Preview: Ducks at Blackhawks

[May 23, 2015]  After bouncing back from a triple-overtime loss to hand Chicago its first home defeat of the postseason, the Anaheim Ducks look to move within one victory of a spot in the Stanley Cup final when they visit the Blackhawks for Game 4 of the Western Conference final on Saturday. Anaheim fell to 6-1 at Honda Center in the playoffs on Tuesday as Marcus Kruger scored at 16:12 of the third extra session to give Chicago a 3-2 triumph and even the series at one win apiece.

The Ducks returned the favor two nights later, when defenseman Simon Despres tallied in the final minute of the second period to snap a tie and hand the Blackhawks a 2-1 setback. Despres' goal was the first of his playoff career while Patrick Maroon netted his fifth this postseason as Anaheim improved to 10-2 - with both losses occurring after regulation. Patrick Kane was kept off the scoresheet in the first two games of the matchup but broke through Thursday with the lone tally for Chicago, which fell to 5-1 at United Center. A loss in Game 4 would make it the third straight postseason in which the Blackhawks fell into a 1-3 series deficit, which they overcame to defeat Detroit in the 2013 conference semfinals and from which they rallied to even last year's conference final before losing to Los Angeles in Game 7.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, TVA
 

ABOUT THE DUCKS: Ryan Getzlaf helped set up both of his team's goals in Game 3, raising his playoff total to a league-leading 14 assists. The captain has netted only two tallies on 34 shots, an amount that ranked him 24th among all players entering Friday and has coach Bruce Boudreau scratching his head. "We all want him to shoot more," Boudreau said. "You have to honor the fact that if he does shoot, it's a great shot. ... Believe me, as coaches, there's times during the course of the year we could wring his neck because he doesn't shoot."

ABOUT THE BLACKHAWKS: As if being pushed to the brink of elimination wouldn't be bad enough with a loss on Saturday, Chicago would have to begin - as well as finish - its comeback in Anaheim if it was to advance to the Cup final. Given the Ducks' success at home, that task would be extremely difficult to complete. "This game coming up is huge," forward Bradon Saad said. "It's pretty much a must-win for us. ... We don't want to get in a position where we have to fight and crawl out of a hole."

OVERTIME

1. Chicago recalled D Trevor van Riemsdyk from Rockford of the American Hockey League on Friday, but the blue-liner is not expected to be in the lineup for Game 4. Meanwhile, rookie Teuvo Teravainen and fellow C Antoine Vermette - both of whom were healthy scratches on Thursday - will be game-time decisions.

2. Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews is tied for second on the team with four playoff goals but has gone five straight games without a tally.

3. Anaheim's Bob Murray was named a finalist for the NHL General Manager of the Year award on Friday, marking the third consecutive year he is in the running for the honor.

PREDICTION: Blackhawks 3, Ducks 2

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