Ducks vs Blackhawks

CHICAGO -- It was a sequence during Game 6 of the Western Conference Final on Wednesday that summed up one of the main storylines between the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks.

Anaheim center Ryan Kesler hit Chicago defenseman Duncan Keith hard into the boards at 7:51 of the second period, and Keith responded by assisting on three straight goals.

They propelled the Blackhawks to 5-2 win at United Center that evened the best-of-7 series 3-3. Game 7 is at Honda Center on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

"There's nights where you look at the score sheet and you see how great he can be, how pivotal, how much he means to our team, especially in these big games," Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews said of Keith. "But I think whether he's on the score sheet, whether he's making those plays, he's there every night making that difference no matter what."

NEW YORK – The National Hockey League today announced that Game 7 of 2015 Western Conference Final between the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks will be broadcast on NBC in the U.S. This is an update to the schedule as it was previously announced the game would be televised on NBCSN.

CHICAGO -- In the biggest game of the year for the Chicago Blackhawks, the team's stars put their fingerprints all over a season-saving victory Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final at United Center.

But Chicago likely wouldn't have handed the Ducks their first regulation loss of the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs without contributions by players that too often toil in anonymity.

It's true defenseman Duncan Keith had three assists in a game-defining span of 3:54 of the second period and finished with 28:35 of high-impact ice time. Yes, Patrick Kane had his own DVD of highlights alone on the goal that stood as the game-winner in a 5-2 victory. Jonathan Toews, the captain, was a monster all night and finished with a plus-2 rating and won 10 of 12 faceoffs.

The best of-7 series is tied with Game 7 on Saturday (8 p.m. ET; NBC, CBC, TVA Sports).

CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks plan to feed off the anger they felt in losing Game 5 of the Western Conference Final to fuel them in Game 6 on Wednesday against the Anaheim Ducks at United Center (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports) when they try to extend the series to a seventh game.

Chicago erased deficits of 3-0 and 4-2 to tie Game 5 in the dying minutes of regulation with a two-goal flurry from captain Jonathan Toews. But a quick-strike goal from forward Matt Beleskey 45 seconds into overtime gave the Ducks a 5-4 victory and temporary control of the best of-7 series.

Now the Blackhawks face a must-win game Wednesday to extend their season. If not, they will face a disappointing exit late in a conference final series for the second straight season. Last year, Chicago lost to the Los Angeles Kings in Game 7 of the Western Conference Final. The Kings went on to win the Stanley Cup.

CHICAGO – The Chicago Blackhawks have a mountain of experience in the Stanley Cup Playoffs but might need to borrow something from the Anaheim Ducks in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final at United Center on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

The Ducks said they were mad heading into overtime of Game 5 at Honda Center on Monday and claimed that's what helped them most in a 5-4 victory that gave them a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series. For all the experience and postseason success the Blackhawks have, the feeling they had leaving the ice after that game might be the best approach to Game 6.

"There's a lot of history here that we've collected over seven years, a lot of positive things," coach Joel Quenneville said Tuesday after the Blackhawks returned to Chicago. "I think we all came out of last night's game with an anger and a real sour taste in our mouth. Sometimes that can be better than a history lesson."

For additional insight into the Anaheim Ducks during the Western Conference Final, NHL.com has enlisted the help of Frederic Chabot to break down the action. Chabot will be checking in throughout the series.

Chabot was the goaltending coach for the Edmonton Oilers from 2009 to 2014. He played in the NHL for five seasons, spending time with the Montreal Canadiens, Philadelphia Flyers and the Los Angeles Kings.

If there's been one positive to take away from the slow starts the Anaheim Ducks have had in parts of the Western Conference Final, it might be that goalie Frederik Andersen has been able to get into a rhythm quickly.

The Chicago Blackhawks outshot the Ducks by a combined 49-28 in the first four games of their best-of-7 series, forcing Andersen into action early.

But in Game 5 on Monday, it was Anaheim who came out of the gates quickly, outshooting Chicago 11-3 in the first period and taking a 3-0 lead. The lack of work may have played a factor in Andersen struggling through the next two periods, according to Frederic Chabot, but Andersen's teammates picked him up and Anaheim won 5-4 to take a 3-2 series lead.

ANAHEIM -- The most games Anaheim Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen played before this season was 47, and that was in the American Hockey League.

Andersen is 68 games into this season and, although he has represented nothing but calm stability for Anaheim, it's fair to wonder how he will rebound after his shakiest game of the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

If Game 5 of the Western Conference Final represented any mental fatigue from his longest season, he didn't let on going into Game 6 on Wednesday at United Center (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports). Anaheim leads the best-of-7 series, 3-2, and is one win away from its first trip to the Stanley Cup Final since 2007.

"I think I've always been good at bouncing back," Andersen said. "And I think [Wednesday is] going to be a great opportunity again. It's all about winning that one game and going to the Finals. That's all my focus is right now.

"I know how good I can be and I've shown that the whole playoffs. Maybe last game wasn't my best, but stuff happens when you're a goalie. It's about what you do next that matters."

For additional insight on the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Final, NHL.com has enlisted the help of Claude Noel to break down the action. Noel will be checking in throughout the Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Noel was coach for the Winnipeg Jets from 2011-14 and interim coach of the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2009-10. He also coached many years in the minor leagues, including the American Hockey League. In addition, Noel, a former forward, had 138 points in 353 regular-season games in the AHL and played seven games in the NHL with Washington Capitals in 1979-80.

There is an explanation for the sudden twists and turns that have taken place over the past two games in the Western Conference Final between the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks: fatigue.

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).

ANAHEIM -- Frederik Andersen couldn't escape the spotlight Monday.

With overtime of Game 5 of the Western Conference Final about to begin, Andersen, the Anaheim Ducks goalie, lumbered down the hallway from the dressing room and stepped onto the ice, where the Honda Center spotlight picked him up and followed him as he slowly skated approximately 115 feet to his net.

The bright light was overkill.

All eyes at Honda Center were already on Andersen, tracking him as he retook his place in the crease. They wondered where he was mentally after allowing two goals in a 72-second span in the final 1:50 of the third period to let the Blackhawks stage one of the most dramatic and improbable comebacks in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs. They feared he would allow another soft goal and put the Ducks to within one game of elimination.