Back-breaking loss? Or Pyrrhic victory for the Chicago Blackhawks? Discuss!
The Anaheim Ducks lost Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals 3-2 to the CHicago Blackhawks in triple overtime.
There – I managed to sum up the most exciting, often times crazy, NHL playoff game that I have ever seen using the most straight-forward, boring description!
Why would I deliberately try to sound boring? Because words cannot describe how amazing Game 2 was, my friends. So why bother trying?
This game had a little bit of everything, some things you have never seen before, and some things you don’t want to see:
Oh, boy - I'm starting to hum show tunes in order to keep my nerves in control. Stop me before I begin singing out loud!
— Pucks of a Feather (@PucksofaFeather) May 20, 2015
Marcus Kruger will get credit for scoring Chicago’s game-winning goal with 3:38 left in the third OT, but those of us who were watching this game will remember this game-winning “goal” decades from now:
This would-be game-winning double-overtime headbutt goal DID NOT COUNT:http://t.co/n7ifyCMHvghttps://t.co/nd4RqEsyb9
— SB Nation (@SBNation) May 20, 2015
Yep, you saw that correctly: Andrew Shaw head-butted the puck into the net during the second OT, sending thousands of Anaheim Ducks fans scrambling for their copies of the NHL rule-book to see if such a goal was, indeed, allowed.
Turns out it was not:
Took some searching, but it's no goal. pic.twitter.com/XU2VZDvbdv
— Shane O'Donnell (@shane1342o) May 20, 2015
Despite the fact that Shaw’s game-winner as disallowed, if you were a Ducks fan you had to feel nervous about how this game was going to end. The Ducks hit the post four times on the evening, a sure sign that karma is playing goaltender in the opposing net.
As it stands, the WCF are now tied 1-all, but there is a cloud in the silver lining: the Chicago Blackhawks have been relying so heavily on Duncan Keith (49:51 TOI) and Brent Seabrook (47:46 TOI) that you have to wonder if Chicago’s victory is Pyrrhic in nature. Sure, the series is all square heading back to the Windy City, but at what cost for the Blackhawks?
Only time will tell if this game actually proves to be a turning point for either team. All I know is that it was a wild ride and I am glad I was a part of it . . . well, except for the losing part.
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