Seven keys to the Ducks vs. Blackhawks in Game 7

The Western Conference Final will be decided in Game 7 on Saturday night at the Honda Center between the Anaheim Ducks and the Chicago Blackhawks. Now that all the confetti from the Bette Midler concert at the building is over, we look at seven keys to Game 7:

1. Duncan Keith

The Chicago defenseman has been a one-man show this series. He has five points and is a plus-4 in his last three games. For the Blackhawks, he is the key to victory. He’s their only defenseman who seems immune to coach Joel Quenneville’s four-man rotation. For the Ducks, they need to figure out a way to prevent him from controlling the pace of the game. Is this possible? They haven’t done it yet.

2. Hulk Getzlaf

The Anaheim captain needs to channel his inner Bruce Banner. He needs to get angry, and turn big, and mean, and green. His last game he was a minus-3 and said he played “terrible” in that contest. He’s one of the five best centers in the NHL. He must play better for Anaheim to have a chance to win.

3. Calm down Bruce

Lost in the fervor of Getzlaf’s “terrible” comment was this nugget unearthed by the Los Angeles Times:

"All the changing and stuff going on at the start of the game, I got a little carried away trying to make plays every time I was on the ice instead of just making the right play," Getzlaf said. "It carried over to our group somewhat."

What type of changing? Line changing? Match up changing? Ducks coach Bruce Boudreau is known as a guy who has trouble keeping his emotions in check in big games. That could be why he’s 1-5 in Game 7s in his career. Boudreau needs to play it straight for the Ducks. If he does, the Ducks will play steadier. If he’s not, chaos will feed down to the ice.

4. Hawks on D

This is the first two-day rest in this series. The Blackhawks defense needs it. Four Chicago defensemen have averaged 25:28 minutes per game or more. We’re still waiting for Johnny Oduya to break down. We’re also still waiting for Niklas Hjalmarsson to slow somewhat. Maybe Brent Seabrook? If Chicago has four D that aren’t playing well -- because coach Quenneville has little faith in Kyle Cumiskey or David Rundblad -- it could spell trouble for the Hawks. Then again, it hasn’t been an issue yet this round.

5. Kane and Toews and Saad, oh my!

Quenneville’s decision to put Patrick Kane and Jonathan Toews together on a line in Game 6 proved a masterstroke. Kane scored a goal and added an assist. Toews won 83 percent of his faceoffs. They proved an unstoppable combo along with Saad, who scored a goal.

6. The Battle in Goal

Frederik Andersen has allowed 13 goals his last three games. He has gone 1-2 in those contests for Anaheim. Corey Crawford has allowed 11 goals in that same span. He’s gone 2-1, obviously. A bad goaltending performance can alter the course of a winner-take-all matchup. Both goaltenders have been OK. This series, but not really game stealing. Andersen has the talent, Crawford the experience.

7. Who has the ‘Animal Instinct’ of these two teams?

The Ducks have played two Game 7s at home the last two years. They’ve lost them both. The Blackhawks are well … the Blackhawks. They’re playoff survivors. Put them in a tough spot, they figure out ways to get back in the game, or win. The Ducks have yet to show they have this type of championship cred. I swear if this game comes down to an Anaheim penalty shot with no time left on the clock and the dude scores on a triple-deke …

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Josh Cooper is an editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @joshuacooper

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