Ducks' depth halts Blackhawks stars in Game 1 victory

ANAHEIM, Calif. – The stars in Anaheim’s locker room were strangely absent after the Ducks’ 4-1 vanquishing of the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final.

Guys like Kyle Palmieri, Andrew Cogliano and Nate Thompson had massive media scrums around them asking about beautiful looking scoring plays from their conquest.

This is not normal for Anaheim, a team with Hart Trophy winner (and playoff leading scorer) Corey Perry and star centers Ryan Getzlaf and Ryan Kesler. All three have contributed in some form or fashion in Anaheim’s nine playoff wins this season.

Sunday afternoon against Chicago, the Ducks showed their depth with their lower lines leading the way against the stifled Blackhawks.

Right now, the Ducks are healthy, and they’re deep – which as Chicago of the two Stanley Cups since 2010 knows, is a powerful combination in the playoffs.

“We’ve always had pretty good depth throughout the season,” said Thompson, who was a heat-seeking third line missile on the forecheck during the game. “That’s one of the reasons we’ve been successful all year and throughout the playoffs when one line isn’t scoring another line picks it up, and manages to pick up the slack for the other guys.”

Hampus Lindholm’s opening score, assisted by Jakob Silfverberg and Matt Beleskey, was really the only goal by Anaheim’s top-six forwards, unless you count the empty netter by Silfverberg assisted by Getzlaf.

Palmieri’s rocket over Corey Crawford’s glove for Chicago made the game 2-0 for the Ducks 4:17 into the second.

Brad Richards’ goal late in the second period put the game at 2-1, but really it was the only huge slip-up by the Ducks, who kept Chicago’s big guns in check. Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane, Duncan Keith, Brent Seabrook, Marian Hossa, Patrick Sharp and Brandon Saad were all held without a point.

Kane had a great first period chance that Anaheim goaltender Frederik Andersen deflected out of play at Honda Center.

Toews won a one-on-one battle from his behind in the first, which was actually really impressive, but also was kept quiet.

“That’s one of the best parts of their team is they have that depth,” Kane said. “They have four lines that can score goals. That’s one of our strengths too. They obviously had the edge in that department tonight.”

Kane also referred to the Ducks as the “best team we’ve faced yet.”

The same could be said of Chicago for the Ducks, who’ve breezed through these playoffs with a sweep of the Winnipeg Jets in the first-round and a 4-1 series win over the Calgary Flames in the second-round.

They haven’t faced threats like Toews, Kane and the embarrassment of riches up-and-down Chicago’s lineup.

The Blackhawks have depth at forward and stars on D, but Anaheim is built differently. There are few match-ups that coach Bruce Boudreau needs to hide from.

Forward Jiri Sekac played the fewest amount of minutes for Anaheim with 9:00 – which is pretty normal for a fourth line forward.

Chicago used defenseman Kimmo Timonen for just 5:15. David Rundblad, another defender who is stepping in for the injured Michal Rozsival played just 10:45, and was beat on Palmieri’s goal. Feeling the need to hide defensemen this deep in the playoffs is a bad sign.

Fortunately for Chicago, it has the talent to overcome this, or at least it has so far in these playoffs. Also, per War on Ice, Chicago obliterated Anaheim 70-53 from a Corsi perspective. Andersen stopped 32 of 33 Chicago shots on goal. The puck possession was there, the final execution was not.

Then again, you could say the same about Getzlaf, Perry and Kesler.

If they produce in Game 2, and the Ducks get similar performances out of Cogliano, Palmieri, Thompson and the rest of the lower two lines, how will Chicago counterpunch?

Hope that Andrew Shaw, Marcus Kruger and Antoine Vermette pick up their play as well, is the best answer.

“They have four lines that play, and three really skilled lines that can score at any time,” Cogliano said. “It needs to be guys like myself and guys in the lower end of the lineup that need to play like we can.”

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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