SportsDirect Inc. Ad
SportsDirect Inc. Ad
SportsDirect Inc. Ad
National Hockey League
BOXSCORE | RECAP
Chicago 5, Anaheim 4
When: 8:00 PM ET, Saturday, May 23, 2015
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
Referees: Kelly Sutherland, Chris Rooney
Linesmen: Pierre Racicot, Steve Miller
Attendance: 22404

CHICAGO -- Chicago Blackhawks center Antoine Vermette wasn't happy when he was a healthy scratch in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final.

When Chicago coach Joel Quenneville told Vermette he would play in Game 4, it was time for redemption.

Vermette's goal at 5:37 of the second overtime gave Chicago a 5-4 comeback win over the Anaheim Ducks on Saturday night at the United Center.

Vermette's heroics allowed the Blackhawks to tie the best-of-seven series 2-2. Game 5 is in Anaheim on Monday and Game 6 in Chicago on Wednesday.

"We got the puck going in their end, we stuck with it and I was lucky enough to get it in," Vermette said of his second goal of the playoffs. "After I scored, we had a good celebration and hope we can do it again."

It was a spectacular rally as Chicago saw a 3-1 lead in the third period quickly turn into a 4-3 deficit after the Ducks scored three goals in 37 seconds -- the second-fastest three-goal stretch by a team in NHL history.

"We worked hard to get to where we were in the third period," Chicago captain and center Jonathan Toews said. "When it rains, it pours. We had to move forward and get back in the game."

And that's just what happened when Chicago left winger Patrick Kane's goal at 12:38 of the third period tied the score, sending the game into overtime.

After a scoreless first overtime, Vermette's wrist shot past Anaheim goalie Frederik Andersen turned what could have been a potential 3-1 Ducks series lead into a new series.

"We had our chances to win it, but it didn't happen," Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Now it's two out of three. Sure, we're ticked off, but we have another game in two days. We just have to go after it."

Chicago goalie Corey Crawford stopped 47 of Anaheim's 51 shots to register the win. Andersen stopped 35 of 40 shots in the loss.

"This is an amazing group and this was a demonstration of that," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said. "I'm glad the guys stayed with it and re-energized their focus between periods (in overtime)."

Chicago scored first with 47 seconds left in the first period. Left winger Brandon Saad avoided a trip and zoomed in on Andersen, ending with a wrist shot that reached the net for his fourth goal of the postseason.

The Ducks tied it with 1:46 remaining in the second period when center Emerson Etem scored his third goal of the playoffs on a tip-in past Crawford.

Chicago appeared headed to victory after Toews and defenseman Brent Seabrook scored third-period goals to give the Blackhawks a 3-1 lead.

Toews' wrist shot past Andersen at 2:38, his fifth goal of the playoffs, broke a 1-1 tie. But just over a minute after Seabrook's slap shot found the net at 7:38 for his fourth of the playoffs that put the Blackhawks ahead 3-1, the Ducks went on their scoring rampage.

At 8:42, Ryan Kesler scored his fifth goal of the playoffs on a wrist shot past Crawford. Left winger Matt Beleskey connected at 9:05 with his sixth goal of the postseason to tie the score and then right winger Corey Perry scored his team-leading ninth goal of the playoffs to put the Ducks ahead 4-3.

"We were just thinking how did we let that slip," Toews said of the two-goal advantage. "We just had to move past it, forget we had a 3-1 lead and we were down by one (goal). We had to find a way."

NOTES: Blackhawks coach Joel Queeneville shook up two of the team's four lines. After sitting out Game 3 as healthy scratches, Teuvo Teravainen and Vermette both took part in the morning skate. Vermette was in place as center on the third line, with LW Patrick Sharp and Teravainen (who can also play center) at RW. In addition, Line 4 was made up of C Marcus Kruger, Andrew Desjardins and Andrew Shaw (normally centers pressed into service as wings). Queeneville wants to add as much offensive power as he can. ... Chicago's move to add offense is understandable. The Ducks have had the best defense in the league throughout the playoffs, allowing opponents only 1.92 goals per game. ... Among healthy scratches for Chicago were RW Kris Versteeg, D Michal Rozsival and C Joakim Nordstrom. Among Anaheim scratches were RW Chris Wagner, LW Tomas Fleischmann and RW Tim Jackson. ... After outscoring the Ducks 8-3 in three regular-season games, the Blackhawks were outscored 8-5 in the first three games of the series. ... The only Western Conference team Chicago has never faced in the playoffs is Winnipeg. The Blackhawks had not faced the Ducks before this year's playoffs. ... Saturday marked the 325th consecutive sellout for Chicago at United Center. ... Chicago Bears coach John Fox attended the game with wife Robin. When his image was shown on the video board, Fox received a round of applause from the crowd. Later, during a "Kiss Cam" on-screen moment, Fox drew additional cheers when he kissed his wife. ... Attendance was 22,404, the largest home crowd of the regular season or playoffs.
Top Game Performances
 
Anaheim   Chicago
Matt Beleskey 1 Points Brandon Saad 3
Matt Beleskey 1 Goals Brandon Saad 1
Francois Beauchemin 1 Assists Brandon Saad 2
N/A Power Play Goals Patrick Kane 1
N/A Short Handed Goals Brandon Saad 1
Frederik Andersen .875 Save Percentage Corey Crawford .922
Frederik Andersen 35 Saves Corey Crawford 47
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Shots Goals Power Play Penalty Kill Penalty Mins Face Offs Won
Anaheim 51 4 0-2 3-4 10 40
Chicago 40 5 1-4 2-2 6 48
Upcoming Games
  • Chicago will play their next game on the road against Anaheim. The Blackhawks have a W/L % of .521 after a win and .676 after a loss.
  • Anaheim will play their next game at home against Chicago. The Ducks have a W/L % of .647 after a win and .581 after a loss.