Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily Picks: Ducks, Blackhawks set for Game 1 – CBSSports.com
The Blackhawks and Ducks kick off the Western Conference finals Sunday. (USATSI)
Welcome to the Stanley Cup Playoffs Daily Picks, where CBS hockey writers Chris Peters and Adam Gretz get you ready for every game every day of the postseason and share their predictions for each.
Chicago Blackhawks at Anaheim Ducks, 3 p.m. ET, NBC, Game 1
The long wait is finally over. The Ducks and Blackhawks open the Western Conference finals after both teams spent the past week impatiently waiting for the Eastern Conference’s second-round series to wrap up.
The Blackhawks haven’t played in 10 days, while the Ducks’ last game came seven days ago. It’s an abnormally long wait between series that has stopped two rolling teams dead in their tracks. Both are rested now and have had a chance to nurse any of the bumps and bruises that accrue during the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Sunday also marks the first ever meeting between the Blackhawks and Ducks in the postseason. That lack of familiarity brings an interesting element to the series, though the current Blackhawks core has a decided advantage when it comes to postseason experience and making deep runs more recently.
That may not matter much in Game 1, though. The Ducks have been solid on home ice in the playoffs, having won all five games they’ve played at Honda Center so far. Both of Chicago’s losses this postseason came on the road in their first-round series against Nashville. That said, the Blackhawks won both of their games at Honda Center this season, if you think the regular season matters much this time of year.
Among the many things to watch in this Game 1 is how Bruce Boudreau attempts to line match against Joel Quenneville having the advantage of the last change. You think he would prefer to keep Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, his two top scorers, away from Chicago’s top two-way line led by Jonathan Toews, leaving Ryan Kesler to take those tough minutes. Getting the proper matchups could help the Ducks slow down one of the better offensive teams in these playoffs.
Up next, goaltending will be a big factor in the series and we should learn a lot about the goalies in Game 1. Corey Crawford had a stellar series in the Blackhawks’ sweep of the Minnesota Wild. That helped him recover from a first round in which he and backup Scott Darling shared the net, but this is a new series with a team that can really score. Frederik Andersen, meanwhile, hasn’t really been tested all that much through two rounds. This is his first postseason as a primary starter and the Blackhawks offer a much tougher test than either the Winnipeg Jets or Calgary Flames.
Lastly, the stars of this series are bound to shine. Five of the top 10 scorers in these playoffs are in this series, led by Perry’s 15 points. Chicago’s Patrick Kane is second with 13 points. With the way these two guys are scoring this postseason, it should be a lot of fun to see the top six of each team try to outduel each other.
The long layoff, the lack of playoff familiarity and the star power of this series is going to make it incredibly tough to call. It could go the distance, but we should learn a fair amount about both clubs in Game 1.
Pick: Blackhawks 4, Ducks 2
Three stars
1. Patrick Kane, Chicago Blackhawks: The best thing about the long layoff for the Blackhawks was giving Kane more time to strengthen up his surgically repaired shoulder. Given how he has played in the playoffs, maybe he didn’t need it, but it probably doesn’t hurt. Kane has gotten on the score sheet in all but one game this postseason, with points in his last seven in a row. He also torched the Ducks for four goals in the regular-season series.
2. Duncan Keith, Chicago Blackhawks: With defenseman Michal Rozsival injured and done for the playoffs, the Blackhawks are going to need even more out of Keith in this series. He has already averaged a ridiculous 30:37 per game, skewed some by lengthy overtimes, but the workload has been immense. On top of that, Keith leads all defensemen with 10 points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
3. Corey Perry, Anaheim Ducks: After sending the Ducks to the Western Conference finals with the OT winner in Game 5 against the Flames, Perry has had time to rest and recuperate. He was injured in Game 5, but managed to finish the game. He missed a few practices with the injury, but was back on the ice Saturday and is ready to go for the series. He has points in eight of Anaheim’s nine games this postseason, including seven goals.
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