The Chicago Blackhawks needed 24 goals, seven games, six overtimes and a clinching win on the road to eliminate the Anaheim Ducks in the 2015 Western Conference Final.
"It was the hardest hockey I think I've ever been part of," Chicago forward Andrew Desjardins said Saturday.
The Blackhawks reflected on that series at their annual fan convention. Chicago went on to win its third Stanley Cup in six seasons with a six-game Final victory against the Tampa Bay Lightning.
"Anaheim had so many components of the game," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said, according to The Associated Press. "The physicality, the speed, the skill of the top-end players like the [Ryan] Getzlafs and [Corey] Perrys we ran up against. They were such a tough team in goaltending and all aspects."
Chicago trailed Anaheim 3-2 in the best-of-7 series, with one win in triple overtime and the other in double overtime. The Blackhawks won Game 6 at home before taking Game 7 on the road. Overall, they outscored the Ducks 24-22.
"That's the series that stands out to me in the last number of years as far as the challenges," Toews told a crowd of about 2,000 on hand to watch the Stanley Cup highlight video.
The first five games against the Lightning were decided by one goal before the Blackhawks won the championship 2-0 in Game 6.
"No disrespect to Tampa [Bay] because I think they far exceeded our expectations for what they were able to do and how difficult they made things on us," Toews said.
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