Western Conference Final, Game 7: Blackhawks 5, Ducks 3 – Recap

The Western Conference Final came down to a winner-take-all game 7 Saturday in Anaheim. The Hawks struck first 2:23 into the game when Jonathan Toews put a rebound past Frederik Andersen and into the net. After the goal, we saw back-and-forth action. The Hawks would go to the power play 11:08 in after Jakob Silfverberg was sent off for hooking. The Hawks converted 47 seconds in on Toews’ second goal of the night. As was the case after the first Toews goal, the action after the second went back-and-forth. Though the Ducks took control of the action late in the period, nothing got past Corey Crawford, and after twenty, the Hawks led 2-0.

The Hawks expanded their lead to 3-0 1:18 into the second when Brandon Saad put the puck into a wide-open net after a great pass from Patrick Kane. The Ducks would get the better of the chances, testing Crawford frequently, but were unable to cut into the Hawks’ lead. The Hawks would expand the lead 13:45 into the period on a goal by Marian Hossa. The Ducks would get their first power play 17:55 into the second after Marcus Kruger was sent off for tripping. The power play would end 43 seconds in after Sami Vatanen was sent off for hooking. The Ducks would cut into the Hawks’ lead 18:53 into the period on a goal by Ryan Kesler. The Hawks would get a 4-on-3 power play for 14 seconds, then 5-on-3 for the final 5 seconds of the period after Kesler was sent off for slashing. Neither team would score in the remainder of the period, and after forty, the Hawks led 4-1.

The Hawks began the third period with 38 seconds of 5-on-3 time remaining. They would come up empty in the 5-on-3, as they would in just under a minute of 5-on-4 time. The Ducks would cut the Chicago lead to 2 with 8:24 to play on a goal by Corey Perry. The Hawks would go to the power play with 7:11 remaining after Cam Fowler was sent off for hooking. With 6:37 to play, Brent Seabrook scored to put the Hawks’ lead back to 3. With 3:15 to play, the Ducks pulled Andersen in favor of the extra attacker. With 1:02 to play and the Hawks still up 3, Johnny Oduya was sent off for delay of game, and the Ducks went to the power play. Twenty seconds into the power play, Matt Beleskey redirected a shot past Crawford to cut the Hawks’ lead to 2. The Ducks would be unable to tie the game, much less get even another goal, and the Hawks would take game 7 and the series.

My picks for 3 stars:

★★★ Brandon Saad, LW, CHI (1 G)

★★ Patrick Kane, RW, CHI (2 A)

★ Jonathan Toews, C, CHI (2 G)

Twitter: @KSchroeder2325

E-mail: schroeder.giig@gmail.com