Teravainen sparks Blackhawks' comeback effort

ANAHEIM -- Before Jonathan Toews' two goals in the final two minutes of regulation in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final at Honda Center on Monday, 20-year-old rookie Teuvo Teravainen ignited Phase One of the Chicago Blackhawks' comeback against the Anaheim Ducks.

Teravainen scored early in the second period and assisted on a goal late in the period to help carve into a three-goal deficit. Even after his strong play and Toews' heroics, the Ducks prevailed 5-4 in overtime to take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series.

Game 6 is Wednesday in Chicago (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

"I feel good with my linemates," Teravainen said. "I think we have really, really [a fun time] out there. We just try to keep skating and move the puck and play smart. Sometimes we have to dump it in and go chase it or sometimes we feel we have the time to make some plays. I think we keep playing good."

This was the first multipoint Stanley Cup Playoff game of Teravainen's career. He played 16:03 in regulation but didn't get any ice time in overtime, which ended after 45 seconds. It was the most ice time Teravainen has had in a game in regulation this postseason by more than three minutes; 12:57 in the second round against the Minnesota Wild was his previous high.

He also played 15:55 at even strength, which was second among Blackhawks forwards behind Patrick Kane. Chicago coach Joel Quenneville has fielded a lot of questions about the maturation of Teravainen and his trust in the precocious talent, and giving him that much ice time in a critical game says a lot.

"I'm confident," Teravainen said. "I'm a lot more confident out there than in the media right here. That's a good thing."

After a rough first period in which the Blackhawks did not have a shot on goal for more than 16 minutes and yielded the first three goals of the game, Teravainen and Chicago's third line started the comeback.

Ducks forward Corey Perry tried to send a pass across the ice through the neutral zone to linemate Ryan Getzlaf, but Patrick Sharp deflected it with one hand on his stick. Center Antoine Vermette swooped in and one-touched the puck along to Teravainen, who was already moving toward the Anaheim net.

He carried the puck down the right wing before cutting toward the middle of the ice and snapping a shot through the legs of Ducks defenseman Clayton Stoner and past goalie Frederik Andersen at 1:11 of the second to make it a 3-1 game.

"Good patience, play recognition," Quenneville said. "Nice to see him score a big goal for us, as well. He's got a nice shot through the middle of the ice. But that line got going there, gave us a good push there starting that second."

Teravainen showed off the other facets of his all-around game late in the second period. He went in on the forecheck and disrupted what should have been a simple play by either Hampus Lindholm or Francois Beauchemin with the puck behind the Ducks net. Sharp was able to corral the clearing attempt in the left corner after it was flubbed because of Teravainen's forechecking.

Sharp held the puck for a couple of seconds, then sent it back to Teravainen behind the net. Teravainen turned and dished it to Brent Seabrook, who had crept in from the right point for a one-timer with 24.8 seconds left to cut the lead to 3-2.

Teravainen was a healthy scratch in Game 3 of this series, but has played well in each of the past two games. He made a great play in the neutral zone of Game 4 and followed it with a stunning pass to set linemate Sharp free on a breakaway in the first overtime of a 5-4 double overtime victory.

"Someone had to step up a little bit. I had a good chance to shoot there so I shot it and it went it," Teravainen said. "We got another there when [Sharp] found me and I passed it to Seabrook. It was a huge goal. We got right back in the game. It felt good for me, but it doesn't matter because we didn't win the game."