Blackhawks dominate play, but Ducks come away with series-opening win
You won't find many 4-1 games where the losing team dominates play. Such was the case Sunday in Anaheim, Calif.
The Chicago Blackhawks controlled possession for the majority of the first two periods, the Blackhawks had the better scoring chances for the majority of the game and, at times, it was downright stunning to watch the disparity between the two NHL semifinalists.
The Ducks won't spend much time worrying about it, though. They finished the few chances they had; Chicago did not. Hampus Lindholm, Kyle Palmieri and Nate Thompson scored in each of the three respective periods and Jakob Silfverberg added an empty-netter as Anaheim took a 1-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
The win marked the sixth time in 10 playoff games the Ducks have scored at least four goals, padding their playoff-best 3.9 goals per game.
"We played better in the second and third, but I still don't think it was our A-game," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "You know, you allow over 30 shots (33), I mean, we got lucky and scored. We were opportunistic tonight. We're going to have to play better if we want to continue to stay with these guys."
Chicago coach Joel Quenneville was forced to tax the top four players on his thin blue line with heavy minutes, but despite trailing in a series for the first time in this postseason, he didn't sound overly concerned.
"We did what we wanted to do," he said. "We play the right way, we score first or do the right things again next game like we did today, that's what we'll be looking for."
Play of the day: Frederik Andersen's last-ditch effort. About five minutes into Game 1, the Blackhawks got a glimpse of what was in store for them. Anaheim captain Ryan Getzlaf mishandled a puck just inside the Ducks blue line and the puck squirted to, of all people, Chicago wing Patrick Kane. Kane cut across the slot, got Andersen on his side and took aim at a largely open net. Andersen didn't give up, however. He stuck out his stick and Kane's shot deflected off the paddle and harmlessly over the net.
Turning point: Power outage. After Brad Richards scored late in the second period to pull Chicago within 2-1, the Blackhawks got successive power plays early in the third period with a chance to draw even. Andersen made three stops during one flurry late on the second chance, and Thompson scored at 12:05 of the third to take the wind out of Chicago's sails.
Three stars
1. Andersen, G, Anaheim. The goalie made 32 saves. Many of the biggest ones came in the first period with the Ducks completely on their heels against a surprisingly faster and more potent Chicago attack. Andersen's playoff save percentage rose to .930, fifth-best among goalies that have made at least five playoff starts.
2. Thompson, C, Anaheim. Thompson set up Palmieri's game-winning goal and then scored the game-clinching goal midway through the third period when he burrowed a rebound through Chicago goalie Corey Crawford.
3. Ryan Kesler, C, Anaheim. Kesler didn't record a point, but he took on the responsibility of matching up with Chicago's top center, Jonathan Toews. Kesler delivered five hits, he helped hold the Toews, Marian Hossa, Brandon Saad line without a point and he finished plus-1, while Toews, Hossa and Saad were each minus-2.
RECAP
Anaheim 4, Chicago 1
Series: Anaheim leads 1-0.
Key stat: The Ducks are 34-1-2 in the regular season and playoffs when leading after two periods.
Best visual: Teemu Selanne in the house. The retired Ducks great was on hand to watch his former team compete in the Western Conference Finals for the first time since he helped lead them to their only Stanley Cup in 2007. We've got no idea what inspired the Creamsicle-colored blazer, which didn't come close to matching Anaheim's orange accents.
Teemu trying to get a "Let's Go Ducks" chant started pic.twitter.com/eIXP0wEfKU
— Stephanie Vail (@myregularface) May 17, 2015
Best at being worst: David Rundblad, D, Chicago. Rundblad was forced into duty because of Michal Rozsival's season-ending ankle fracture. Few thought he could handle the duty, and he didn't do anything to dispel that idea. Rundblad formed a perfect screen in front of his goalie when he got knocked off his feet and into the path of the puck on Anaheim's first goal. He had a chance to break up Anaheim's second goal, then got caught puck watching. He played 10:47 of ice time. The Hawks don't have many options, but Rundblad wasn't a good one.
Best quote: "Everyone in the locker room knows we can beat this team." -- Anaheim goalie Andersen.
What we learned: Blue lines blues. Chicago's blue line quandary got a little deeper Sunday when Rundblad struggled to replace injured fifth defenseman Rozsival and veteran Kimmo Timonen logged just 5:15 of ice time. Chicago's top four defensemen all logged more than 20 minutes: Duncan Keith (28:25), Brent Seabrook (26:57), Johnny Oduya (22:29) and Niklas Hjalmarsson (20: 10). The longer that trend wears on against a physical Anaheim club, the more trouble Chicago will have.
Next game: Game 2, Tuesday, 9 p.m. ET at Anaheim.
Final thought: It's tough to say how the 10-day layoff impacted the Blackhawks between the final game of their sweep of the Minnesota Wild and Game 1 against Anaheim on Sunday. The Hawks sure looked rested and had plenty of jump, but many a player will tell you that timing can often be lost in such a lengthy layoff. Maybe that explains Chicago's inability to finish quality scoring chances, maybe Anaheim's Andersen deserves all the credit or maybe it was just one of those days at the office. Even so, Chicago can't feel all that discouraged about dropping Game 1 on the road. It was the better team overall and it played its game. If that continues, it would be foolish to count out the playoff-tested Hawks.
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