Rozner: Ducks dig deep vs. Blackhawks
Conventional wisdom suggests your best players have to be your best players when two teams are this evenly matched.
So much for conventional wisdom.
Both teams played tremendous defense against the big names in Game 1, and it was Anaheim's depth that made the difference as the Ducks took the opener of the Western Conference finals 4-1 at the Honda Center on Sunday afternoon.
The Hawks were the better team for the first 40 minutes and the difference in speed was apparent, but Anaheim gave little time and space after that to the Hawks' big stars.
And when it mattered most, the best player on the ice Sunday in Southern California was Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen, who kept Anaheim ahead when the Hawks were swarming in a furious first period.
The Hawks, however, had few second chances and there was little net presence when they had their best opportunities.
“As good of a goaltender as he is,” said Brandon Saad, “we have to do a better job of getting to the net.”
As advertised, the Ducks pounded the Hawks from start to finish and it was having an effect by the middle of the second period, when the Hawks began to look for the hit instead of the puck.
On the first Anaheim goal, David Rundblad — playing his first career postseason game after the injury to Michal Rozsival — was cross-checked in front of Corey Crawford and the goaltender never saw the puck.
On the second, Rundblad was taken off the puck by a hit from Kyle Palmieri, who then moved out front and scored when Rundblad lost track of the winger.
“Not an easy start,” said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville. “First playoff game and hadn't played for an extensive period.”
The Hawks were still in the game and only down a goal with eight minutes left when Duncan Keith was caught trying to force the issue in the middle of the ice, and when he failed to corral a puck on a bad bounce, trailer Nate Thompson scored on a rebound to finish a 3-on-3.
Up 3-1, the Ducks had little trouble closing it down as they suffocated the Hawks through the neutral zone and gave them no chance to come back, adding an empty-netter to finish the scoring.
“We were opportunistic,” said Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau. “But we're gonna have to play better if we want to stay with these guys.”
So now it will be a question of adjustments for both teams, and the Hawks have an advantage there with Quenneville vs. Boudreau, whose playoff history is not in his favor.
The Hawks' head coach has already started to look for better matchups by giving Patrick Kane more to work with, at times even using him on a line with Jonathan Toews and Teuvo Teravainen, and there will probably be lineup changes for Game 2.
Quenneville also, predictably, reunited Keith with Brent Seabrook for a good portion of the game, but the Hawks' top four averaged 24 minutes while Rundblad played 10 and Kimmo Timonen only five.
Anaheim continued to play three sets of defense with its top four averaging 21 minutes and its bottom pair playing 17 and 15.
“I think we're fine,” Quenneville said. “When you're not playing much, keep it simple, keep it safe and work your way through it.”
The Hawks' only point came on an unassisted goal by Brad Richards late in the second, and the only point from the Ducks' top line was an assist by Ryan Getzlaf on the empty-net goal.
Meanwhile, the Ducks' third line of Nate Thompson, Andrew Cogliano and Palmieri had 4 points, Jakob Silfverberg and Matt Beleskey — the team's best defensive wingers — had 3 points in a checking role, and defensemen Hampus Lindholm and Simon Despres combined for 3 points.
As was discussed here before the series, in a long, physical battle, Anaheim's superior depth is going to play a big role.
“You're not gonna win in the playoffs without four lines playing well,” Boudreau said. “That (Thompson) line was good. You need that if you want to be successful.”
Anaheim is now 9-1 and has outscored opponents 18-3 in the third period this postseason, but it's only one game and the Hawks won't panic.
“It's a long series. It's seven games,” Saad said. “Take the positives and move on. Tomorrow's another day.”
What they don't have an answer for is playing only four defensemen in a conference final series when the opposition is hitting you every time you touch the puck.
“They have a big, physical team with good skaters. We knew that,” Keith said. “We could use our speed a little bit more.”
They could use a couple more bodies on defense, too.
brozner@dailyherald.com
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