Blackhawks take Ducks to double overtime and win, 5-4, to even series

Chicago Blackhawks 5, Ducks 4 (end of game)

Chicago center Antoine Vermette, a healthy scratch in Game 3, came off the bench to score the game-winning goal in double overtime to give the Blackhawks a 5-4 victory over the Ducks in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals.

Vermette followed his own shot and and fired again to beat Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen 5:37 into the second overtime Saturday night to even the series two games apiece at United Center.

The series will return to Anaheim on Monday for Game 5.

In the first overtime, the Ducks sent 10 unanswered shots on Crawford to start the period and finished with a 17-5 advantage.

A head-spinning sequence of three Ducks goals in a 37-second span of the third period remarkably turned a 3-1 deficit into a 4-3 lead 9:19 into the period.

Chicago’s Brent Seabrook followed a Jonathan Toews goal earlier in the third to give the home team what seemed to be a comfortable advantage.

But 64 seconds later, Ducks center Ryan Kesler put in a rebound of a teammate’s shot off Crawford with 11:18 left.

And 23 seconds after that, Ducks forward Matt Beleskey knocked down a Chicago pass on the Blackhawks’ end. With an opponent providing some screening of Crawford, Matt Beleskey blasted in a shot over the goalie’s right shoulder.

Blackhawks Coach Joel Quenneville torched his team verbally during a following timeout, both arms raising during the tirade.

Just 14 seconds later, Ducks right wing Corey Perry positioned himself in front of Crawford and smacked in the go-ahead goal after a Ryan Getzlaf shot bounced off Crawford’s left pad.

The blitz was the second-fastest flurry of goals in NHL playoff history. The 1979 Toronto Maple Leafs scored three in 23 seconds on Apr. 12, 1979 vs. Atlanta.

The Blackhawks didn’t succumb, however, taking advantage of a Jakob Silfverberg holding penalty with 7:37 left in regulation and converting on Patrick Kane’s power-play goal 16 seconds later.

The teams again headed to overtime after playing a triple-overtime affair won by the Blackhawks, 3-2, in Game 2 at Honda Center on Tuesday.

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The second overtime period of Game 4 -- and the teams’ 17th period of hockey in this Western Conference final -- has started.

Tied 4-4, the Ducks showed more energy in the first overtime but endured the greatest scare on Patrick Sharp’s shot to the crossbar.

Ducks 4, Chicago Blackhawks 4 (end of first overtime)

Duck forward Patrick Maroon answered the near Chicago goal with his own pressure that required a Corey Crawford leg pad save at the left post.

The Ducks have out-shot the Blackhawks, 16-5, in OT.

Ducks forward Ryan Getzlaf hung onto the puck for an extended sequence but his shot was stopped.

And now the first overtime is complete.

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A breakaway by Patrick Sharp has been taken away by Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen 16:10 into overtime.

Sharp outraced a defender to the goal and show low, Andersen making the left leg save and covering it with his glove.

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Intense pressure off a Duncan Keith power-play blast came when Andrew Shaw hit the bottom of the crossbar and the puck bounced down and forward outside the goal line.

With the puck in front of the net, Jonathan Toews came swatting for the game-winner. The crowd roared, but the puck was cleared.

After the penalty time ended, Ducks forward Matt Beleskey lobbed a shot at Crawford. We’re 13:26 into overtime.

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The Blackhawks just managed their first shot on goal, and now the Ducks have committed a hooking penalty at 9:44 by Sami Vatanen.

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Patrick Kane flung a backhander high over the net, causing the crowd to exhale.

The Ducks then charged back, but Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford impressively stopped a blast from Francois Beauchemin and Kyle Palmieri’s follow-up push toward the right post 7:59 in.

The Ducks lead, 9-0, in shots on goal in overtime.

Make it 10-0. A deep Matt Beleskey blast is gloved by Crawford at 9:15.

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Kyle Palmieri was stopped up close more than two minutes in amid sustained Anaheim pressure and Emerson Etem followed with another try that struck Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford.

Patrick Kane and Anaheim’s Clayton Stoner exchanged shots on goal.

Ryan Kesler tried to win it high, but Crawford denied him and a Perry rush was deflected out of play 6:25 into overtime.

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The second overtime games of the Ducks’ Western Conference Final series against the Chicago Blackhawks is underway, the teams are tied, 4-4.

Ducks 4, Chicago Blackhawks 4 (end of third period)

Blackhawks forward Bryan Bickell hit the crossbar on a shot with 2:56 left in the third.

More Chicago pressure followed as the clock dwindled to less than one minute remaining.

A Ryan Kesler shot was saved with 34.6 seconds left.

And they’re going to overtime for the second time in the series, tied 4-4.

Ducks 4, Chicago Blackhawks 4 (7:21 left in third period)

Anaheim’s Jakob Silfverberg committed a holding penalty at 12:23 of the third.

And Chicago has tied the score at 4-4 with 7:21 left on a Patrick Kane goal to Frederik Andersen’s right.

Ducks 4, Chicago Blackhawks 3 (10:41 left in third period)

Quickly, the Ducks are leading 4-3 on goals by Ryan Kesler, Matt Beleskey and Corey Perry in an amazing span of 37 seconds.

The Blackhawks made it 3-1 on a Brent Seabrook goal.

Blackhawks forward Brandon Saad pressed the puck toward Frederik Andersen, where it was pushed out by Ducks defenseman Simon Despres to Seabrook, who blasted it in.

Then, Kesler found net with 11:18 remaing off a Jakob Silfverberg pass.

Beleskey then knocked down a Chicago pass and, with a Blackhawk providing a screen, beat Corey Crawford over his right shoulder.

Chicago Coach Joel Quenneville roared and raised his arms at his team during a timeout.

But right after, Perry rebounded a shot off Crawford’s left leg, to give the Ducks a stirring, 4-3, lead with 10:41 left in the third.

Emerson Etem is now playing with Nate Thompson’s third line, with Kyle Palmieri on the other wing.

The Toews goal was just the fourth against the Ducks in the third period this postseason.

Beleskey was stopped at 7:04 by Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford.

Chicago Blackhawks 2, Ducks 1 (17:22 left in third period)

The third period is underway.

Chicago hadn’t scored a third-period goal in the series until now.

Chicago took a 2-1 lead on captain Jonathan Toews’ first goal.

A pass from Marian Hossa set Toews up to Frederik Andersen’s left side, which forced the goalie to commit to a sprawl. Toews stranded Andersen by holding the puck before firing a shot over his head into the net at 2:38 of the third.

The Ducks appear to have jumbled some lines, with Andrew Cogliano in for Matt Beleskey and Beleskey to the fourth line for Emerson Etem.

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After further review, the Ducks’ goal has been awarded to Emerson Etem, whose body deflected Kyle Palmieri’s shot into the goal.

Ducks 1, Chicago Blackhawks 1 (end of second period)

Defenseman Francois Beauchemin helped set up the Ducks’ goal, a shot to Corey Crawford’s left with Emerson Etem in front of the Blackhawks goalie, by keeping it in the Ducks’ zone by gloving the puck and passing to Kyle Palmieri.

The second period is now over. Ducks and Blackhawks tied, 1-1.

Ducks 1, Chicago Blackhawks 1 (1:46 left in second period)

On the power play, Ducks forward Matt Beleskey was denied on the best chance yet, a rebounded shot to Corey Crawford’s right following a Hampus Lindholm shot.

Sami Vatanen had a good look but missed wide and the power play ended.

The looks sparked another threat by Corey Perry and Emerson Etem.

And then Kyle Palmieri took a pass and blasted a shot past Crawford to tie the score at 1-1 with 1:46 left in the second, quieting the 22,404 in United Center in a significant way.

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The Ducks killed the penalty.

But they’ve had just six scoring chances to Chicago’s 12, and are laboring to create a sustained attack as the Blackhawks send three shots at goalie Frederik Andersen within a minute.

With less than fived minutes remaining in the second, Johnny Oduya slides the puck away from Andrew Cogliano as he roams to the Chicago goal.

And now there’s a penalty on Chicago, high-sticking on Jonathan Toews, with 4:45 left in the second.

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Ducks defenseman Cam Fowler got a shot through at Corey Crawford with big bodies Corey Perry and Patrick Maroon in front. The puck remained loose, but was quickly swiped away by the hosts.

Perry committed a roughing penalty at 10:38, leading Chicago center Marcus Kruger to grab Perry’s stick away and toss it to the ice.

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The Blackhawks have maintained a greater push, getting early chances in the opening minutes of the second. A Marian Hossa shot in front was wide as the goal was knocked off its base.

Chicago’s defense kept the Ducks’ fourth line spinning looking for position to pass to the net.

Through the first seven minutes of the second, the Ducks have put just two shots on goal.

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The second period is underway, with Chicago leading 1-0.

Replays of Brandon Saad’s late first-period goal show he moved to a puck that popped out of traffic along the boards and took it sprinting across the ice toward the opposite end.

Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin was in position to get between Saad and the Ducks’ goal, but referee Chris Rooney clipped skates with Beauchemin and tried to steady himself by placing an arm on the defenseman, causing him to lose his balance.

Instead of going wide, Saad was able to rush directly through the middle of the ice, swarming at Frederik Andersen and beating the goalie high to his right at 19:13 of the first.

Chicago Blackhawks 1, Ducks 0 (end of first period)

Before Anaheim’s power play, the Ducks were afforded extra time to plot their strategy as a glass partition needed to be replaced.

NBC replayed a series of confrontations between Ryan Kesler and Jonathan Toews, the most high-profile individual battle of the series.

The Ducks bumbled along until they lost a puck with Jakob Silfverberg near and Chicago’s Brandon Saad pounced, sprinting toward Frederik Andersen and beating the goalie high to his right with 46.5 seconds left in the first period for a 1-0 lead.

Ducks defenseman Francois Beauchemin was clipped by referee Chris Rooney after Saad had already gathered the puck, but the collision prevented him from moving into a position from the boards to effectively defend Saad.

And then the Ducks’ power play and the first period ended.

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Chicago’s Brad Richards charged alone at Andersen, but as he shifted the puck side to side, he couldn’t find it to shoot and a dangerous threat vanished.

Seconds later, Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook slashed Ryan Kesler at 17:40, giving the Ducks their first power play of the night.

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A Corey Perry steal set up a one-on-one opportunity that he couldn’t convert on a shot to Blackhawks goalie Corey Crawford’s right.

Then, at 9:08, four-on-four play was arranged when Patrick Maroon committed a roughing penalty and Chicago’s Patrick Sharp was whistled for slashing.

Ducks forward Jakob Silfverberg later committed a holding penalty at 12:48, giving Chicago its latest power-play chance after going 0-for-5 with just one shot on goal in Thursday’s loss.

This time, a shot got through and bounced off Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen, but defenseman Francois Beauchemin was there to clear it. Simon Despres couldn’t clear another threat, leaving Andersen subjected to more duress by Chicago’s leading scorer Patrick Kane.

But nothing got to net, and now there’s less than three minutes remaining in the first period of a scoreless game.

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Ducks forward Patrick Maroon was hit by Duncan Keith and fell to the ice, heading to the bench. Ducks right wing Corey Perry then got caught up with a Blackhawk, who slid into Corey Crawford at a stoppage.

Ducks center Rickard Rakell delivered two substantial hits early, including one that took away Teuvo Teravainen’s shooting position.

Chicago has played with more desperation given its 2-1 series hole, but a Keith shot was denied and it’s scoreless 7:55 in.

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Game 4 is underway.

Chicago’s Marcus Kruger and Johnny Oduya sent shots at Frederik Andersen in the opening minutes, but the action remained more of a physical battle.

The Blackhawks applied more pressure earlier, and 4:36 in, the Ducks are still looking for their first shot on goal.

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In addition to Frederik Andersen (10-2 in the playoffs) starting in goal, the Ducks started the second line of Matt Beleskey, Ryan Kesler and Jakob Silfverberg, with Cam Fowler and Simon Despres on defense.

Chicago started goalie Corey Crawford, its top line of Brandon Saad, Jonathan Toews and Marian Hossa, along with its top defensive pair of Duncan Keith and Niklas Hjalmarsson.

Toews and Saad haven’t scored a goal in five games.

Pregame

The Ducks and Chicago Blackhawks play Game 4 of the Western Conference tonight at 5 Pacific time at United Center.

The Times will have full coverage here, with updates after each scoring play and period. Follow Times reporters inside the arena on Twitter at @latimespugmire, @helenenothelen and @reallisa.

Anaheim could take a commanding three games to one lead back to Orange County by winning tonight. Ducks Coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters following his team’s Saturday morning skate that he anticipates no changes to his lineup of the first three games.

Game 5 is Monday at Honda Center.

Chicago Coach Joel Quenneville said after his team’s skate that forwards Teuvo Teravainen and Antoine Vermette will be re-inserted to the lineup after missing Game 3.

Quenneville said after Thursday’s 2-1 home loss to the Ducks that he sought “fresh legs” following his team’s triple-overtime victory in Anaheim on Tuesday. But both Kris Versteeg and Joakim Nordstrom were of little notice.

Ducks goalie Frederik Andersen, who’s started every postseason game for the Ducks, made 27 saves in the Thursday victory with forward Patrick Maroon and defenseman Simon Despres scoring a goal apiece.

The Ducks killed all five penalties they committed, with just one shot allowed during Chicago’s power plays.