On paper, the two teams in the Western Conference Finals could not be more different. But there is one similarity, and it's key -- both the Ducks and the Blackhawks know what it's like to lose a Game 7 to the Los Angeles Kings.
The Ducks remember it all too well. For the Blackhawks, it still stings a little bit, too.
"It was definitely a tough loss," goaltender Corey Crawford told reporters in Chicago. "It definitely pushes us to get back to the (Stanley Cup) Finals."
The Blackhawks and the eventual champion Kings engaged in one of the most epic playoff battles in recent history in last year's Western Conference Final. Before going through Chicago, the Kings went through Anaheim, blowing out the Ducks in Game 7 at the Honda Center. It was embarrassing, the Ducks say.
Given the proximity to L.A. and the great shadow the Kings cast, it might still sting just a little more in Orange County than in Illinois.
"I know I thought about it a lot over last summer and I'm sure a lot of people did." Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said. "You never forget about something like that, but you always want to give yourself a fresh slate and a new opportunity and that's what we've done here. You try not to think about the past too much."
But in this case, thinking about the past is beneficial.
#NHLDucks-#Blackhawks: Series sked, TV info http://t.co/cjOIKVxk3I .. Don't miss 'Ducks Live' after each playoff game pic.twitter.com/ErmwId5fVj
— FOX Sports West (@FoxSportsWest) May 14, 2015
Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf isn't any stranger to playoff heartbreak himself, but he saw lots of young players that were over the last two years. Slowly, all of the playoff leaders of Anaheim teams past -- Teemu Selanne, Saku Koivu, Chris Pronger -- retired and moved on with their careers, leaving Getzlaf, his linemate Corey Perry and longtime Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin as the leaders. And as the team's undisputed leader, Getzlaf knew that he needed to make everyone aware of how valuable a lesson a Game 7 devastation can actually be.
"I think a lot of it is emotion when you're talking about playing in Game 7s and playing in Game 6s," he said. "When you have opportunities to put teams away, you've got to do it. You can't let teams linger, you can't let teams hang around because they can make noise in the end if they need to."
The message was received by the younger role players.
"If you ever run into some adversity or you're down a couple games, it's something you can lean back on for experience," Fowler said. "You can always use it as some sort of motivation."
When the Ducks completed the biggest trade for Ryan Kesler in the offseason, another message was received. This one didn't come from team leadership, but from club leadership.
"Losing that Game 7, we learned from it and we moved on," Getzlaf said. "When we made the Kesler trade in the off season, the organization sent the message as well that we're going after it, we're not rebuilding anything here and we're trying to play for a championship."
The Blackhawks are keeping the past in the past, Crawford says. While they might still be bitter, he doesn't think it's anything that his team is thinking about. Perhaps that's what works for the Blackhawks, but for the Ducks, thinking about it is a good thing.
Maybe, just maybe, that ill-fated Freeway Faceoff series was a blessing in disguise for the Anaheim Ducks.
"It's not always a bad thing to go through something like that because you can definitely learn a lot from it," Fowler said. "You don't want to put yourself back in that situation and have that feeling again. It kind of allows you to come back and use that as fuel to not have that feeling again."
