ANAHEIM, Calif. – At this time of year, a team has to take advantage of every opportunity, every opponent’s miscue, to gain an edge.
On Sunday afternoon, the Anaheim Ducks did that more than the Blackhawks did.
Brad Richards scored late in the second period but Kyle Palmieri’s goal proved to be the game winner as the Ducks beat the Blackhawks 4-1 in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals. Game 2 is at the Honda Center on Tuesday night.
The Ducks had a lot of miscues in the first period; the Blackhawks got shots on several of those errors, but couldn’t get anything past Frederik Andersen through the first 20 minutes.