Blackhawks Beat Ducks in 3 Overtimes; Even Series at 1-1
If the Chicago Blackhawks take a playoff game into overtime, they are a pretty good bet to win it. The Hawks won two overtime contests against the Nashville Predators in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and on May 19th, they did the same thing in Game 2 of the Western Conference finals against the Anaheim Ducks in Anaheim.
In the third overtime period—after 56 minutes of overtime play—Marcus Kruger put the Blackhawk’s 56th shot of the game past goalie Frederick Andersen to win the longest game in the history of the Chicago Blackhawks. The final score was 3-2. In the second overtime,the Hawks’ Andrew Shaw thought he won it with a unique approach, bouncing the puck off his helmet and heading it into the net. Since it was a hockey game and not soccer, the officials waved it off, and the game continued. Kruger’s goal ended a game that was almost as long as two games.
The series is now tied at a game apiece. It resumes in Chicago with Game 3 at the United Center on May 21st.
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Again, this game shows the difference between playoff and regular season hockey: not only due to the series format (as is the difference in the NBA, as well), but with (seemingly) unlimited overtime. This clearly favors the Blackhawks, due to their extreme depth. Perhaps, this also helps explain why the President’s Cup winners don’t fare as well in the playoffs as some would expect.
After a grueling 2OT win in game four, the Blackhawks again proved my point. It would be, however, better for my blood pressure if they would just go put a couple away early.