NHL Playoff Schedule 2015: TV, Live Stream for Blackhawks vs. Ducks Game 5

The 2015 NHL playoffs is ever-so-quietly inching nearer toward the Stanley Cup Final, and taking Game 5 of the Western Conference Final will be crucial for either the Anaheim Ducks or Chicago Blackhawks in their hopes of reaching the pinnacle.

The Ducks return to the Honda Center and have home-ice advantage, but that's about all they can boast. Their series lead evaporated when the Blackhawks reigned supreme in double overtime of Game 4, making it a best-of-three series for the conference.

Let's take a look at everything you need to know for Monday's contest.

Game 5: Chicago Blackhawks at Anaheim Ducks

Date: Monday, May 25

Time (ET): 9 p.m.

TV: NBC Sports Network

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live Extra

Game 5 Preview

Nam Y. Huh/Associated Press

Forget the players—even the fans have to be exhausted after watching what has unfolded over the four games of this Western Conference Final.

With two multi-overtime games thus far in the series, a whopping 17 periods have been played. The two teams have played nearly six full games with just four to show for it.

The Blackhawks are riding high off the new-found energy from their Game 4 win. As for the Ducks, they have plenty of reason to be shaking their heads heading bhome for Game 5.

From Corey Perry to Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim stockpiled opportunity after opportunity in its overtime contests and seemingly set the tone in each. But Chicago bested the Ducks in both, giving the mighty Blackhawks their only two wins of the series.

It wasn't for a lack of trying in Game 4, when the Ducks trailed 3-1 only to stun the United Center by snatching three goals in the span of 37 seconds. The Blackhawks went on to tie it up and win in OT, but the second-fastest three-goal spurt in history was a sight to behold, as captured by the Ducks' Twitter:

While Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford eventually got his act together and his forwards did enough to win, the Ducks won't be short on confidence after a strong trip to Chicago.

For all of the dismay of dropping another multi-overtime game, Anaheim accomplished what it set out to in Chicago by winning one of the two contests. That returned the Ducks' home-ice advantage and put them in the driver's seat for Game 5, even after conceding their series lead.

That's not all. As far as the physical toll these teams are putting on each other, the Ducks are confident that their nature will eventually wear down the Blackhawks' skilled forwards. Anaheim center Ryan Kesler said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN):

"We're just going to keep with our game plan. I think it will wear them down.It's going to wear them down. No human can withstand that many hits. We're going to keep banging out there and going after them."

To Kesler's credit, the physical style of play has undoubtedly paid off during stretches of this series, with Chicago's defensemen struggling to stand up to Anaheim's offensive barrage and occasional goal-scoring explosions. 

But by somehow overcoming all of that and taking the Ducks' best punch only to return and tie the series, the Blackhawks have proved their championship grit even further and made it clear they will be an impossibly tough out.

When it boils down to it, Chicago has won two Stanley Cups since 2010 because there is enough skill and fight in the locker room to overcome these types of tests. But when it's a team such as the Ducks getting those opportunities, it's only a matter of time until they pay off.