Vermette gives Hawks new life with double-OT winner
CHICAGO — It was desperation hockey stretching toward the incredible.
A third period with so much on the line for both the Anaheim Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks began tied at 1-1 and by 12:39 in, had produced no less than six goals.
Turns out the fun — though players on both teams would likely object to the term — was just beginning.
A wild and dramatic night at the United Center finally ended at 5:37 of the second overtime period when Antoine Vermette beat Ducks goalie Freddie Andersen to give the Hawks a huge 5-4 victory.
Sweet Home Chicago it was, as the playofftested Hawks got the crucial result they needed — though not without supreme drama — and return to Southern California with the Western Conference final all square at two wins apiece.
In terms of what was on the line, it set up as a huge third period for both teams (never mind the fourth and fifth). The Hawks were looking to avoid the hopeless prospect of winning three in a row, including two in airtight Anaheim, to salvage the conference final.
The Ducks, meanwhile, could smell blood after a dominating stretch late in the second period that allowed them to tie the Hawks at a goal apiece. Winning two in Chicago, they had to believe, would cut the heart out of the Hawks, no matter how much post-season success they have had in recent years.
What followed was a playoff treat, whether you had something invested in the outcome or not.
Jonathan Toews, silent and hardly deadly in the first three games, seemed poised to lift his team into it, a vow he had made following the morning skate. With a patient delay move, he tucked a puck past Andersen in the Anaheim net and 2:38 into the third, the Hawks had their second lead of the game.
When a Brent Seabrook blast found the back of the net exactly five minutes later, it appeared it was time to book your hotel for Game 6 back in Chicago next week.
But hold on. The Corey Crawford who had been so good in this series reverted to the Corey Crawford who is sometimes less so. And suddenly, it was Duck season.
A three-goal scoring spree in 37 seconds — the second-fastest such burst in NHL playoff history — and suddenly the Ducks had a 4-3 lead.
First up, Ryan Kesler at 8:42, then Matt Beleskey at 9:05. And following a Blackhawks timeout call for everyone in the building to catch their breath, Corey Perry put Anaheim in front. A Ducks team that coming into the game had outscored the opposition by an 18-3 count had flexed its muscle.
To their credit, where weaker teams would have wilted, the Hawks knew the level of desperation and didn’t back off. When gifted with a power play later in the period, Patrick Kane used his soft touch at 12:39 to slip a puck past Andersen to tie it again and send the sellout crowd of 22,404 into a frenzy.
So off to overtime it went for the second time in the series, with the Hawks hoping Crawford could somehow keep it together. They needed him, too, with the Ducks getting nine shots in the first eight minutes to zip for the Hawks.
“We like to think every game is a must-win,” Toews said earlier on Saturday. “But the motivation is right there in front of us.”
They have that chance now. And after four games, you still get the feeling this series is only just beginning.