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Anaheim Ducks Win Game 5, Then Lose It, Then Win Game 5 Again!

By Richard Spalding|

The Ducks win a game they had to, but questions loom as they head to Chicago.

So about last night . . . .

For twenty minutes in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, the Anaheim Ducks played the sort of hockey that will win them Lord Stanley’s Cup if they can find a way to play that way for more than one period.

They hit – no, more like pounded – the Chicago Blackhawks, forced turnovers, got the puck deep into the offensive zone and cycled it successfully, and finished the first period up 3-0, having outshot Chicago 11-3 and outplayed them 100-0%.

Had the Ducks played the entire game like that, or at least one out of the remaining two periods, Game 5 would have been a total rout.

Of course, Anaheim did not play like that again during regulation, allowing the Blackhawks to score two in the second and then two more with under two minutes left in the third, turning what could have been a satisfying evening into a, “Oh **** we’re headed into overtime AGAIN?!?” kind of ending to their Memorial Day.

And then the aggressive, “Let’s try to win this game” version of the Ducks returned.  Anaheim managed to fire 4 shots at Chicago’s Corey Crawford in just the first 45 seconds of overtime, finally winning the damn thing courtesy of Matt Beleskey‘s follow-up to a Ryan Kesler bounce pass off of Crawford’s pads.

I believe this Tweet sums up how all Anaheim Ducks fans felt when Beleskey scored the game-winner:

Three things to take away from Game 5.

I may have jinxed Frederik Andersen.  My bad.

So last week I was feeling so good about Freddie that I named him the

undisputed MVP of the Western Conference Finals.

Whoops.  I may have spoken too soon. The Ducks may have taken their feet off of the throats of the Blackhawks after the first period last night, but even so, that game had no business going into overtime.  Of the four goals that Chicago scored in periods two and three, three were absolutely Andersen’s fault.  Check them out, starting with

Teuvo Teravainen

‘s goal 1:11 into the second that got the Blackhawks on the scoreboard:

The goal that Andersen allowed to Brent Seabrook with only 25 seconds to go in the second period was not any better:

And while the laser that

Jonathan Toews

blasted past Andersen to pull the Blackhawks to within one goal was unstoppable, the next shot by Toews absolutely HAD to be stopped, since it was from the worst angle possible:

I can respect the fact that the Blackhawks don’t ever quit, but ‘Hawks fans are giving their team a bit more credit than they deserve: Freddie Andersen handed Chicago three goals last night.  Everyone is entitled to a bad game, so don’t expect any more free lunches, Chicago fans.

Hats off to Hell’s Bells!

Beleskey started Game 5 skating on the Ducks’ fourth line, and given the first period results, it was hard to argue against any of the decisions that coach Bruce Boudreau made yesterday.  If Anaheim can roll out those lines and play a full game Wednesday night, chances are the Ducks will close out the series in six games.

Still, with his team on the brink of losing a must-win game, Boudreau put Beleskey back on the second line to start overtime.  Gosh, I think the results speak for themselves:

Ryan Kesler gets a ton of credit for that goal, as his bounce pass off of Crawford’s pad was perfectly executed.  And don’t forget to give Jakob Silfverberg some love, who backchecked hard enough to be in a position to scoop up the loose puck and quickly fire it out to Kesler, initiating Anaheim’s 2-on-1.

I’m glad Beleseky got to score the game-winner, though, and not just because it was his first ever overtime goal.   Beleskey was a huge reason the Ducks disposed of the scrappy Calgary Flames in round two of these Stanley Cup Playoffs, and has been a good soldier.   Instead of seeing his time spent on the fourth line, Beleskey did what was asked of him and stepped up when Anaheim needed him to save the soul of every Ducks fan in the Honda Center last night.

The Captain sets an Anaheim record!

With two assists last night, the second of which was gigantic, coming on the goal that Patrick Maroon scored to put the Ducks up 4-2, captain Ryan Getzlaf set a new Anaheim Ducks record for points in the playoffs.  

Getzlaf has had one of those playoffs that sort of fly under the radar of the more casual hockey fans, but he has played great defensively and continues to create scoring opportunities for his linemates.  Congratulations to the captain for adding to his legendary status within the Anaheim Ducks organization!

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