Ducks vs Blackhawks

Before the 2014 NHL Awards in Las Vegas, Anaheim Ducks captain and then-Hart Trophy finalist Ryan Getzlaf was interviewed by NHL Network analyst Kevin Weekes on the red carpet.

After asking Getzlaf a series of questions about his season, Weekes inquired about something Getzlaf had been rumored to tell his teammates: "Go to the net, and I'll make you rich."

"That's true. When I'm talking to [Corey] Perry and my linemates, that's 100 percent true," Getzlaf said.

Though the question may have been asked in jest, watching the Ducks’ top line and mapping out where it does its damage, it's true: When Getzlaf, Perry and Patrick Maroon are on the ice, many of the goals they score are from the home-plate area around the goal crease. With Perry at 6-foot-3, 213 pounds, and Maroon at 6-foot-2, 231 pounds, the Ducks have two large forwards who can cause trouble near the blue paint.

ANAHEIM -- It's not as if the Anaheim Ducks have had it easy in the first two rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. They needed their share of ice packs against the Winnipeg Jets. They were taken to overtime twice and had to come from behind in six of their eight wins.

But Anaheim will really be tested when it plays the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Final. Game 1 is at Honda Center on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

Chicago is considerably more skilled than Anaheim's first two postseason opponents, the Jets and Calgary Flames. The Blackhawks are averaging 3.20 goals, third most in the playoffs (Anaheim's 3.89 per game is first); Calgary averaged 2.46, and Winnipeg 2.25.

Chicago is one of the few teams that can match Anaheim in skill, speed and depth, and it figures to stretch what has been a solid Ducks defense in front of goalie Frederik Andersen.

"They definitely have a team that can skate, that's for sure," Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said. "They love to really stretch you out defensively. They get a couple of guys to blow the zone and push our defense back, and that gives them a lot of areas for their skill guys to get to work and make some plays. The more we can keep things compact and keep people in their face, that's advantageous for us. But they make it difficult because they like to stretch things out, and that's what makes them so dynamic."

CHICAGO -- Patrick Sharp is scoring goals on a regular basis in the Stanley Cup Playoffs again, and that's good news for the Chicago Blackhawks heading into the Western Conference Final against the Anaheim Ducks.

Sharp has four goals, five assists and a plus-3 rating in the Blackhawks' 10 playoff games. He's one goal shy of matching his total from 19 games in last season's playoffs. Game 1 of the best-of-7 series against the Ducks is at Honda Center on Sunday (3 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

"It's always nice to score and contribute offensively," Sharp said after practice Thursday. "You look at every series, and they all present challenges in their own way. I'm playing a little bit of a different role [now], but I still try to get to the net and score as much as possible. Hopefully it can continue in the next round."

The Anaheim Ducks advanced to the Western Conference Final for the first time in eight seasons with a 3-2 overtime win against the Calgary Flames in Game 5 of the Western Conference Second Round at Honda Center on Sunday.

The Ducks are making their first trip to the conference final since winning the Stanley Cup in 2007. They will face the Chicago Blackhawks, who they have never played in the Stanley Cup Playoffs. Game 1 is Sunday at Honda Center (3 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

Anaheim was led by forwards Corey Perry, whose 15 points (seven goals, eight assists) are the most in the playoffs, and Ryan Getzlaf (two goals, 10 assists).

CHICAGO -- Size is a nice characteristic to have in hockey, but the Chicago Blackhawks have proven it's not everything.

The Blackhawks have emphasized speed and skill over size, and they've been successful, winning two of the past five Stanley Cup championships (2010 and 2013).

Chicago is preparing for its fifth Western Conference Final in the past seven seasons and is considered by some as the favorite to defeat the bigger Anaheim Ducks; Game 1 is Sunday at Honda Center (3 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports). That probably wouldn't have happened a decade ago, when giant men on skates clogged the ice surface, but the NHL and game have changed.

Being small isn't a detriment anymore for guys with great hands and the ability to skate fast.

"I would say if it was like the early 2000s or late '90s, it seemed like it was a bigger man's game and it would be tough for guys [my] size to end up even making the NHL," said 5-foot-11, 177-pound right wing Patrick Kane, who leads the Blackhawks with 13 points in the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Chicago Blackhawks defenseman Michal Rozsival had surgery Tuesday to repair his fractured left ankle.

"The procedure went very well and we anticipate him returning to full hockey activities in approximately 12 to 16 weeks," Blackhawks head team physician Michael Terry said in a statement.

The Chicago Blackhawks are back in the Western Conference Final for the fifth time in seven seasons. The Anaheim Ducks have reached the third round for the first time since winning the Stanley Cup in 2007.

The Ducks needed nine games to get by the Winnipeg Jets in the first round and the Calgary Flames in the second; the Blackhawks needed 10, six games to defeat the Nashville Predators in the first round and a sweep of the Minnesota Wild in the second.

They are led by their top-line center and captain, Ryan Getzlaf of the Ducks and Jonathan Toews of the Blackhawks. Each can produce on offense but is more comfortable being a versatile leader who can excel in all phases of the game.

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks have played well enough to make it to the Western Conference Final, but they admit they need to take up another level to defeat the Anaheim Ducks.

Chicago won an up-tempo series in the first round against the Nashville Predators and a tight-checking series against the Minnesota Wild in the second round. The Blackhawks said they now expect a combination of both out of the Ducks, who eliminated the Calgary Flames in five games in that second-round series.

"We feel like if you progress in the [Stanley Cup Playoffs], you've got to elevate your game to beat teams that have got a lot of confidence and they've got to be playing the right way," Chicago coach Joel Quenneville said after practice Monday. "They've got a lot of things going for them. You look at the first two rounds, they played extremely well. So, we've got to raise it."

ANAHEIM -- Minutes after one of the biggest victories of his professional coaching career Sunday, Anaheim Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau was honest, self-deprecating, insightful and folksy, everything he's been known for during a long and successful life in hockey.

He's also been known to do a lot of winning. He's won championships in the American Hockey League and ECHL, reached the finals of the International Hockey League, and became the fastest coach to 300 victories in the NHL. But the level of postseason success he expects, and people expect of his teams after witnessing their regular-season excellence, has eluded him in the NHL.

The 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs may change that. After the Ducks defeated the Calgary Flames 3-2 in overtime Sunday to win the best-of-7 Western Conference Second Round series in five games, Boudreau has coached a team to the conference final for the first time in eight seasons in the NHL.

The Ducks will play the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Final.

"It's a relief that I won't get asked that question anymore," Boudreau said about failing to advance past the second round. "I'm sure now it will be, 'Well, you've never been to the Cup Final.' For tonight I'm really happy that question won't be asked of me too often anymore."

CHICAGO -- The Chicago Blackhawks' top four defensemen need to store up as much energy as possible because they're probably going to play a lot during the remainder of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Veteran defenseman Michal Rozsival is out for the rest of the postseason because of a fractured left ankle, and Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville doesn't have a replacement he fully trusts to handle the entire 17:26 of ice time per game Rozsival had been averaging in the playoffs.

David Rundblad, 23, will enter the lineup in the Western Conference Final, but he and 40-year-old Kimmo Timonen will not be asked to fill the void themselves.