Tonight at 9 p.m. ET, the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks face-off for Game 5 of their Western Conference Final best-of-seven series live from the Honda Center in Anaheim as part of the 2015 Stanley Cup playoffs.
Chicago seeks a 3-2 edge by defeating their opponents at home for just the second time this postseason while Anaheim hopes to stay strong on home ice to take a 3-2 series lead with it back to Illinois for Game 6.
The Ducks took Game 1 at the Honda Center 4-1 while they lost their first home game of the postseason in Game 2 with the Blackhawks picking up a 3-2 win in a triple overtime thriller. Anaheim then took Game 3 at the United Center 2-1 while Chicago roared back with a 5-4 double overtime triumph in Game 4 in another classic contest.
Game 5 can be live streamed for free by clicking here.
Antoine Vermette found the back of the net for his second goal of the postseason 5:37 into the second overtime period to propel the Blackhawks to victory in Game 4 and tie the series up 2-2 Saturday night.
Brandon Saad (shorthanded), Jonathan Toews, Brent Seabrook and Patrick Kane (power play) also tallied for Chicago in the win.
Emerson Etem, Ryan Kesler, Matt Beleskey and Corey Perry lit the lamp for Anaheim in the defeat.
The Blackhawks have had a flare for the dramatic this postseason, constantly playing in tight games and having multiple contests go to more than one extra stanza. Chicago is 4-0 in these playoffs in games that have surpassed regulation.
"These games, they're long games, they're hard games, even if it goes 60 [minutes]," Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said per NHL.com. "At the same time, we feel we have to get better each and every game. We know we needed our best game [Saturday] night. I thought we had a hell of a game [Saturday] night. We're going to need a better game in Game 5 going into their building."
Kane has paced Chicago with nine goals and 16 points this postseason while Toews has five tallies and nine helpers for 14 points and Duncan Keith has a club-best 10 assists and has 12 points overall.
Patrick Sharp (four goals, six assists) and Marian Hossa (two markers, eight helpers) each have 10 points while Saad and Seabrook have four goals apiece.
The Blackhawks have been heavily reliant on their top four defenseman due to being thin on the blue line, so the Ducks believe these long games are going to continue to take their toll due to Anaheim's physical play.
"It's going to wear them down," Kesler told NHL.com. "No human can withstand that many hits. We're going to keep banging out there and going after them."
Kesler is fourth on the team in the playoffs with 10 points off of five goals and five assists. Perry paces the club with nine goals and is tied with captain Ryan Getzlaf (two tallies, 15 helpers) with 17 points while Jakub Silfverberg has 14 points by way of finding the twine four times and adding 10 assists.
Beleskey has six goals this spring while Patrick Maroon has discovered the back of the net on five separate occasions.
In between the pipes, Anaheim turns to Frederik Andersen and he is 10-3 this postseason with a 1.92 goals-against average and a .929 save percentage.
Chicago counters with Corey Crawford in the blue paint and he has fastened a 7-3 record in the playoffs with a 2.36 GAA and a .924 save percentage.
It's a pivotal clash when the puck drops on Game 5 of the Western Conference Final between the Blackhawks and Ducks live tonight from the Honda Center as part of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
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