Blackhawks vs. Ducks: 5 keys to the series

Nashville was confident. So was Minnesota.

Both franchises felt they had the goods to eliminate the Blackhawks from the Stanley Cup playoffs - but the Predators were shown the door in six games and the Wild put its tails between its legs in just four.

Now Anaheim, which went 51-24-7 and 8-1 in the postseason, is the last team in the West that stands in the Hawks' way of another Stanley Cup Final appearance. And make no mistake - the Ducks are brimming with confidence for Game 1 of the Western Conference finals at 2 p.m. Sunday (NBC) in Anaheim.

"A good team, fast team," center Ryan Kesler said of the Hawks. "A beatable team, though."

"We know what to expect," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We know what playoff hockey is about, too. We know we're better than when we played them in the regular season (when the Hawks won two of three)."

Those Hawks victories came by 4-1 margins, but when this series begins, 106 days will have passed since they played each other. So as these two titans get set to clash in what Patrick Kane promises will be "a fun series to watch," here are five areas that will decide who goes forward and who goes home:

1. Skill everywhere

Plain and simple, Anaheim's first two lines are loaded and the top one sports Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Patrick Maroon, a trio that averages 6-feet-3 and 221 pounds.

Then there's the potent second line of Matt Beleskey, Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg.

Four of these players had 20-goal seasons and the two lines combined for 25 playoff goals in just nine games. The Hawks' top two lines? Just 16 goals in 10 playoff games, with 7 coming from Kane.

Calling them one of the top pairs in the league, Hawks coach Joel Quenneville compared Getzlaf and Perry to Vancouver's Sedin brothers, who have "that uncanny anticipation that can't be taught."

"We've got to take away their rush game," Andrew Shaw said. "They've got a lot of guys who like to wheel and like to score goals on the rush. That's one of their main scoring strategies. So we've got to shut that down."

If they do, the Hawks are in great shape because Anaheim - like almost every other team in the league - can't match Quenneville's deep, experienced roster.

2. They've got the power

Much is being made of the Ducks' top-ranked power play, which sits at 31 percent in postseason. While that's impressive, it came against two teams in just nine games.

In the regular season, the Ducks converted on 15.7 percent of their PP chances, which ranked 28th. So have Getzlaf, Perry and Co. found some magic potion in the playoffs?

Getzlaf said yes, but he would not divulge any details.

"Those are secrets," he said. "I'll tell you after the Cup."

(There's that confidence again).

This part of the game could be big, though. After leading the league most of the season with a kill rate hovering around 90 percent, the Hawks have killed an abysmal 69.4 percent over the last 22 games and allowed at least 1 PP goal in 15 of those games.

3. Strength vs. strength

The Blackhawks have yet to lose when they take a lead into the third period. But that 30-0 mark might be tested in this series as Anaheim set a league record with 18 victories when trailing at any point in the third period. The Ducks continued this comeback ability in the postseason, beating the Jets in Games 1, 2 and 3 and the Flames in Game 4 when trailing after two periods.

"We've got to be aware of that," Kane said. "It would be nice to make them face a little adversity, too. We don't know how much they've been tested. But they have been trailing going into third (periods) and end up winning games."

4. Hawks experience

Somebody kick the record player (ask someone if you're under 20) - the needle is stuck. The Hawks' experience, experience, experience (KICK) has been huge in the postseason and figures to play a big role again. No other NHL team has advanced this far five times in seven seasons and it's Anaheim's first trip here since the Ducks won the Stanley Cup in 2007.

Having said that, Francois Beauchemin, Getzlaf and Perry all won that Cup with the Ducks, and Kesler went to the Final in 2011 with the Canucks.

"This team is going to be the best team we've played," said the Hawks' Jonathan Toews. "It's going to take our best.

"And it's also going to take that character and experience we have in this room to make sure we're ready for those difficult moments that maybe some teams would shy away from or wouldn't be able to come back from."

5. The goalies

If the series comes down to the net-minders - as it so often does - then the Hawks are well on their way to a third Stanley Cup Final appearance in six seasons.

Corey Crawford has been spectacular since reclaiming his job in Game 6 vs. Nashville.

While 6-foot-3 Frederik Andersen is young (25) and in his second year, he had a decent season. He also boasts a .925 save percentage in the playoffs, but that was against Winnipeg and Calgary. Now he's facing the daunting task of stopping Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Marian Hossa, Brandon Saad, Patrick Sharp and the rest of the Hawks.

It's something few goalies in the recent past have managed to accomplish.

The last word from Coach Q:

Crawford, Kane, Quenneville and others were asked this week if last year's Game 7 loss to the L.A. Kings in the West finals still stings. Their answers varied, but Quenneville believes that experience could help his team clear that hurdle this year.

"Disappointing and so close," he said. "That was something you could've looked at in different ways. It made for a long summer, long season. Getting to where we're at today took a long time.

"Let's learn from that knowing that's something that didn't set with us very well."