Blackhawks beat Ducks in 3OT, tie West finals

Every night during the Stanley Cup Playoffs, Eye On Hockey writers Adam Gretz and Chris Peters will bring you up to speed everything you need to know about all of the action around the NHL.

Anaheim Ducks vs. Chicago Blackhawks, Game 2

Blackhawks 3, Ducks 2 (3 OT) | Series tied 1-1 | Game 3 Thursday

Game 2 in a nutshell: An exhilarating, unpredictable Game 2 remained that way from start to finish. The Blackhawks got out to an early 2-0 lead in the first period, but the Ducks turned things up and managed to close the gap late in the second period. After regulation ended tied, the game needed not one, not two, but three overtimes to determine a victor. Marcus Kruger scored with 3:48 remaining in the third overtime to tie the series.

Turning point: When it ended. A game that had so many dips and dives and twists and turns and bounces and head-butts came right down to the end. Marcus Kruger ended the longest game in Chicago Blackhawks history by shoveling home a loose puck to give Chicago a 3-2 win and survive. The Ducks hit the post multiple times in OT. Neither team could capitalize on power plays in the extra periods. After the swings in the rest of the game, nothing was assured for either club until the final result.

Three things we learned

1. The swings in this game were insane. The Blackhawks controlled the first half of the first period and netted two goals within the first six minutes. As if they were emboldened by the deficit, the Ducks mounted a ridiculous effort towards the end of the first and throughout the second period. Anaheim outshot Chicago 19-7 in the second period. The third period and all three overtimes were played about as evenly as you could imagine. In OT in particular, Corey Crawford for the Blackhawks and Frederik Andersen for the Ducks were incredible in net. Crawford had 28 saves over the three overtimes and 60 overall. Andersen had 27 saves in OT and 53 overall. Everything about this game was ridiculous.

2. The Blackhawks’ concerns on defense are reaching critical level, but they managed to survive. The Blackhawks tried to give more ice to Kimmo Timonen, which did not go particularly well for the veteran. Kyle Cumiskey, who replaced David Rundblad in the lineup for Game 2 was played as sparingly as possible. During regulation, both combined for more ice time than the Blackhawks gave the Timonen and Rundblad did in Game 1, which was helpful to the top four, but the game going to overtime essentially negated that benefit. Duncan Keith played nearly 50 full minutes in the game. Brent Seabrook, Johnny Oduya and Niklas Hjalmarsson were all over 45 minutes. Now they have to fly back to Chicago and somehow recover physically for Game 3. This could be a very difficult series to win if the top four has to play so much.

The Blackhawks celebrated a dramatic triple overtime win in Game 2. (USATSI)

3. Forward depth really showed for the Ducks. Bruce Boudreau was pretty much able to roll all four lines throughout the game with each showing an ability to generate chances. It’s been a big reason the Ducks have been able to wear down the Blackhawks’ top defensemen. There’s really no easy matchup out there for Chicago to shield their weaker defensemen. If Chicago is not worrying about Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry, they have to keep their eyes on Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg. If it’s not them, the third and fourth lines played with speed and strength that kept the pressure on. Anaheim’s fourth line of Emerson Etem, Rickard Rakell and Jiri Sekac was outstanding in Game 2. The Blackhawks haven’t faced a team with this many weapons on four lines in these playoffs. That’s going to continue making a huge difference in this series.

Video of the game: It took forever to get there, but Marcus Kruger ended the game 116:12 after it started by positioning himself at the net and getting the right bounce. Kruger actually had gotten absolutely lit up earlier in the third OT by Clayton Stoner. He was no worse for the wear and came through with Chicago’s biggest goal of the postseason to date.

At 116:12, the @NHLBlackhawks take Game 2. #ANAvsCHI #StanleyCup https://t.co/KtLYKIa5Nj

— NHL (@NHL) May 20, 2015

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