Rozner: Blackhawks have history on their side

Duncan Keith often does his postgame interviews standing up.

Late Saturday night, after 40 minutes of ice time in a double-overtime victory, he sat in front of his locker and patiently answered questions for about 10 minutes.

He was polite, but quiet, and he did not stand as he usually does to help the cameramen.

No one would blame him at this point if the indefatigable Keith were wondering how he could survive three more games like the first four, dodging monsters on the back end and trying to join the rush at the other - while logging impossible minutes.

That was the story coming in, and that will be the story going out.

Winners or losers, that will be the theme of the 2015 Western Conference finals for the Blackhawks.

The Hawks can't match the Ducks' depth, and it's taking a toll on the Hawks' best players, hardly a surprising development.

"That's the only thing that gets talked about," said Hawks coach Joel Quenneville. "It's a game that you're trying to get through and win."

What's amazing about Saturday's double-OT victory is the Hawks survived the physical beating while being outplayed the last 40 minutes and still managed to squeeze out a win and tie the series.

"This series is pretty amazing when you look at the four games," Quenneville said. "Very close and very competitive."

This is beginning to rival the 2013 Stanley Cup Final for sheer entertainment and intensity.

"Every year is different," Quenneville said. "Trying to win the Cup has some amazing swings, highs and lows, twists and turns. The deeper you get in games, the deeper you get in series, it's all the more challenging.

"We love our group's experience and know-how and the will to find ways (to win). (Saturday) night was a great demonstration of that."

That resiliency is impressive and it has to have the Ducks wondering just a bit.

Anaheim thinks it should be ahead 3-1 in the series - at worst. Instead, the Ducks must hold serve Monday night or face an elimination game in Chicago on Wednesday.

So just that quickly, the pressure shifts to Anaheim.

"We got a good group in our locker room that knows our situation," said Ducks captain Ryan Getzlaf. "We're coming home. We still have our home ice. We went there (to Chicago) to get it back.

"When you lose in overtime, you lose in overtime. That's the way it goes sometimes. One bounce here or there, it's a different story. So we are where we are."

The Ducks sound relaxed, but they remember too well being unable to finish off Los Angeles a year ago, so look for them to keep the game very physical and take out their anger on the Hawks rather than the refs, who they believe have done them wrong.

"I have to be careful how I answer this," Getzlaf said with a chuckle. "It is what it is. I think the last two rounds, the power plays were a little lopsided, too.

"We just got to go out there, work, try to get our special teams to where they need to be. If we're able to win that special-teams battle, we can do a lot of things.

"Obviously we don't want to take penalties. We want to play the game at a high level and with intensity."

In other words, they'll continue to pound the Hawks and tiptoe the line, trying not to cross it - or, at least, trying not to get caught.

In a battle of wills, the Hawks have the history of winning these brutal series and the mental toughness to handle adversity, but the Ducks so far have been the better team on the ice.

Something has to give and there's little time left.

"Two really good teams," said Patrick Sharp. "Both teams expect to win and neither team is going to give in. We know that. When you play into late May or June, you know it's going to be that way. It should be that way."

Buckle your seat belts for a best-of-three. It might be as good as any you ever see.

• Listen to Barry Rozner from 9 a.m. to noon Sundays on the Score's "Hit and Run" show at WSCR 670-AM.