The Anaheim Ducks bounced back from their heartbreaking Game 2 loss on Thursday night as they used a Simon Despres goal to grab a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final.
The win gives the Ducks back home ice advantage in the series, and it also gives them a 2-1 series lead with a chance to grab a stranglehold on the proceedings Saturday night at the United Center.
The Blackhawks started out the game with a couple of power plays, but they were unable to get anything good going on either of them as the Ducks pushed hard on the forecheck. Ultimately, that pressure paid off as Marian Hossa was sent off, and Patrick Maroon scored on the ensuing Ducks’ power play to give his team a 1-0 lead.
Despite the goal, the Ducks couldn’t stay out of trouble, and Jakob Silfverberg was sent off after high sticking Jonathan Toews in the offensive zone. The Blackhawks couldn’t take advantage of the four minute double-minor penalty however, and the Ducks retained their lead.
It looked as though the Hawks would head into the intermission trailing, but Patrick Kane had other ideas. Skating into the middle of the offensive zone, Kane found himself all alone after two different Ducks defenders flew past him, and the talented winger fired a no-look backhanded shot into the cage past Frederik Andersen to tie the game at 1-1 after 20 minutes of action.
Through the first three minutes of the second period, the Ducks attacked relentlessly, racking up seven shots in that short span. Andrew Cogliano had a fantastic scoring chance to cap off the furious rally, but Corey Crawford stopped it to keep the game tied.
After that initial onslaught, the Blackhawks did a nice job of dialing back the pressure a bit, and they started to assert themselves a bit more. Kris Versteeg barely missed on a shot attempt after he somehow corralled a wayward pass from Andrew Shaw, and then Bryan Bickell was stoned on a short side chance against Andersen.
Sports
Get today's sports news out of Los Angeles. Here's the latest on the Dodgers, Lakers, Angels, Kings, Galaxy, LAFC, USC, UCLA and more LA teams.
With just under a minute to go, the Ducks grabbed the lead back. Off of a face-off win by Ryan Getzlaf, the Ducks cycled the puck around the zone, and Simon Despres stayed in the face-off dot after pinching in from the point. He eventually got a pass over to him across the ice, and he one-timed a shot past a sliding Crawford to make it a 2-1 game with one period to go.
In that third period, the Ducks defense started out on a strong note as they held the Hawks to just one shot on goal in the first five minutes of play, but the home side continued to ratchet up the pressure as the period wore on. Marian Hossa and Brandon Saad both registered quality scoring chances in the ensuing minutes, but neither went as the Ducks stayed ahead in the game.
In the final seconds, the Blackhawks had a golden opportunity to tie things up, but it was not meant to be. Kane got the puck in the middle of the offensive zone with less than 10 seconds left, but his shot skipped just wide of the cage as Despres came in and knocked the puck ever so slightly off course, and the Ducks escaped with the victory.
The Ducks will look to take a 3-1 series lead on Saturday night as they take on the Hawks in Game 4 of the series. Puck drop is scheduled for 5 p.m. local time.
