Ducks Almost Blow It, Hawk Now Behind 8-Ball

Another busy day at the office slowed the process of last night's playoff game recap.  Here we go!

The Chicago Blackhawks are behind the 8-ball after Monday night's Game 5 in Anaheim, as the Ducks were good enough when they had to be, even though they were not good enough to close out the game with a 2-goal lead late in the 3rd.

The Ducks appeared to have the game safely in hand, by the end of the 1st period, up 3-0, feeling little push back from the Hawks.  In the 2nd, the push back finally came, as the Hawks tallied twice in the middle frame, making it a little more interesting, going into the 3rd, only down 3-2.

What was thought to be an insurance marker by Patrick Maroon was scored 14 minutes into the 3rd, but a remarkable comeback, headed by Chicago captain, Jonathan Toews, scoring a pair of goals, the tying goal coming with 38 seconds left on the clock.

Unfortunately for the Blackhawks, it was all for naught, as Matt Beleskey potted home a big fat rebound, only 45 seconds into the first overtime period, ending the game and forcing the Hawks behind the dreaded 8-ball.

For the Ducks, it was notable games from Beleskey, Ryan Getzlaf, Ryan Kesler, Jakob Silfverberg, Sami Vatanen and Frederik Andersen, all picking up 2 points in the win.  A fortunate pool team would have picked up 6 points from the Ducks alone.

On the losing side, Brent Seabrook, Patrick Sharp and Jonathan Toews all picked up 2 points on the selection sheet for the Blackhawks.

This series will now shift back to Chicago to see if the home crowd can help force a Game 7.

After Monday night's win by the Ducks, means that the top two teams in the Conference Finals are now on top of the standings of the pool overall, as both Fontanna and Thor, now with 53 points each in the third round, are now the clear leaders in the pool.  Fontanna still has a 14-point lead over Thor, but now Thor has a 3-point lead over Jesse for 2nd place in the standings.

Jesse only has a 3-point lead over Stacey M., who has only made 3 points on him in total, so it remains close there.  Sean L. has lost ground on Jesse in this round, now sitting 7 points back, while Dale C.'s first team is creeping in behind, but his team might still be too far away with only a few games left to play in these playoffs.

With a possible elimination on Tuesday night, things could get far more difficult for those teams chasing down a money spot.