Advertisement

Dose: Vermette stuns Ducks

The Game 5 Dose ponders a perplexing Stanley Cup Final, the Blackhawks' other great defenseman and more

Two series. Both now a best-of-three affair. As a hockey fan, you can’t ask for anything better than that.

If one thing’s for certain, the 2015 playoffs have not been short on entertainment value. Most of these games have been so well played, so close that it’s a shame the season is now a few weeks away from completion.

Let’s get right to the recap:

BLACKHAWKS 5, DUCKS 4 (double overtime)

— The Western Conference final shifts to Anaheim tied up at two games.


Don’t forget, for everything NHL, check out Rotoworld's Player News, and follow @Rotoworld_ HK and @jhascup22 on Twitter.

— A healthy scratch in Game 3, Antoine Vermette assured himself that he’ll likely not be sat again in the playoffs, scoring the game-winning goal at 5:37 of the second overtime period. He and Kimmo Timonen — the Hawks’ deadline acquisitions — also contributed to a Ducks goal in the third period. So Vermette definitely changed the story line in a hurry. Vermette played 17:56, won 14 of 20 faceoffs and ended up as a positive possession player. I wasn’t really a fan of this acquisition as a game-changer, but Vermette is plenty reasonable as a bottom-six center.

— It appeared like this game was going to end up as the series’ second 2-1 finish. Brandon Saad, who had a tremendous game with a shorthanded goal in the first period and two helpers, scored the game’s first goal with 47 seconds left in the first. Saad started 37% of the time in the offensive zone and finished a positive-possession (52%) player. He has four goals and six points in the playoffs. Saad is a trendy pick to break the 30-goal, 60-point mark next season. I wouldn’t put it past him as he’s one of the game’s emerging stars.

— The second-period scoring also occurred late in the frame. Emerson Etem’s third of the playoffs tied it up at one. Despite the goal, Etem struggled in this game, finishing as the Ducks’ worst possession forward (29%). He only helped Anaheim generate eight shot attempts. Still, by the end of the second period, it was 1-1, and it appeared like the next goal would win.

— Boy, were we very wrong. Welcome to the six-goal third period, started by Jonathan Toews’ fifth playoff goal of the season at 2:38. Brent Seabrook followed up five minutes later with his fourth. Toews’ goal ended a five-game goal drought. Seabrook also played 32:03, which pales in comparison to Duncan Keith’s 40:39. Chicago is very much going with four defensemen in this series as Kyle Comiskey and Timonen combined for just over 23 minutes of ice time. Not ideal.

— A two-goal lead for an experienced playoff group like the Blackhawks means this one’s in the bag, right? Not so fast. Anaheim would score three times — beginning 1:04 after Seabrook’s — in a 37-second timeframe. According to the Elias Sports Bureau, this is the second-fastest, three-playoff goals in history, since 1979 when the Toronto Maple Leafs did it.

— Ryan Kesler, Matt Beleskey and Corey Perry were the goal scorers who turned what seemed like a Blackhawks regulation win into a possible 3-1 series advantage. Kesler has five playoff goals, with Beleskey picking up his sixth and Perry notching his ninth.

— Just over three minutes later, Patrick Kane would pot the game-tying goal on the power play, via a vintage feed from Brad Richards. Kane only needed to redirect it into the net from the side of the goal. Richards looks like a different player lately, far from the guy who was scratched with the Rangers.

—Let’s just say neither Corey Crawford (47 saves) nor Frederik Andersen (35 saves) will stash this game in their respective highlight reels. Even though Crawford won, he clearly struggled with his shot reads, fighting the puck too much late in the game. He allowed three goals on 10 high-danger shots, according to war-on-ice.com. He has a 2.36 goals-against average and .924 save percentage in the playoffs. Aside from the lack of defense depth past the top four, Crawford is the Blackhawks’ weak link right now.

— Andersen was not much better, giving up two goals on six high-danger shots, and one goal on six of the medium-danger variety. (Special teams goals don’t factor into this, of which the Blackhawks had two.) Despite this off night, Andersen still has a 1.92 GAA and .929 SV%.