Getting to the Cup: Ducks vs Blackhawks, Game Three Thread

Just two days after a marathon three overtime affair, the Anaheim Ducks travel to Chicago to try and reclaim home ice from the Blackhawks.

Just to mix things up, I've decided to write my own keys to the game this time and not rely on NHL.com. You know, just in case their lawyers come a calling. Since I still choose to be lazy, however, I am only doing one key to the game.

KEY TO THE GAME

Minding the net

There was a reason that this game went so late and that no one could score a goal for nearly four full periods in Game Two. The goalies both played in a state of nirvana. In other words, almost every time a puck was launched at their face, they Gregorian chanted 'Smells Like Teen Spirit', while experiencing an "imperturbable stillness of mind after the fires of desire, aversion, and delusion have been finally extinguished."

This led to some wacky tactics on the part of opposing offenders, and I now know that you can't legally head butt a puck into the goal.

Can both goalies keep playing out of their minds like this? If not, which one is likely to have an off game?

Let's start with Chicago's Corey Crawford, who saved 60 of 62 shots for a percentage of 96.8. His regular season percentage was 92.4. In other words, he played 4.4 percentage points over his normal head. Anaheim's Frederik Andersen blocked 53 of 56 shots for a save percentage of 94.6. His regular season percentage was 93.3, so he was playing 1.3% out of his normal comfort zone.

Since Crawford was playing 3.3 percent more out of his mind than Andersen, and since Andersen seems to face fewer shots, that makes Crawford more likely to have a drop-off.

That's a little thing called math. It might be really bad math, but it's math. Can Corey Crawford beat that? We shall see.