Ducks Set for Stern Test as Blackhawks Loom in Next Round

The Anaheim Ducks helped head coach Bruce Boudreau to a career first on Sunday night as Corey Perry’s overtime goal lifted the team to the first Conference Final appearance of the veteran bench boss’s career.

While the road thus far in the playoffs has been relatively easy for the Ducks, losing only once in nine games and only allowing nine goals in five games to the Calgary Flames in their second round victory, things are about to get a lot tougher as they prepare to face off against the Chicago Blackhawks with a chance to go to the Stanley Cup Final on the line.

Whereas the Flames were intimidated by the constant forechecking pressure that Anaheim applied with their forward group, the Blackhawks cannot only thwart that strategy, they can turn it around and apply it themselves. They have some of the best defensive forwards in the league, with guys like Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa and Marcus Kruger all carrying reputations as elite forecheckers and disciplined players on both ends of the ice.

Along with that quality defense up front, the Blackhawks have some of the best defensemen left in the postseason. Duncan Keith is a surefire contender for the Conn Smythe Trophy with his play over the first two rounds, and guys like Brent Seabrook and Niklas Hjalmarsson have been locked down thus far in the postseason.

To make matters even worse, the Blackhawks have some of the best scorers the Ducks will face all year. Patrick Kane has been an absolute monster for Chicago so far in the postseason after sitting out the final seven weeks of the regular season with a broken collarbone, and his speed and on-ice vision are a nightmare for opponents on a nightly basis. Add in secondary scorers like Patrick Sharp and Brad Richards and the Blackhawks have threats all over their lineup.

Fortunately for the Ducks, there are areas that the Blackhawks find themselves deficient in. The injury that defenseman Michal Rozsival sustained during the Hawks’ Game 4 win over the Minnesota Wild will keep him out for the remainder of the playoffs, and that means that David Rundblad will have to slot in for some playing time. The Hawks ride their top four defensemen hard, but that lack of depth and the fact that Rundblad and Kimmo Timonen are both exploitable could give the Ducks an edge with their top six forwards playing as well as they have recently.

In addition to that lack of defensive depth, the Ducks could also benefit from the Blackhawks’ anemic power play. Despite having all sorts of talented forwards, the Hawks can’t seem to find the right combination or strategy to use and they’re frequently thwarted even when they have the man-advantage on the ice.

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The road thus far has been relatively smooth for the Ducks as they dispatched the Flames and Jets with ease but the Blackhawks pose all sorts of unique and interesting challenges. Both teams will be well-rested by the time the series gets underway, and fans should be in for a treat as two of the best teams in the Western Conference square off

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