NHL playoffs: 3 stories from Blackhawks-Ducks Game 5

The Anaheim Ducks escaped Monday night with a stunning 5-4 overtime victory as well as a 3-2 series lead over the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference final.

Here are three stories from a wild Game 5:

Beleskey saves the day

Overtime has become the norm in this series, so it wasn't a total surprise to see it go there again, despite some predictably unpredictable circumstances.

More to the point, we've seen game-changing goals in quick succession several times now over the course of five wildly entertaining games.

So when Chicago scored two quick ones late in regulation to force the extra frame, it just seemed to fit with the overall theme.

Much like in Game 4, it was Chicago rallying to give itself a chance. However, it wasn't meant to be this time, as the Ducks only needed 45 seconds of OT to get a win they should have had in regulation.

Forward Matt Beleskey provided the heroics for Anaheim with his seventh goal of the playoffs.

Toews's heroics force OT

The Ducks may have thought they had this game put to bed, leading 4-2 with just under two minutes remaining in the third, but the Blackhawks, and specifically Jonathan Toews, had other plans.

The Chicago captain struck at the 18:10 mark and then again with 38 seconds remaining to force the extra frame.

But it was all for nothing, or perhaps very little, as the visitors will return home looking to stave off elimination on Wednesday.

Familiar pattern for Ducks

Anaheim jumped out to an early 2-0 advantage with a pair of goals in a span of 32 seconds in the first period.

This was very similar to Game 4, in which the Ducks scored a trio of goals in 37 seconds to overtake the Blackhawks 4-3 in the third period.

Those scoring barrages ended up losing a lot of their shine, though, because Chicago was able to force overtime in both cases.

What this series has in store for us next is anyone's guess.