007 (the same year they won the Cup).

    CHI- Round 1- defeated NSH in 6 games. Round 2- defeated MIN in 4 games. Fourth WCF appearance in six years (2010, 2013, 2014, 2015). 

    Anaheim Ducks have home ice advantage.

    Frederik Andersen and Corey Crawford, two goalies that you probably wouldn’t expect to hear about in the same conversation, but they’ve made it anyway- all the way to the 2015 Western Conference Finals, in fact. It might not be as much to do with goaltending, as it has been to do with dominance all around for both the Anaheim Ducks and the Chicago Blackhawks so far in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

    The Ducks have had plenty of offense from their star forwards Corey Perry, Ryan Kesler, Ryan Getzlaf, and others, and so have the Blackhawks in Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, and Marian Hossa. Perry is the leading point scorer of the playoffs so far with 7-8-15 totals in 9 games played. Kane is second with 7-6-13 totals in 10 games.

    Anaheim has the best power play completion percentage, 31.0%, while Chicago ranks 5th in the playoffs. Both teams have scored 3.20 goals per game or more (Anaheim again leads with a slight advantage, 3.89 goals per game, compared to Chicago’s 3.20 goals per game). Meanwhile, the Ducks also have an advantage in goals against per game, 2.00, compared to the Blackhawks 2.80, which ranks 11th out of the 16 teams in the playoffs.

    Of the teams that have played at least 8 games in the playoffs, Anaheim has 5 skaters ranked in the top 10 in Corsi %, with Hampus Lindholm the highest ranking Duck in 2nd with a 58.84 Corsi%. The Ducks also have four players ranked between 11th and 20th in Corsi% with the same parameters as above. Chicago, on the other hand, has four players in the 11th through 20th range, leaving only Montreal’s Brandon Prust, and the New York Rangers, Dan Boyle, as the other representatives from other teams 11th-20th in Corsi%.

    While Corsi is usually a good indicator of offensive production, in terms of shot attempts for, and defensive ability, in terms of lowering shot attempts against; Corsi has rendered all but useless thus far in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. Seriously. The Calgary Flames made it as far as they did with the worse Corsi as a team (41.73 Corsi%) compared to the best in Corsi%, the St. Louis Blues (60.49)- and they lost in the First Round.

    The bottom line- this series will be wide open and highly competitive. We’re in for some great hockey. Anaheim has a plethora of defensemen to enhance their stellar goaltending from Andersen and offensive ability from Perry, Kesler, and just about anyone else on any given night as they’ve shown since Game 1 against Winnipeg back in the first round.

    Chicago has Kane, Toews, Hossa, Patrick Sharp, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Crawford, and oh yeah- other clutch players- Johnny Oduya and well, practically everyone else on their roster. If needed, Scott Darling has proven that he can hold his own in times of trouble (or basically anytime Crawford gives up a lot of goals, high, glove side).

    This series really won’t be about who is the better team, but rather, who has the puck luck at the right time. At the end of the day, whether it’s Anaheim or Chicago, either team has a much better chance of winning the Stanley Cup than the New York Rangers or the Tampa Bay Lightning.

    If the Ducks are going to win this series, it’s going to be because everything kept clicking; Perry, Kesler, and Co. need to keep the ball rolling. If the Blackhawks are to win this series, it’ll be because Kane and Toews began putting on a show all on their own and controlled the Ducks.