NEW YORK -- The Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks will decide the Western Conference Final in Game 7 Saturday night at Honda Center (8 p.m., ET, NBC, CBC, TVA). The winner will advance to the Stanley Cup Final and face the winner of the Eastern Conference Final, also tied 3-3, between the New York Rangers and Tampa Bay Lightning.
Both Conference Final series have extended to a Game 7 for just the second time during the NHL's expansion era (since 1967-68). In 2000, the New Jersey Devils defeated the Philadelphia Flyers to capture the Eastern Conference title, while the Dallas Stars topped the Colorado Avalanche to win Western Conference honors.
The Ducks-Blackhawks showdown will be the fifth Game 7 of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs and the 17th since the start of the 2013 postseason - the most frequently-occurring series length in that span (4 games: 5; 5 games: 9; 6 games: 13).
Both the Ducks and Blackhawks are preparing for their first Game 7 appearance of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The last Game 7 appearance for each was a home loss to Los Angeles during the Kings' run to the championship in 2014. The Kings eliminated the Ducks with a 6-2 win at Honda Center in the Second Round and vanquished the Blackhawks with a 5-4 overtime win at United Center in the Western Conference Final.
The Ducks are playing in a Game 7 for the third consecutive season, having dropped home decisions to the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Quarterfinals in 2013 and to the Kings in 2014.
The Blackhawks will be skating in their fourth Game 7 in the past five seasons, with each of the past three extending to overtime. Chicago dropped a 2-1 decision at Vancouver in the 2011 Western Conference Quarterfinals and defeated Detroit 2-1 on a Brent Seabrook goal in the Western Conference Semifinals in 2013 en route to the Stanley Cup before their loss to the Kings last season.
Blackhawks forward Brad Richards brings a perfect 7-0 record in Game 7s to Saturday's showdown, while teammate Marian Hossa will be appearing in his ninth such game (2-6), the most on both rosters.
Other Game 7 Notes
* Home teams are 94-65 (.591) all-time in Game 7s in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including 3-0 in 2015.
* The team that scores first is 117-42 all-time (.736), including a 2-1 mark in 2015.
* Forty Game 7s have required overtime (40-of-159, 25.2%). Home and road teams each have 20 wins.
Individual Game 7 statistics:
| Anaheim | GP | W-L | G | A | Pts. |
| F. Beauchemin | 4 | 1-3 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Matt Beleskey | 1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Andrew Cogliano | 2 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Emerson Etem | 1 | 0-1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Tomas Fleischmann | 3 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Cam Fowler | 2 | 0-2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Ryan Getzlaf | 4 | 1-3 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Ryan Kesler | 2 | 1-1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Hampus Lindholm | 1 | 0-1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Patrick Maroon | 1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kyle Palmieri | 2 | 0-2 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Corey Perry | 4 | 1-3 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| Jakob Silfverberg | 2 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Clayton Stoner | 1 | 1-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Nate Thompson | 2 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sami Vatanen | 1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| James Wisniewski | 2 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| GP | Mins | W-L | GAA | SO | Sv% | |
| John Gibson | 1 | 22 | 0-1 | 10.89 | 0 | .778 |
| Date | Score | Dec. Shots |
| 5/16/14 | LA 6 at ANA 2 | Loss 18 |
Bruce Boudreau (1-5)
| Date | Score | Dec. |
| 5/16/14 | LA 6 at ANA 2 | Loss |
| 5/12/13 | DET 3 at ANA 2 | Loss |
| 4/28/10 | MTL 2 at WSH 1 | Loss |
| 5/13/09 | PIT 6 at WSH 2 | Loss |
| 4/28/09 | NYR 1 at WSH 2 | Win |
| 4/22/08 | PHI 3 at WSH 2 (OT) | Loss |
| Chicago | GP | W-L | G | A | Pts. |
| Bryan Bickell | 2 | 1-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Daniel Carcillo | 3 | 3-0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Andrew Desjardins | 2 | 0-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Niklas Hjalmarsson | 3 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marian Hossa | 8 | 2-6 | 0 | 5 | 5 |
| Patrick Kane | 3 | 1-2 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Duncan Keith | 3 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Marcus Kruger | 3 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Johnny Oduya | 3 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brad Richards | 7 | 7-0 | 2 | 3 | 5 |
| Michal Rozsival | 3 | 1-2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Brandon Saad | 2 | 1-1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Brent Seabrook | 3 | 1-2 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| Patrick Sharp | 3 | 1-2 | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Andrew Shaw | 2 | 1-1 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Kimmo Timonen | 4 | 3-1 | 0 | 3 | 3 |
| Jonathan Toews | 3 | 1-2 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Antoine Vermette | 1 | 0-1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Kris Versteeg | 3 | 1-2 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| GP | Mins | W-L | GAA | SO | Sv% | |
| Corey Crawford | 3 | 195 | 1-2 | 2.47 | 0 | .918 |
| Date | Score | Dec. Shots |
| 6/1/14 | LA 5 at CHI 4 (OT | Loss 32 |
| 5/29/13 | DET 1 at CHI 2 (OT) | Win 27 |
| 4/26/11 | CHI 1 at VAN 2 (OT) | Loss 38 |
Joel Quenneville (2-4)
| Date | Score | Dec. |
| 6/1/14 | LA 5 at CHI 4 (OT) | Loss |
| 5/29/13 | DET 1 at CHI 2 (OT) | Win |
| 4/26/11 | CHI 1 at VAN 2 (OT) | Loss |
| 4/22/03 | STL 1 at VAN 4 | Loss |
| 4/25/00 | S.J. 3 at STL 1 | Loss |
| 5/4/99 | STL 1 at PHX 0 (OT) | Win |
Anaheim Ducks (2-4)
5/16/14, Western Conference Second Round vs. Los Angeles (LA 6 at ANA 2)
5/12/13, Western Conference QF vs. Detroit (DET 3 at ANA 2)
5/14/09, Western Conference SF vs. Detroit (ANA 3 at DET 4)
5/3/06, Western Conference QF vs. Calgary (ANA 3 at CGY 0)
6/9/03, Stanley Cup Final vs. New Jersey (ANA 0 at NJ 3)
4/29/97, Western Conference QF vs. Phoenix (PHX 0 at ANA 3)
Chicago Blackhawks (6-6)
6/1/14, Western Conference Final vs. Los Angeles (LA 5 at CHI 4, OT)
5/29/13, Western Conference SF vs. Detroit (DET 1 at CHI 2, OT)
4/26/11, Western Conference QF vs. Vancouver (CHI 1 at VAN 2, OT)
5/19/95, Western Conference QF vs. Toronto (TOR 2 at CHI 5)
4/30/90, Norris Division SF vs. St. Louis (STL 2 at CHI 8)
4/16/90, Norris Division SF vs. Minnesota (MIN 2 at CHI 5)
5/18/71, Stanley Cup Final vs. Montreal (MTL 3 at CHI 2)
5/2/71, Semifinal vs. NY Rangers (NYR 2 at CHI 4)
5/1/65, Stanley Cup Final vs. Montreal (CHI 0 at MTL 4)
4/15/65, Semifinal vs. Detroit (CHI 4 at DET 2)
4/9/64, Semifinal vs. Detroit (DET 4 at CHI 2)
4/7/53, Semifinal vs. Montreal (CHI 1 at MTL 4)
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