Blackhawks Edge Ducks in Playoff Epic

Not quite a Certs commercial, but Game 2 of the NHL's Western Conference final was virtually two games in one.

However, since ties don't exist in the Stanley Cup playoffs, there's no possibility of both being right.

Bummer.

Marathon battles are part of Cup lore, for which the Chicago Blackhawks and Anaheim Ducks did proud. It took the better part of a third overtime before Marcus Kruger decided it by swatting home a Brent Seabrook heater with only 3:46 remaining.

Give the dude credit. There's not much baseball in Sweden, but he handled that low-&-in like Kris Bryant.

For all the drama and monumental impact that game-winner means to this series, it won't be the play that gets the buzz. That would belong to Andrew Shaw, living out his Chicago Fire fantasies:

Double bummer. That was cool.

But a puck cannot be intentionally directed into the net by any part of a player's body. Otherwise, Jon Lester could learn to skate and make another fortune.

Meanwhile, whatever was left of the night probably saw the Ducks' tossing and turning over missed chances. Granted, both Corey Crawford and Frederik Andersen were awesome in net, but Anaheim had the edge in clear-cut chances, especially after clawing back after an early two-goal deficit.

The question now will be whether or not this was a Pyrrhic victory for the Blackhawks.

This looks destined to be a long series. Chicago's third defensive pairing -- 40-year-old Kimmo Timonen and AHL call-up Kyle Cumiskey -- had trouble all night keeping the Ducks in check.

That kept the Blackhawks' top four on the ice for mega-minutes. That might not be cool.

Almost as not cool as the broadcasters constantly blowing Niklas Hjalmarsson's name. And dammit, I know that for a fact! I've got a great-uncle who was named Hjalmar! Common name in Scandinavia.

Cultural clumsiness aside, a quest for the Cup creates a big-time adrenaline rush, so it remains to be seen if fellow Swede Johnny Oduya and stalwart Canadians Seabrook and Duncan Keith will remain at peak performance if they've gotta chase around the likes of Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry in a Game 7.

-pation.

Got that right. Turn it up to 11. This series is already there.