Ducks vs. Blackhawks: Game 6 Takeaways and What They Mean for Game 7

The Anaheim Ducks missed an opportunity to eliminate the Chicago Blackhawks in Game 6 of the Western Conference Final on Wednesday, generating many takeaways going into a win-or-else Game 7 on Saturday.

After Frederik Andersen allowed a total of nine goals in Games 4 and 5, Anaheim needed its goaltender to hold his own in net in Game 6.

He looked fine in a scoreless first period, but things unraveled after the intermission. Andersen surrendered three goals in the span of about four minutes and the Ducks fell behind 3-0. As the Ducks so often do, they came back and cut the deficit to 3-2, but Andersen put them in too deep a hole to come back from on Wednesday night.

Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau thinks his team lost its composure when handed a deficit, per Eric Stephens of the Orange County Register.

"They scored the one goal. It was like, 'Ah what's going on?'" Boudreau said. "We started scrambling all over. They got the momentum."

Andersen played a big role in that momentum shift Boudreau was referring to.

Concerning for Ducks fans is that two of those three goals should have been saved.

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

On the first goal, Brandon Saad got a good look on a breakaway, but Andersen could have been in better position as the puck went right though his legs.

Patrick Kane's stellar stick-handling led to the third goal of the period, as he danced through the Ducks defense and snuck the puck into the back of the net. Had Andersen been better positioned, he could have completely stopped the shot instead of just getting a piece of it and allowing a goal.

This now makes three poor showings in a row by Andersen, and if he has a fourth in Game 7, there may not be a chance to have a fifth—not in this postseason at least.

Blackhawks defenseman Duncan Keith was the catalyst for Chicago's offensive outburst against Andersen, assisting on all three second-period goals.

Charles Rex Arbogast/Associated Press

The game changed when Keith kept the puck in at the offensive blue line and made the pass to Kane that led to the third goal.

Teammate Patrick Sharp talked about Keith's passion for the game, per Mark Lazerus of the Chicago Sun Times.

Keith's love of hockey is on display whenever he's on the ice. Teammate Jonathan Toews said Keith always finds ways to make plays, per Josh Cooper of Yahoo Sports.

"You can definitely count on him stepping up and being one of our best players, if not our best player," Toews said. "He's all over the rink. Seems like he never runs out of energy. Pretty amazing game tonight."

Keith's 16 postseason points are tied with Toews for second-most on the team behind Patrick Kane, who has 17. His 14 playoff assists are five more than anyone else on the Blackhawks.

So while Keith doesn't get the recognition of the heralded goal scorers, he's been a big-time playmaker during Chicago's playoff run and they can use his astute passing in Game 7.

This has been too good a series not to go seven games.

It's a pretty safe bet that this one will go down to the final seconds, and considering the rocky play from both goaltenders thus far in the series, this will be another high-scoring battle.

In his headline on NBCLosAngeles.com, James Neveau asks, "Could Andersen be benched after struggles vs. Blackhawks?" While John Gibson is a serviceable young backup with a .914 save percentage on the season, it's hard to imagine Boudreau making a switch this late in the series.

Boudreau and the Ducks have no choice but to roll with the incumbent and hope they can contain the Kane-Toews-Saad trio.

As the Orange County Register's Rich Hammond noted, Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville would rather not use Kane and Toews on the same line. But he did so sporadically in Game 6 and they played well together, so expect to see them on the ice together in Saturday's must-win game.

Toews and Kane—who carried the Blackhawks to championships in 2010 and 2013—have the experience coaches lean on in these kinds of games. That the Blackhawks have guys who are used to playing in high-pressure situations will come into play on the road in Game 7.

Carrying over the momentum from their Game 6 victory, the Blackhawks will win Game 7 6-5 in overtime, capping off a nightmarish stretch for Andersen.

By Saturday night, Chicago will be getting set to play the New York Rangers or Tampa Bay Lightning in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final, while the Ducks start making their offseason plans.