Anaheim Ducks' Size, Ruggedness Too Much for Blackhawks' Skill in Game 1

Size still matters in the NHL. The Anaheim Ducks proved that, for one day at least, in their 4-1 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 1 of the Western Conference Final on Sunday at the Honda Center.

When the NHL came out of the cancelled season of 2004-05 with new rules geared toward increasing offense, it became fashionable to call it a league that prized speed and skill over size and toughness. Not that it was ever better to be "big and slow" in hockey, but the new rules supposedly placed a premium on skill, regardless of size.

Much of that has been borne out in an evolved game; there is no doubt in anyone's mind that the NHL is faster than ever, and the decrease in fighting and so-called "enforcer" presences on team rosters has been plain. According to Hockeyfights.com, there was an average of 0.65 fighting majors per game in 2001-02, and 42.2 percent of all games had at least one fight. This past regular season saw an average of 0.32 fighting majors per game.

But when the Los Angeles Kings won two of three Stanley Cups from 2012 to 2014 with a roster loaded with big players, the conventional thinking went back to "bigger is better." Before this series, however, some in the hockey media questioned that thinking.

Chicago Sun-Times writer Mark Lazerus was one of those media members who doubted the "bigger is better" theory, and he used the Blackhawks as Exhibit A:

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While the Anaheim Ducks boast one of the most physically imposing rosters in the league, including a gargantuan top line that averages 6-3, 221 pounds, the NHL has become a small-man’s league. (Patrick) Kane is second among playoff scorers with seven goals and six assists in 10 games. Tampa Bay’s 5-7 dynamo Tyler Johnson is third with eight goals and four assists in 13 games, just one point ahead of 5-11 teammate Nikita Kucherov. Minnesota’s Zach Parise (5-11) is next, and Calgary’s diminutive Johnny Gadreau (5-9, 150 pounds) had nine points in 11 games.

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There remains great debate among hockey people as to whether a bigger team has the advantage over a smaller team—if the skill level is roughly equal or even a little less for the bigger team. The "bigger is better" crowd had the right to crow after Game 1 of this best-of-seven series.

Chris Carlson/Associated Press

According to EliteProspects.com, the Ducks' average player is 6'3", 204.7 pounds, while Chicago's is 6'3", 197.9.

Anaheim played a "heavier" game than Chicago did on Sunday, and in a way, that made meaningful differences in the outcome. First off, the Ducks outhit Chicago 44-34. Chicago's defenders had a hard time dealing with Anaheim's physicality on the forecheck, particularly against the depth line featuring Nate Thompson and Kyle Palmieri.

Case in point: Palmieri knocked Chicago defender David Rundblad off the puck and beat Rundblad to the net for a rebound goal that put Anaheim 2-0 up in the second period. That proved to be the game-winning goal.

This was the first time the Blackhawks were made to feel the absence of veteran defender Michal Rozsival, who went down with a broken ankle in the second round against Minnesota. His replacement, Rundblad, looked soft on the entire shift leading to Palmieri's goal, which might explain some of Chicago coach Joel Quenneville's decision-making after that regarding the defenseman's ice time. But it wasn't just Rundblad who seemed to be firmly in Coach Q's doghouse much of the day.

After the second period, Lazerus made an astute observation on Twitter about the lopsided disparity in ice time among Chicago defenders:

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David Rundblad has played 7:06. Kimmo Timonen has played 4:02. Duncan Keith has played 18:45, Brent Seabrook has played 18:04. #Blackhawks

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) May 17, 2015"

Even NBC analyst Keith Jones made an issue of Timonen's lack of ice time in the first 40 minutes, saying on air at the second intermission, "It's a mystery to me why Joel Quenneville's not using Kimmo Timonen more."

Credit Lazerus for pressing Quenneville about the ice-time disparity after the game, which drew this seemingly dismissive response:

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Does Q think #Blackhawks have enough defensive depth with Rundblad and Timonen not playing much? "I think we're fine."

— Mark Lazerus (@MarkLazerus) May 17, 2015"

Timonen wound up playing just 5:15 overall. Give a minus-one to Quenneville for that. The Blackhawks gave up a lot to get Timonen late in the year, but Quenneville treated him like a minor leaguer in this one. It figures to become a growing story in the next two days leading up to Game 2. 

But back to the question of size again.

"It’s all about speed," Blackhawks forward Teuvo Teravainen remarked to Lazerus before Game 1. "And usually smaller guys are faster. Especially in the playoffs, the game is really, really fast, and you have to be in really great physical shape."

The Blackhawks did outshoot Anaheim 33-27 in Game 1, and it could have been a different game had Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen not come up huge in the first period, in which Chicago had a 16-7 shot advantage and really skated well. Andersen's best save came against Patrick Kane. It was a desperate, lunging deflection with his stick after Kane faked him down while circling in front.

Marvel at the save here:

After that, though, Anaheim's size advantage seemed to wear out the Chicago defense, particularly as Quenneville went with such a short bench.

Maybe the best news for Anaheim is it won the game without much at all offensively from stars Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf (a combined one assist, from Getzlaf). Anaheim entered the game first in team playoff scoring, at 3.89 goals a game, and improved upon that despite no goals from its two top guys.

The Ducks proved Sunday they can still win big, even without much from their big guys. For one game at least, size still mattered.

Adrian Dater has covered the NHL since 1995. Follow him @Adater.