Blackhawks fend off late surge from Ducks to force Game 7
The Chicago Blackhawks are going to the sunny state of California for Game 7 after defeating the Anaheim Ducks 5-2 in Game 6 on Wednesday, handing the Ducks their first regulation loss of this postseason.
The Blackhawks used a fantastic second period to gain the advantage and held off a surging Ducks attack in the third to walk away victorious.
Chicago goals came courtesy of Brandon Saad, Marian Hossa, Patrick Kane, and Andrew Shaw (2) which gave the Blackhawks everything they needed to defeat Anaheim.
Star Performer(s): Kane was all over the ice Wednesday, making sparkling offensive plays and playing incredible two-way hockey for the Blackhawks, earning him one of the top performer slots of the night.
The 26-year-old added a tremendous goal and an assist bringing his already impressive postseason total to 10 goals and seven assists.
Duncan Keith was also an animal for Chicago, playing over 28 minutes and adding three assists in one of his best performances of the entire postseason.
Turning Point: Saad got the scoring underway beating Ducks netminder Frederik Andersen.
Andersen had looked good early on, but the floodgates opened in the second period after Saad bolted to the net for the game's first tally.
(Courtesy: NHL.com)
Top Highlight: Kane completely undressed Game 5 overtime hero Matt Beleskey in the second period for the Blackhawks third goal of the game.
(Courtesy: NHL.com)
Goalie comparison: Corey Crawford was solid for the victorious Blackhawks making 30 saves.
Andersen made some dazzling highlight reel stops, but it wasn't enough to get his team a win.
| Goalie | Shots | GA | Saves | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Andersen | 22 | 4 | 18 | .818 |
| Crawford | 32 | 2 | 30 | .938 |
Stat(s) of the night: The Blackhawks were successful on 13 consecutive faceoffs in the first period before the Ducks finally won a draw.
NHL stats have Hawks 13-0 on faceoffs.
— Helene Elliott (@helenenothelen) May 28, 2015
Ryan Getzlaf and Francois Beauchemin also matched Teemu Selanne for the all-time franchise lead in playoff games with 96.
With the Western Conference Final advancing to Game 7, it will be the first time since 2000 that both conference finals have gone seven.
Series at a glance:
Game 1: Ducks 4, Blackhawks 1
Game 2: Blackhawks 3, Ducks 2
Game 3: Ducks 2, Blackhawks 1
Game 4: Blackhawks 5, Ducks 4
Game 5: Ducks 5, Blackhawks 4
Game 6: Blackhawks 5, Ducks 2
Game 7: Saturday, May 30, 8:00 p.m. ET