Ducks Hold Off Blackhawks – Take 3-2 Lead

The Anaheim Ducks are one win away from reaching the Stanley Cup finals. They showed great mental toughness in game five, to hold off the Blackhawks. It was another great game, in what has been an amazing series thus far.

Even though Anaheim was the number one seed coming into the playoffs, many people doubted them. Many people did not think they could beat the Blackhawks, who have been in this position many times, but once again they proved they belong. This series has gone back and forth the entire way. In game the Ducks jumped out to an early lead, but of course the game was far from over.

In the first period the Ducks came out with a purpose. They only allowed Chicago three shots on goal, and on the other side they came out firing, with three goals of their own. 3-0 at the end of the first period, but of course there was plenty of hockey left to play. The Blackhawks answered back quickly with two goals of their own in the second period. Then the Ducks tacked on another goal early in the third period to take the 4-2 lead. The game appeared to be over when the 4-2 lead held with just a few minutes left.

Jonathan Toews of the Blackhawks had a different idea. Toews miraculously scored two goals in the final two minutes of regulation to force overtime. The Ducks were shocked and had to regroup quickly before overtime. Many teams would not be able to regroup mentally in this situation, but the Ducks are not one of them. Just 45 seconds into overtime Matt Beleskey tapped in the game winning goal and boom the Ducks took the 3-2 series lead. They showed great heart and resolve to pull out a victory of this fashion. If this game was any indication game six will be a dog fight and this series is far from over. Nevertheless the Anaheim Ducks are showing that they were the number one seed for a reason. They are here to stay, and now they just need one more victory. If they can respond in a game like that, then why couldn’t they get the job done?