Blackhawks and Ducks Meet in NHL Western Conference Finals

The NHL Western Conference Finals begin today in southern California when the Anaheim Ducks host the Chicago Blackhawks from the Honda Center.

The Ducks are returning to their first Western Conference Finals since 2007 when they won the Stanley Cup. This is Chicago’s fourth trip to the conference finals in the past six years.

The two powerful clubs are evenly matched and are pick ‘ems on most sportsbooks with both sitting at -110 to win the series.

For Sunday’s Game 1, the Ducks are slight favorites at -130 due to playing on their home ice, while the Blackhawks are +120. The goal total for Game 1 is sitting on 5 and at -130.

Chicago’s season was not as good as some have been in the past. The Blackhawks did not shot well and missed Patrick Kane who was injured in February. Kane has returned after his collarbone break healed and is one of the biggest reasons the Blackhawks seem to be peaking at just the right time of the season.

The club was the third worst in shooting percentage during the regular season, but that has improved during the postseason. Evidence of that is the OVER is 7-2-1 in the 10 games the team has played in the postseason.

Anaheim was the top team out west for most of the regular season and has dominated in its first two playoff series winning 8 of 9 games with the OVER going 6-3.

This matchup is what NHL fans wanted – the top Western Conference team in the regular season versus the league’s perennial postseason power. These heavyweights will give hockey fans a great show during this series.

Both teams won their prior two series in dominating fashion. Chicago won its first series 4-2 and its second 4-0, while Anaheim was 4-0 and 4-1 in its first two series.

Chicago’s goaltender Corey Crawford did not look good in the first round and played only 3 of 6 games. However, in the second round his save percentage jumped to .947 stopping all but 7 of 131 shots in four games.

Frederik Andersen has been strong in net for Anaheim with a save percentage of .925 through the first two rounds. However, if Crawford is playing his “A” game with the defense surrounding him he is better goaltender.

It seems as if Anaheim does not possess the puck enough to beat a team like Chicago, but they looked to be unstoppable on offense in rounds 1 and 2. They are physically tough and that play is a big reason their offense looks so strong. Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry have scored a combined 27 points in the nine playoff games. The success of the club could hinge on their continued scoring production.

Pick: Chicago in 7 games