Apr 18, 2015; Anaheim, CA, USA; Anaheim Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau, center Ryan Getzlaf (15), Anaheim Ducks right wing Emerson Etem (16) and right wing Tim Jackman (18) celebrate on the bench after right wing Jakob Silfverberg (33) scored the game winning goal in the third period of game two of the first round of the the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Winnipeg Jets at Honda Center. Ducks won 2-1. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-USA TODAY Sports
When the Los Angeles Kings were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs after losing to the Calgary Flames on April 9th, the Anaheim Ducks chances of reaching the western conference finals increased drastically. The journey began with a clean sweep of the Winnipeg Jets followed by an impressive four games to one series win over the Calgary Flames. For the first time since their stanley cup championship season in 2007, the Ducks are back in the western conference finals.
Anaheim Ducks
The Ducks won in a number of different ways through the first two rounds, blowouts, shutouts, comebacks and overtime thrillers as they now head into the western conference finals with an impressive 8-1 record in these playoffs. The next opponent for the Ducks is a team that has reached the western conference finals in five of the last seven seasons, the Chicago Blackhawks.
This series will mark the first time that Anaheim and Chicago have ever met in the postseason and both teams have looked unstoppable through the first two rounds. The Ducks will benefit from home ice advantage but as the Hawks proved in their second round sweep of the Minnesota Wild, they don’t care which city their playing in.
The Ducks will need to be flawless against the Hawks who have arguably the most talented roster of any team in the NHL. It will take a total team effort but their are a few players who will be of the utmost importance for the Ducks in this series.
Here are the 3 key players for the Ducks
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