Ducks vs Blackhawks

ANAHEIM -- Andrew Cogliano has been through the Anaheim Ducks' disappointing losses in the Stanley Cup Playoffs the past few seasons, so it wasn't surprising that the veteran left wing accurately described what a 5-4 overtime win at Honda Center on Monday against the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 5 of the Western Conference Final meant in the bigger picture.

"We know what their team's about, and I think we're slowly proving what our team's about as well," Cogliano said. "You're not going to go any farther without responding, and guys making plays at the right time. I think tonight was a perfect example of guys getting the job done."

The Ducks took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-7 series. Game 6 is at United Center on Wednesday (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

Fleischmann took pregame line rushes with center Rickard Rakell and right wing Jiri Sekac but started the game with center Ryan Kesler and right wing Jakob Silfverberg. Right wing Emerson Etem was scratched.

Anaheim coach Bruce Boudreau left open the possibility of using one of his spare forwards after the Ducks and Blackhawks played their second multi-overtime game of the series in Game 4, a 5-4 Chicago win. Fleischmann has played in 33 Stanley Cup Playoff games.

ANAHEIM – The Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks have played a lot of mentally taxing and physically demanding hockey already in the Western Conference Final.

Two of the first four games took more than one overtime to settle. To make matters more difficult, each of those marathon games came the night before a travel day.

The Blackhawks won Game 2 3-2 in the third overtime to even the series at 1-1 the night before the series moved to Chicago. Each team flew to the Windy City less than 12 hours after Marcus Kruger scored the overtime winner the night before.

Saturday, in Game 4, Antoine Vermette was in the right place at the right time to give the Blackhawks a 5-4 win at United Center at 5:37 of the second overtime, evening the series at 2-2.

But neither team believes fatigue will be an issue in what is now a race for two more wins in the best-of-7 series, beginning Monday at Honda Center (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

ANAHEIM -- If recent history is any indication, the 2015 Western Conference Final, though tied 2-2, is over.

The Chicago Blackhawks have been even after four games in a best-of-7 Stanley Cup Playoff series seven times since Jonathan Toews, Patrick Kane and Duncan Keith starting enjoying postseason success, and seven times they have won the series, never needing a Game 7.

Yes, the core group of Blackhawks is 14-0 after a series gets to 2-2, winning Game 5 and Game 6 each time.

The Anaheim Ducks have spent the 2015 playoffs trying to prove their recent history does not define them, and they have plenty of reasons to believe the Blackhawks will not be able to win the next two games, let alone two of the next three to advance the Stanley Cup Final.

For starters, this Ducks team is really good and has two of the last three games at home, starting with Game 5 on Monday (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

ANAHEIM -- Ryan Kesler walked out of Honda Center in a suit with no socks shortly after his media obligation Sunday.

The Anaheim Ducks had just arrived from Chicago, and coach Bruce Boudreau ordered them to decompress. There was no practice, and Kesler intended to take his coach's advice.

"I go sit on the beach and relax," the Ducks center said. "Try not to think about hockey. Spend time with my kids. When it's game time, I'll re-energize there and get ready for the game."

Boudreau briefly met with his players, but he otherwise wanted them to step away after a grueling 5-4 double-overtime loss to the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final. The best-of-7-series is tied 2-2. Game 5 is Monday at Honda Center (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

"I said, 'Go home,'" Boudreau said. "Don't sit on the couch or anything. Get some movement and exercise in. But have a good day with your families, not think about the game, then come back [Monday] refreshed, all excited to play Game 5 in front of our home fans."

CHICAGO -- The Anaheim Ducks are as dedicated to preaching the merits of physical play as they are to finishing checks against the Chicago Blackhawks in the Western Conference Final, a best-of-7 series that is tied 2-2.

Win or lose, the Ducks have mentioned after each of the first four games that they're wearing down the Blackhawks physically and they believe it will pay off in a long series.

"No human can withstand that many hits," Anaheim center Ryan Kesler said. "We’re going to keep banging out there and going after them."

Chicago lacks quality depth among its defensemen and is the smaller team, but the Blackhawks haven't crumbled yet heading into Game 5 at Honda Center on Monday (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

In fact, the Blackhawks are starting to think the Ducks might be doing as much damage to themselves by delivering a lot of hits.

"I think it's both ways," said Chicago forward Bryan Bickell, its biggest lineup regular at 6-foot-4, 223 pounds. "They are wearing us down, but they're getting tired from wearing us down. So, it's a three-game series now."

CHICAGO -- It's a stat that is both impressive and frustrating for the Chicago Blackhawks in the 2015 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Following their 5-4, Game 4, double-overtime victory against the Anaheim Ducks in the Western Conference Final on Saturday, the Blackhawks have allowed at least three goals in a period six times in their 14 postseason games.

Remarkably, they've won four of those games. They've scored three goals in one period five times, including twice in the same period they allowed three. The latest happened during a wild third period at United Center on Saturday, when the Ducks scored three straight goals in 37 seconds to take a 4-3 lead.

The Blackhawks were again forced to respond, which they did with a power-play goal by right wing Patrick Kane that eventually forced overtime.

"I mean, it's not the recipe for success, but when we get ourselves in those situations, we have a lot of great leadership and experience to kind of get ourselves through those situations," Kane said. "I think that's probably what we count on most, and no matter what happens in the hockey game, we never feel like we're out of it."

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.

The Chicago Blackhawks had a performance of perseverance and a will to get the job done in a 5-4 double overtime victory against the Anaheim Ducks in Game 4 of the Western Conference Final on Saturday at United Center.

That's what Claude Noel took away from the win that evened the best-of-7 series 2-2. Game 5 is at Honda Center on Monday (9 p.m. ET; NBCSN, CBC, TVA Sports).

CHICAGO -- The top line of the Chicago Blackhawks dominated the early part of the third period Saturday and scored twice to give them a two-goal lead at 7:38.

But by the time Jonathan Toews, Brandon Saad and Marian Hossa returned to the ice for another shift, the Blackhawks were losing.

Chicago managed to survive and win Game 4 of the Western Conference Final, 5-4 in double overtime, but not before the Anaheim Ducks produced a stunning flurry of goals.

The Ducks scored three times in 37 seconds, the second-fastest three goals in Stanley Cup Playoffs history, to take a 4-3 lead.

"I've come to realize that our team's capable of a lot of things, especially at times when it looks like things are pretty dark and we might be out of it, were a group that believes, no matter what, in here," Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler said. "I'm really proud of our guys for fighting and battling back. Down a couple of goals, it would be easy to pack it in, but we didn't feel sorry for ourselves, we kept working at it and certainly gave it our all. So it's unfortunate to lose, but I thought we did a lot of really good things."

CHICAGO -- As the Western Conference Final evolves into a heavyweight brawl featuring two behemoths with completely different styles, the Chicago Blackhawks are showing they have the granite chin necessary to absorb the haymakers of their hungry opponent.

The Blackhawks were on the mat again Saturday in Game 4, trailing by a goal in the third period, their bleary eyes focused squarely on the potential of a win-or-go-home scenario if the Anaheim Ducks could get through the final 10:41 of regulation with a lead crafted on 37-second fusillade of punches filled with malicious intent.

Instead, Patrick Kane responded with a stinging jab less than four minutes later to tie it. In the second overtime, Antoine Vermette, scratched in Game 3, countered Anaheim's brutality with a roundhouse of his own, holding onto the puck in the slot long enough until goalie Frederik Andersen committed and was not in position to snag his wrist shot.

The goal gave Chicago an improbable 5-4 victory and had the crowd cheering for the home team's toughness and resiliency. It also evened the best-of-7 series 2-2.

"My group finds ways," coach Joel Quenneville said with a tinge of amazement creeping into his tired voice. "It was one of those stretches where our guys find ways instead of looking for the out. It's an amazing group. Tonight is a good illustration of it."