Playoff prominence in the Windy City continues as the Chicago Blackhawks are headed back to the Stanley Cup Final after defeating the Anaheim Ducks 5-3 in Game 7 of the Western Conference Finals. Jonathan Toews led the way with two goals while Patrick Kane added three assists in the win.
Their upcoming appearance in the 2015 Stanley Cup Final will mark the third time the Blackhawks will have advanced to the fourth round of the postseason in six seasons. Chicago is looking to add a 6th Stanley Cup to their franchise’s repertoire, and will hope to do so against their upcoming opponent, the Tampa Bay Lightning. The Bolts stamped their ticket to the final round after disposing of the New York Rangers in Game 7 in Madison Square Garden last night.
Chicago’s agressiveness offensively combined with a lockdown defensive effort from goaltender Corey Crawford revealed the inconsistencies of Anaheim from top-to-bottom.
The unravelling of the Ducks defense came shortly after the opening face-off.
Blackhawks Advance to Third Stanley Cup Final in Six Years
GAME 7
In NHL history, the club that scores first is 118-42 (.738) in Game 7s. The Blackhawks wasted little time hoping to find themselves on history’s side when Toews scored at 2:23. Kane broke into the zone and sent the puck to a trailing Nicklas Hjalmarsson who threw a shot towards the front of the net that Frederik Andersen steered aside, but Toews blew the rebound chance past the Danish goaltender to give his team the early lead.
Captain Serious, more like Captain Clutch.
The two-time Stanley Cup champion and two-time gold medal winner has the unique ability to score goals in different ways. There is no one way to defend #19 on the Blackhawks, despite the defense’s best efforts.
While his first goal showcased his center-lane drive to the crease and quick hands around the net, the Winnipeg native’s second goal at 11:55 demonstrated the precision and accuracy of his wrist shot. After Jakob Silfverberg was sent to the penalty box for hooking, Toews received a pass from Brad Richards at the right circle and ripped one by Andersen’s glove.
Toews’ pair of tallies were the only ones that hit the net in the first period as the Blackhawks went into the dressing room leading 2-0: a perfect road period for Joel Quenneville’s club.
Chicago expected a huge response from the Ducks coming into the second period, but once again it would be the Hawks that would score early. After a bouncing puck came towards Kane at the left circle, he faked a slap shot and dished pass across the ice to Brandon Saad, who was left with an open net and made it 3-0 in favor of the Blackhawks. The American forward’s 6th goal of the postseason came at 1:18.
Anaheim was trailing by a trio of goals in their own building; the only sound at the Honda Center came from the few Blackhawks fans who made the long trip to southern California to cheer on their team in enemy territory. Last year, the Ducks failed to get their game going entirely against the Los Angeles Kings in Game 7 of the second round, dropping the series-deciding game by a score of 6-2.
Similar to last May, the Ducks confidence was non-existant while the Blackhawks were overflowing with it. Instead of sitting back on the lead like they had done earlier this postseason, Chicago kept their foot on the gas.
Later in the frame, Richards was sent in on a mini-breakaway that was sticked aside by Andersen, but the rebound came free to Hossa who directed the puck in with his skate at 13:45. After a long review with the officials, Hossa’s controversial goal was deemed to be a legal motion to give the Blackhawks an even more commanding 4-0 lead.
Throughout the second period, the Blackhawks were dominating on the scoreboard, but it wasn’t an accurate representation of the chances exchanged between the two teams. Anaheim fired 18 shots in the second period, but only Ryan Kesler’s late power play strike at 18:51 was all they could get past Crawford through 40 minutes. Chicago was 20 minutes away from reaching the Stanley Cup Final after two periods, leading 4-1.
The final twenty minutes consisted of the Hawks playing four corners and possessing the puck away from their goal, but the Ducks got within two after Corey Perry buried a Patrick Maroon centering feed at 11:36. Anaheim had life.
As the Ducks pressed once more, Kesler turned over the puck and Hossa went the other way, being taken down by Cam Fowler in the process. #4 in black to the box, putting Chicago on the power play.
Brent Seabrook made it 5-2 with a bomb from the right point at 13:23 on the ensuing man-advantage. The life the Ducks had was short-lived, extinguished. Before the final horn, Matt Beleskey’s late goal made it 5-3 with 41.3 seconds to go, but the Blackhawks had a date with the Lightning. At the end of three periods, the Blackhawks had won the game 5-3, and in turn, the series.
Anaheim now heads into this year’s offseason with a plethora of uncertainty, as GM Bob Murray has the difficult task of addressing the reasons as to why his team wasn’t able to put it together when it mattered most. Ducks head coach Bruce Boudreau is now 1-6 all-time in Game 7s.
For Chicago, they soon face a balanced offensive attack in Tampa Bay lead by captain Steven Stamkos and Tyler Johnson. Ben Bishop, standing at 6’7″ in the blue crease, will hope to thwart every chance the Blackhawks throw at him.
After the two clubs exchanged handshakes, Jonathan Toews brought his entire team to stand beside the Clarence S. Campbell bowl, symbolizing Western Conference supremacy.
But nobody plays for the conference championship, or even a division title. The journey is far from over, though, as every team’s goal at the start of October is to etch their names onto hockey’s greatest prize.
Or as 5-time Cup winner Guy Lafleur would say:
You do not play hockey for good seasons. You play to win the Stanley Cup. It has to be the objective.
That objective remains ongoing in the minds of the Lightning and the Blackhawks; the battle to claim it starts June 3rd.
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