Ducks defense has its hands full with Blackhawks forwards
Every team that qualifies for the playoffs is a pretty good team. But there is quite a difference between teams like, say, the Winnipeg Jets and the Calgary Flames when you compare them to a team like the Chicago Blackhawks.
There's a reason Chicago have won two Stanley Cups in the last five years. When you have offensive players like Patrick Kane, Jonathan Toews, Patrick Sharp, Marian Hossa and Brandon Saad. And that's only five guys. The Blackhawks are loaded with talent all up and down the lineup, from forwards like Brad Richards, who has quite a bit of Stanley Cup experience from a few different teams, Antoine Vermette, a grizzled veteran capable of chipping in offensively and even Teuvo Teravainen, a young rookie who has big game experience playing for Finland in the World Junior Championship.
To say the Ducks blue line has their hands full is an understatement, and they know it's going to take an awful lot of work to put a stop to the Blackhawks' offense.
“They have offense from all four lines, and their defense also scores some big goals,” defenseman Francois Beauchemin said. “It’s going to be a good challenge. We won one game against them this year.”
The Ducks certainly have what it takes to put an end to the Blackhawks run. The blue line pairs are young, but they have played a critical role in the Ducks' success. Anaheim has only given up two goals per game during the playoffs, third best amongst teams still in the playoffs. On top of the blue line, the Ducks possess one of the league's top defensive forwards in Ryan Kesler.
"We just have to keep playing the way we did all year,” defenseman Hampus Lindholm said. “We just have to execute and really be aware of which guys are out there. We have to play tight and make it hard for them.”
The Ducks didn't have a particular strong track record against the Blackhawks during the regular season. Anaheim won just one out of three games, and lost the last two 4-1, surrendering a total of four goals to Kane.
But the playoffs are a whole different monster, and the Ducks know there is no reason to dwell on past results.
“At this time of the year, I think we’re a better team than we were,” Beauchemin said. “We feel pretty good about ourselves.”
(h/t OC Register)
