ANAHEIM, Calif. — Matt Beleskey scored 45 seconds into overtime, and the Anaheim Ducks beat the Chicago Blackhawks 5-4 on Monday night in Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the NHL Western Conference finals.
Chicago captain Jonathan Toews scored two goals in 72 seconds late in regulation to force overtime, but Beleskey barreled into the crease and scored on a rebound of Ryan Kesler’s shot, flying through the air in celebration.
Kesler and Sami Vatanen had a goal and an assist apiece for the Ducks, who moved to the brink of their first trip to the Stanley Cup finals since 2007.
Corey Crawford made 23 saves for the Blackhawks, who had won four overtime games in this postseason, including two in this series. They had all the momentum heading to overtime after Toews silenced Honda Center — until Beleskey swooped in.
Game 6 is Wednesday in Chicago.
Cam Fowler and Kesler scored 32 seconds apart in a three-goal first period for the Ducks. Patrick Maroon scored with 5:15 to play before Toews’ heroics.
Teuvo Teravainen and Brent Seabrook scored in the second period for Chicago, which lost a Game 5 in a tied series for the first time in its past eight tries. The Blackhawks must win two games in a row to reach their third Stanley Cup finals in six seasons.
The teams combined for a six-goal third period in Game 4, and they put together another memorable finish in a high-level playoff series already featuring two multi-overtime games, both won by Chicago.
After Maroon appeared to wrap it up for Anaheim, Toews scored with 1:50 left with Crawford pulled, and he did it again with 37.2 seconds left on an sharp-angled shot that somehow got through Frederik Andersen, who made 24 saves. The Ducks’ Danish goalie had been mostly superb in the postseason until allowing two goals in Game 5, including the tying goal.
In overtime, the Ducks swiftly made the decisive rush at Crawford, who put a rebound straight onto Beleskey’s stick for his seventh goal of the postseason.
Anaheim started Game 5 with a bang on back-to-back goals by Fowler and Kesler, even if they didn’t quite match their three goals in 37 seconds in Game 4.
Chicago opened with more than 16 minutes without a shot on goal, but responded by scoring early and late in a dominant second period to set the stage for another remarkable finish in a series full of them.