By Brad Vandenberk
What does it take to run a marathon? Agility, speed, determination and the heart to want to finish the race. That’s what we have witnessed in this series between the Ducks and Hawks. Game 4 saw another game head past an additional overtime period with tired faces and legs, but still believing that this series is up for grabs. Even though the Hawks gave up a 2 goal lead in 37 seconds, they still found a way to beat Andersen to tie the series at 2. Game five started with the Ducks taking a 3 goal lead only to see the Hawks tie it a 4 late in the third period on the back of Jonathan Toews. Just 45 seconds into the overtime period, Matt Belesky buries a rebound and the Hawks head back to Chicago down 3-2 in the series.
Corey Crawford let in a few quick Duck goals but righted the ship to get his team to overtime. Frederick Andersen let in a multiple softies, which shows he is beatable. The Ducks inserted Tomas Fleischmann into the lineup relieving Emerson Etem off the roster. This gave Coach Bruce Boudreau a different look with his line pairings, and it paid off.
The Hawks opened the period with some great zone time between Andrew Shaw and Marcus Kruger. Even Brad Richards with Patrick Kane and Bryan Bickell give the Ducks D fits. The only thing missing was a shot on goal. Just under five minutes in, Cam Fowler walks off the point and beats Crawford glove side igniting the Honda Center. Just 32 seconds later, Ryan Kesler re directs a shot passed Crawford 2-0. The Hawks still continue to take baby steps to gain just a shot on net. Jiri Sekac gains the zone with speed but runs out of room and runs right into Crawford, with no call made. The Ducks get the first power play when Brent Seabrook cross checks Sekac. Crawford makes a huge save to keep the Hawks within 2. The Ducks strike again when Sami Vatanen beats Crawford with a point shot 3-0. The Ducks now have more goals then Hawks shots on net. Toews finally records the first shot on net at the 3:40 mark of the period. Hawks get out alive only down 11-3 in shots on net.
Coach Q shows a bit of his hand starting Bickell, Toews and Kane for the second period. Just 1:11 Teuvo Teravainen floats a shot on Andersen and it squeaks past him getting the Hawks on the board 3-1. Toews begin to look like a wild animal, breaking through the Ducks D trying to slide a puck through Andersen’s pads. Now it’s the Hawks turn to show off their power play. Francois Beauchemin chases Kane around tripping him. Both Richards and Patrick Sharp gets decent scoring chances. Sekac crashes into Crawford once again with no penalty assessed. Then the visitors do the unthinkable and take a Too Many Men penalty. The Hawks perform a successful kill after the bench minor. The ice begins to tilt the Hawks way and they look a lot more convincing then the first period. Bickell takes a hard hit along the boards. With the period winding down, Teravainen sets up behind the net and spots a wide open Brent Seabrook who squeaks another soft goal past Andersen with 24.8 seconds left. The Hawks tie the shots on goal at 16 apiece.
Andersen jumps on an early puck to open the final frame. Beleskey thinks he scores one over Crawford but the Crow makes the save. Again the Hawks speed is too much for the Ducks to contain, Clayton Stoner heads to the box for hooking Sharp. The power play sends a few shots on Andersen but nothing he couldn’t handle. Coach Q begins to tease the fans putting Teravainen with Kane and let the dancing begin. The period continues with barely any whistles and both teams getting chances to score. The Hawks continue to tilt the ice. Crawford stays sharp as they begin to give pucks away. The Ducks add to their lead when Vatanen spots Pat Maroon behind Crawford, he taps the puck past the goal line and its 4-2 Ducks. Not so fast, the captain puts the team on his back and rips a shot bar down and its 4-3 as Crawford sits on the bench. The Hawks take advantage of an icing and a Ducks timeout to get Crawford out of the net once again. Toews rifles a puck from beyond the goal line in the corner and another soft one beats Andersen tying the game at 4 with 37.2 seconds left in the game. Overtime is where the Hawks love the drama to add to this series.
Just 45 seconds into the extra period, Bickell tries to dump a puck, but it gets blocked and the Ducks come the other way, but Bickell heads for the bench on a line change. Belesky finds himself wide open in the slot off a Crawford rebound and makes no mistake giving the Ducks the win and the series lead 3-2.
Quick Hits:
-Hawks and Ducks tie in shots on goal 28-28.
-Hawks and Ducks go 0/2 on the power play.
-Duncan Keith led all Hawks with 27:23 of TOI. Niklas Hjalmarsson was next with 25:34. Kimmo Timonen played 8:06 with Kyle Cumiskey getting just over 10.
-Toews went 50% in the faceoff dot. Richards 43%, Vermette 35%, Kruger 50%
-Bickell led all Hawks with 5 hits. Johnny Oduya had 3.
-Hawks now try to stave off elimination in game 6 on Wednesday back at the UC.
Lines:
Saad Toews Hossa Keith Hjalmarsson
Bickell Richards Kane Timonen Seabrook
Sharp Vermette Teravainen Oduya Cumiskey
Desjardins Kruger Shaw
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Brad Vandenberk
