Stanley Cup Playoff Preview - Anaheim vs. Chicago

May 14, 2015 - 5:43 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - For years, Bruce Boudreau was pegged as a great head coach in the regular season and a bust in the playoffs. Until he wins a Stanley Cup title the critics will always take their shots at the outspoken bench boss, but at the very least he's quieted them down for now.

By getting the Ducks into the Western Conference finals, Boudreau has made it past the second round of the playoffs for the first time in his career.

In his six previous postseasons -- the first four which came with Washington -- Boudreau's clubs bowed out in the first round three times and were eliminated in the conference semifinals in the three other trips. In 2015, Boudreau not only made it further than he's ever been, but his Ducks also helped him reach a new playoff level in style.

Anaheim is 8-1 through the first two rounds, sweeping Winnipeg in the conference quarterfinals before taking Calgary in five games. The stellar record has boosted Boudreau's lifetime postseason mark to 35-31.

Although the Ducks are the top seed in the West and coming off two quick series wins, Anaheim enters this West final against Chicago as slight underdogs and that's all because of the Blackhawks' recent championship pedigree.

Chicago still boasts a very similar roster to the teams which won Cup titles in 2010 and '13. The Ducks did win it all in 2007, but other than the presence of Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Francois Beauchemin, this Anaheim team has had a ton of turnover in the eight years since claiming the franchise's lone Cup.

Getzlaf and Perry tied for the team lead in points during the run to a title in '07. Still, that team was mostly built around the stellar defensive pairing of Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger and the veteran presence of franchise icon Teemu Selanne up front. All three of those players are retired and Niedermayer has been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In due time, Pronger and Selanne will join him in the Hall.

In 2015, Getzlaf and Perry are the grizzled veterans who make up two-thirds of Anaheim's potent first line. Getzlaf turned 30 years old on May 10 and Perry will hit the same age marker on May 16.

Getzlaf is a big, physical playmaking center who enters this series with 12 points on two goals and 10 assists, while Perry is leading all NHLers with 15 points on seven goals and eight helpers from his right wing spot. Patrick Maroon plays to the left of Getzlaf and has contributed four goals and three assists this postseason.

Ryan Kesler, an excellent two-way centerman, anchors the second line for the Ducks and is a big reason why Anaheim has made it to the conference finals for the first time since '07. Acquired in a trade with Vancouver last summer, the 30-year-old American has vastly improved his new team's depth down the middle and has four goals and five assists this spring.

Kesler's wingers, Matt Beleskey and Jakob Silfverberg, help to form a strong second line. Silfverberg is third on Anaheim with 11 points (3G, 8A) while Beleskey has five goals in the playoffs, scoring once in each of the five games against Calgary.

Richard Rakell and Nate Thompson are centering the third and fourth lines, respectively. Left winger Andrew Cogliano has offered the most production from the last two lines this spring, notching two goals and three assists while playing mostly on Rakell's line.

As a whole, Anaheim's offense has been the best in the league during the 2015 postseason, scoring an average of 3.89 goals per game and leading the NHL with a 31 percent power-play success rate (9-of-29).

The Ducks also have received solid offensive contributions from the back end, where five of Anaheim's six defensemen have pumped in at least five points.

Sami Vatanen leads the Ducks defense with two goals and seven points, while Beauchemin is pacing the blue line with six assists and also logging the most minutes with 23 minutes, 52 seconds of ice time per game.

Hampus Lindholm has a goal and five assists, Cam Fowler added a goal and four helpers through the first two rounds and Simon Despres has notched five assists. Clayton Stoner has yet to record a point this postseason but is part of a cohesive defensive rotation that has helped hold the opposition to 2.00 goals per game.

Of course, Anaheim's overall team defense and young goaltender Frederik Andersen will receive its greatest test against the Blackhawks and their vaunted offense.

The 25-year-old Andersen has shined in his second NHL postseason, posting a 1.96 goals against average and .925 save percentage while starting all nine games. He also has been a steady presence on the penalty kill, helping Anaheim allow just four power-play goals in 31 short-handed situations.

Of course, Andersen needs to keep up the excellent work if the Ducks are to survive Chicago and its scoring depth. If he falters, Anaheim's second option -- 21-year-old John Gibson -- is even greener.

CHICAGO BLACKHAWKS

REGULAR SEASON RECORD: 48-28-6 (3rd Place, Central)

2015 PLAYOFFS: Defeated Nashville 4-2 in conference quarterfinals, defeated Minnesota 4-0 in conference semifinals

The Central Division led the NHL with five of its teams making it to the playoffs. Now, only one remains and it should hardly come as a surprise that the Chicago Blackhawks are that team.

The Blackhawks are in the Western Conference finals for a third straight spring and are hoping to make it back to the Cup Finals for the second time in three years after getting eliminated in 2014 by Los Angeles. They made it to Round 3 in 2015 by dispatching two of their foes from the Central, eclipsing Nashville in six games during the first round before sweeping the Minnesota Wild in the conference semis.

The best thing that happened for Chicago during the quick series against the Wild was the resurgence of goaltender Corey Crawford, who regained his starting job from Scott Darling after struggling mightily in the opening round.

Crawford started the first two games against Nashville before Joel Quenneville switched to Darling as the starter for the remainder of the series. However, Darling was pulled after a rough start in Game 6 of the first round, and after Crawford stopped all 13 shots in Chicago's series-clinching win over the Predators, Quenneville opted to give the keys back to Crawford at the start of Round 2 and it proved to be a wise decision.

Crawford, who anchored Chicago's last Stanley Cup-winning season of 2013, stopped only 51-of-60 shots (.850 save percentage) in the opening round. In the Minnesota series, the 30-year-old posted a .947 save percentage, stopping 124 of the 131 shots sent his way by the Wild.

Through all the ups and downs this spring, Crawford's 2015 postseason numbers currently look pretty normal. He is sporting a 2.60 GAA and .916 save percentage through seven games, and seems to be trending upwards after his strong showing against Minnesota.

Of course, Crawford always can count on his offense to make things a little easier for him. Chicago's tremendous scoring depth has been evident this postseason, as the club has scored 32 goals through 10 games and is clicking at 20 percent (5-of-25) on the power play.

As always, forwards Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews are leading the way for Chicago. Kane is pacing the club in both goals (7) and points (13) through 10 games and doesn't seem to be showing any signs of rust after sitting out the last 21 games of the regular season due to a shoulder injury.

Kane, the 2013 Conn Smythe Trophy winner, has been the picture of consistency throughout his postseason career. The 26-year-old American enters Round 3 with 104 points (44G, 60A) through 103 career playoff tilts.

Meanwhile, Toews is one of the best captains in the league and a finalist for this season's Selke Trophy as the NHL's best defensive forward. He has four goals and seven helpers this spring, giving him 33 goals and 92 points over 104 career playoff games.

Like Kane, Toews has won the coveted playoff MVP award, taking the Conn Smythe home when Chicago won its other recent Cup title in 2010.

Patrick Sharp also has added four goals and five assists during the 2015 playoff run, while fellow winger Marian Hossa has eight points on one goal and seven helpers. Emerging forward Brandon Saad has three goals this spring, but only one of those markers have come over his last six games.

In addition to the star players, Chicago boasts tremendous all-around depth up front. Additional forwards like Bryan Bickell, Brad Richards, Andrew Shaw and Antoine Vermette allow Quenneville to roll with four lines and give the opposing defense all it can handle.

Teuvo Teravainen is another promising forward option for the Blackhawks and the 20-year-old Finn has pushed speedy winger Kris Versteeg to the press box as the playoffs have worn on. He has a goal and two assists over six games during his first postseason run. As for Versteeg, he could find himself back on the ice in this series if Quenneville wants to add even more speed to his lineup.

While Crawford's rebound performance was the best news Chicago received in the second round, the loss of defenseman Michal Rozsival was the worst. Rozsival suffered a fractured left ankle in Game 4 against the Wild and will miss the rest of the playoffs.

Rozsival played in all 10 playoff games for Chicago and was logging the fifth- most minutes on the Blackhawks blue line. David Rundblad and Kyle Cumiskey are the two defensemen most likely to take over for Rozsival in this series. Rundblad played in 49 games during the regular season, and has the inside track over Cumiskey, who played in only seven tilts.

The injury also likely means Quenneville will be forced to give even more minutes to his top-four group of Duncan Keith, Niklas Hjalmarsson, Johnny Oduya and Brent Seabrook.

Keith is the obvious star of the group and he is playing like one in this postseason. The two-time Norris Trophy winner has 10 points (2G, 8A) and also is sporting a plus-10 rating while averaging 30 minutes, 37 seconds of ice time per game.

Seabrook is leading the blue line in goals with three and also has added two assists. Hjalmarsson has added four points (1G, 3A) while Oduya has two helpers.

Hjalmarsson, Oduya and Seabrook have been extremely close in terms of ice time with all three guys' ice time in the 24-minute range. All three have a chance at seeing their minutes increase with Rozsival unavailable.

Kimmo Timonen, a 40-year-old defensemen acquired from Philadelphia at the trade deadline, has been given an easy workload, averaging 9:25 of ice time per game in the playoffs but also could see his minutes go up in Round 3.

MATCHUP

Anaheim has bullied its way to this stage of the postseason, using its combination of size and skill to beat the opposition into submission. The Ducks boast a considerable size advantage over the Blackhawks, but Chicago is hoping to play fast enough to make it less of a factor.

With guys like Kane leading the charge, the Blackhawks have skating speed but they also pride themselves on being a smart team capable of making quick decisions. The formula worked against Anaheim during the regular season, as Chicago went 2-1-0 in the season series while outscoring the Ducks by a combined 8-3 margin. The Blackhawks also have won five of their last six regular-season tests against Anaheim.

This will be the first-ever postseason series between the Blackhawks and Ducks.

Anaheim did not do a good job containing Kane in 2014-15, allowing the crafty winger to put up four goals and one assists through the three encounters. Toews, meanwhile, only had one assist but he also played a big part in shutting down Getzlaf and Perry, who combined for only one point -- a Perry assist -- in the season series.

Chicago also could wind up having an advantage in net, where Crawford has seemed to put his earlier struggles behind him. Crawford, of course, has a vast experience edge over Andersen, who allowed seven goals on 70 shots in two games against Chicago this season and has a lofty 3.52 GAA in this matchup. Crawford was 2-0 with a 1.00 GAA in two meetings with the Ducks in 2014-15 and boasts a lifetime 1.88 GAA and .926 save percentage in his career against Anaheim.

Anaheim's performance in this postseason has helped Boudreau rehabilitate his image as a coach who can't get it done in the playoffs, but his club is facing a much bigger test here in the conference finals. Calgary and Winnipeg are teams on the rise, but Chicago is established and unflappable. This won't be an easy series for the Blackhawks, but they should have enough firepower to get past Anaheim.

Sports Network predicted outcome: Blackhawks in 6