NHL Three Stars: Beleskey bails out Ducks to take series lead
No. 1 Star: Matt Beleskey, Anaheim Ducks
Thanks to Beleskey, the Ducks handed Chicago their first overtime loss of the playoffs. Starting the game on the fourth line, Beleskey was elevated back to his normal position between Jakob Silfverberg and Ryan Kesler by the time OT rolled around. Just 45-seconds into the extra frame, Beleskey sent a fat rebound past a sprawling Corey Crawford.
No. 2 Star: Jonathan Toews, Chicago Blackhawks
To be cliché, Toews singlehandedly put the Blackhawks on his back and willed them to even the score against Anaheim. In a span of 1:12 late in the third, Toews scored 2 goals that brought Chicago within a goal and tied the game for the ‘Hawks. The latter came with 38-seconds left on the game clock. Frederik Andersen is still trying to figure out how that second one went in.
No. 3 Star: Sami Vatanen, Anaheim Ducks
The Lilliputian defenseman for the Ducks showed his offensive prowess with a goal and an assist in the win. He now has 10 points in 14 playoff games for the Ducks, and is a plus-7. His goal was a laser from the blueline off of a face-off win by Ryan Getzlaf:
Honorable Mention: Ryan Kesler was 14-5 on the face-off dot … As Kesler promised, the Ducks continued to lay the body on Chicago, out-hitting the Blackhawks 41-23. Kesler led by example with a team-high 7 hits … Kesler also scored a ridiculous deflection to put the Ducks up 2-0 just 6:42 into the first:
Anaheim led the game 3-0 at the end of the first. The Ducks let the ‘Hawks back in as little Teuvo Teravainen scored the team’s first goal and assisted on the second. Here’s his goal:
Did You Know? Ryan Getzlaf is now the Ducks franchise leader in points scored during a playoff campaign with 19.
Dishonorable Mention: Freddie Andersen picked the wrong night to have his worst game. His first and last goals against were 2 of the biggest stinkers he allowed the entire playoffs … Chicago didn’t register their first shot on goal until 3:34 in the second … Kimmo Timonen was a minus-2 in 8:06 TOI.
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Jen Neale is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter!
