Depth Shines for Anaheim Ducks; Take 1-0 Series Lead

The Anaheim Ducks began their first Western Conference Finals since 2007 by taking Game 1 from the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 and a 1-0 lead in the series.

The first period of play was largely carried by the Hawks. The Ducks looked nervous at times and played more conservative so as to not make mistakes. However they came out of the period with a 1-0 lead thanks to Hampus Lindholm. The Kesler line, who arguably have been the best forwards all playoffs for the Ducks did a great job coming up ice together from their own zone. The three entered the zone after Matt Beleskey hit Jakob Silfverberg with a great cross ice feed. Silfverberg stepped over the line and hit the trialing defensemen in Lindholm for a bomb from the point. With Beleskey and Ryan Kesler driving the net hard the puck sailed into the net to give the Ducks a 1-0 lead. On the other end of the ice Frederik Andersen did his part stopping all 16 Hawks shots to keep the score at 1-0.

Though the start of the second looked slightly like the first the Ducks would once again make some great plays en route to a goal. Simon Despres calmly skated out of the Ducks zone before hitting Andrew Cogliano in stride into the offensive zone.  After some great fore-checking and cycling by Cogs line Nate Thompson would find Kyle Palmieri in the slot for a wicked wrister that Corey Crawford never saw giving the Ducks a 2-0 lead. From there the Ducks started to play their game more and more and seemed to gain confidence by the goals. However a late turnover by François Beauchemin lead to a Brad Richards goal and the score was sent to 2-1 headed to the final frame.

All season and playoffs long the Ducks have turned their game on in the final frame. Today was no exception. The Ducks carried a majority of the play, Andersen held the fort making timely and game saving saves and once again the Ducks depth would put them ahead by 2 again. Following a shot with purpose from the right circle by Andrew Cogliano (my MVP) the rebound was kicked right into the slot by Crawford for Nate Thompson to bury into the net. The Ducks would add an empty netter care of Silfverberg to seal Game 1 and take a 1-0 series lead. The Ducks will no doubt need to be better moving forward but taking the lead was crucial for the Ducks to do and they did everything they had to en route to taking the series lead.

Andersen Stands Tall:

This was mentioned during the NBC broadcast by Brian Englomb. He commented on how calm and collected Andersen has looked these playoffs and all season for the matter. And stated that a huge reason for that could be that he knows for the immediate future at least he’s the guy in the crease for the Ducks. Last year was a competition between he and John Gibson and you wonder if his shaky play was due to his knowing of everyone having a short leash.

This season due to his great player and injuries by Gibson it has been Andersen’s net and he’s proving all the Ducks brass right. The difference between his play this year and last is truly night and day and he’s giving the Ducks confidence in buckets. He makes timely composed saves, settles things down, and is constantly battling. Andersen doesn’t give up on plays, as evidence by his straight robbery of Patrick Kane in the first period and he is truly shining bright on the biggest stage. He is currently 9-1 with a 1.86 GAA and a .930 SV%. Those numbers are incredible especially for someone who played just five and a half games in the post-season last year. Andersen has his eyes on the prize and he can lead the Ducks all the way there.

Depth Is Name Of The Game:

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The Ducks headlines are usually populated by Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Ryan Kesler. Well that’s to be expected as they are all All-Stars and vital to the success of the Ducks it’s the secondary scoring and “bottom six” forwards that got it done today for the Ducks. The line of Palmieri-Thompson-Cogliano was on fire today combining for 2 goals and 2 assists including the game winner from Palmieri. This line had the Blackhawks running in circles with their speed, and relentless pursuit of the puck. Cogliano has been on fire since the post-season began and he is continuing to be a game breaker for the Ducks. Palmieri after being relatively quiet at times in the post season rewarded Coach Boudreaus decision to keep him burying a great shot today. And Thompson though missing some time against Winnipeg has been nothing short of great since his return. He has been great on face-offs, the penalty kill and got rewarded with a huge goal tonight.

And the newly formed fourth line of Jiri Sekac– Rickhard Rakell-Emerson Etem was great in the limited action they saw, much to delight of fans. This line was put in specifically for this series. The Ducks played two very physical teams in Calgary and Winnipeg to start the playoffs making players like Tomas Fleishman and Tim Jackman better options because of their physicality. But against a faster less physical team in Chicago the Ducks need the speed of Sekac and Etem. These three look like they have great chemistry together and were making plays all over the ice. They also didn’t get pushed around by the fourth line of the Blackhawks and stood their ground well. This will be a great matchup throughout the series and if they can continue this level of play and then some the Ducks will have four lines of legitimate scoring.

Physical Play Must Continue:

The Blackhawks lost defensemen Michael Rozival in their second round series against the Minnesota Wild. Rozival played close to 18 minutes a game for the Hawks and spelled their big minute munches in Duncan Keith and Brent Seabrook. With him out the Hawks used their top four defensemen Keith, Seabrook, Hjalmarsson, and Oduya much more and left their bottom two of Rundblad and Timonen out of the mix. The top four all played north of 20 minutes and Rundblad only played 10:47 while Timonen played just 5:15. Using four defensemen for a game is one thing but a series. You can wear them down. And the Ducks did that taking every opportunity to hit them and limit their space. The Ducks must do this within reason as to not take penalties but finishing your checks will take an effect on a player over a series and allow the Ducks to get in on their fore-check game. Both things that are key for the Ducks winning this series and getting to the Stanley Cup Finals.

Game 2   

Game 2 is Tuesday night 8pm EST (for me) and 5pm local time in Anaheim. The Ducks need to come out better and play a complete game. Limit the vast amount of turnover and get in more on their cycle and fore-check game. They did a good job of keeping the Hawks to the outside, blocking shots and being physical on them. All those things need to continue for them to be heading to Chicago with a 2-0 series lead.