More Overtime, The West Evens Up

Game 4 in Chicago was a game for the ages, especially if you can forget the better parts of the first two periods of the game. The first two periods were definitely known more for the chippiness, the slashing, the high sticks and the penalties, more than anything else.

A late goal for Chicago in the 1st, a late 2nd period goal for Anaheim and that was really all that we saw after all the swinging and misbehaving.  It was a tight playoff game, no one really giving an inch and this game had a bit of overtime written all over it.

Well, there no was no predicting the 3rd period, as the Blackhawks struck early in the 3rd, then again five minutes later and it really looked like Chicago was ready to send this series back to Anaheim tied, right then and there.

Hold your horses!  The Anaheim Ducks had something to say about that, scoring three goals in nearly record time.  It went from Chicago being up 3-1 to Anaheim up 4-3 in 37 seconds and the face of the game changed so quickly.

To Chicago's credit, they had some battle left in them, scoring a power play marker only a few minutes later and this game was, in the end, destined for overtime.

First overtime, there were chances at both sides, but it wasn't until the second overtime until the Blackhawks pushed through, as Antoine Vermette jumped on a loose puck in front of the Anaheim net and then patiently lifted it over Frederik Andersen, giving Chicago the 5-4 win and they evened up the series at 2-2.

Nine more goals in the playoffs, that's a good sign for the pool, right?  Brandon Saad, not taken at all in Box 3, was the most notable player in the pool, picking up 3 points, but no one was around to actually collect them.  Jonathan Toews, Antoine Vermette and Corey Crawford were the only other Blackhawks that picked up 2 points in the game.

No Ducks managed to finish with 2 points in the game, despite scoring four goals in the game.

Game 5 in this series will go on Monday night, a 7pm MT start from the Honda Center in Anaheim.

The race for 2nd place is now the headlining story in this pool season, as Jesse P. has retaken the position from Thor, after the Blackhawks win. Jesse holds on to Crawford for Chicago, while Thor has Andersen for Anaheim, so this will be the key feature of the Western Conference Finals in this race, as the winner of the series will definitely have a leg up moving forward.

The 2nd place race is the better one, as neither Jesse or Thor will have much of a shot at catching Fontanna, as the leader continues to hold a 14-point lead.

On the outside looking in, Stacey M. still has a shot at some money, as she hopes it is an Anaheim/New York Finals, that would just about do the trick for her team, sitting 4 points out, but there is still enough hockey that could make it difficult for her side, while Sean L. could prove to be somewhat sneaky, 6 points back, but he'll need a Chicago/New York Finals.