May 18--ANAHEIM, Calif. -- At first glance, the Ducks' 4-1 win Sunday over the Blackhawks may seem like a hearty victory for the home team.
But there were a couple of themes that emerged from the Ducks' postgame comments: The Ducks aren't backing down from one of the perennial powers in hockey, and they realize that Sunday's game was a lot closer than the score would indicate.
The Hawks finished with 33 shots on net, and the Ducks blocked 22 more.
"We weren't very good in the first period," Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau said. "We got lucky a few times that they didn't score a couple goals."
Boudreau was referring to the Hawks outshooting the Ducks 16-7 in the period, but the Ducks carried a 1-0 lead into intermission. That was the period Patrick Kane had Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen out of position, but Andersen reached back to get a stick on Kane's shot.
"I thought we made a couple of adjustments. We played better in the second and third. But I still don't think it was our 'A' game," Boudreau said. "You know, you allow over 30 shots, we got lucky and scored. We were opportunistic."
Hawks coach Joel Quenneville wasn't too upset with the Hawks' performance, especially early.
"We had a really good start to the game," Quenneville said. "Being down 1-0 after one was a tough spot to be in. We hadn't been behind in the last four games."
Four was a magic number for the Ducks in Game 1 after the fourth line of center Nate Thompson and wingers Andrew Cogliano and Kyle Palmieri accounted for two of the Ducks' goals.
"I think no matter who is on the ice, they're capable of making plays," Quenneville said. "We've got to be aware of that as well. I thought we generated all four lines of offense when we had our moments, but we didn't cash in."
Perhaps that will change Tuesday in Game 2.
