CHICAGO (AP) – No team in the NHL is on a bigger roll than the Anaheim Ducks and none is more tested than the Chicago Blackhawks.
These two powerhouses are about to meet in a Western Conference final full of star power and intriguing matchups.
“It’s going to be one heck of a series,” Ducks captain Corey Perry said. “They’re a great team. When you put two teams together, it’s going to be a great series. They’re a skating club, and they’re kind of similar to Calgary. They’ve got a lot of speed, a lot of skill, and you’ve got to be ready to step in front of them and eliminate their time and space, and if we do that, we’ll be all right.”
The top-seeded Ducks just might be the deepest and most physical team in the conference, if not the NHL, but they haven’t won a Stanley Cup since 2007 – the last time they got advanced past the second round. They come into this series on quite a roll, at 8-1 in the postseason after capturing their third straight Pacific Division title, but they are facing a team that knows a thing or two about winning this time of year.
The Blackhawks and Los Angeles Kings have basically been trading the Stanley Cup since 2010, with each team winning twice and Boston grabbing it in 2011. Chicago missed a chance at another last year after an overtime goal by the Kings’ Alec Martinez in Game 7 of the conference final.