NHL Game Summary - Chicago at Anaheim

Anaheim, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Frederik Andersen made 32 saves as the Anaheim Ducks used strong goaltending and secondary scoring to top the Chicago Blackhawks 4-1 in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals.

Nate Thompson, Hampus Lindholm and Jakob Silfverberg each tallied a goal and an assist, while Kyle Palmieri also lit the lamp for the Ducks, who are making their fourth appearance in the conference finals since 2003.

"You're not going to win unless you have four lines playing," Anaheim head coach Bruce Boudreau said. "Palmieri, Thompson and Cogliano were very good today. Those guys played really good, but you need it if you want to be successful."

Anaheim has won nine of its first 10 playoff games for the first time in franchise history.

Brad Richards scored and Corey Crawford stopped 23 shots for the Blackhawks, who entered with wins in their last three Western Conference final openers (2010, 2013, 2014).

"They're a dangerous team," Chicago head coach Joel Quenneville said of the Ducks. "I think no matter who is on the ice, they're capable of making plays and you have to be aware of that as well. They generated offense with all four lines."

The first-ever playoff matchup between these two teams continues with Game 2 Tuesday at Honda Center.

Trailing 2-0, Richards gave the Blackhawks life with a strong individual effort.

The veteran forward knocked down Francois Beauchemin's clearing attempt along the boards on the forecheck, skated up to the right circle and wristed a shot under Andersen's arm for his team's first goal with 39.6 seconds left in the middle stanza.

Andersen came up big on a Chicago power play early in the third period, stopping Richards' rising slapper from the high slot and Brandon Saad's rebound attempt in tight to preserve his team's narrow lead.

Cogliano had two quality chances close to the midway point of the third. His redirection attempt off Thompson's slick cross-ice feed was denied and his centering feed a few minutes later went off Crawford's pads and nearly trickled over the goal line.

Anaheim had its two-goal advantage restored with 7:55 left in the third as Cogliano's offering from the right side was kicked aside by Crawford straight to Thompson, who was there to roof the rebound for a 3-1 game.

Crawford was pulled with over two minutes to play in favor of an extra attacker, and Silfverberg scored on the vacated cage on a good second effort to account for the final score.

Each team entered the game with plenty of rest. The Blackhawks were coming off a four-game sweep of the Minnesota Wild on May 7, while the Ducks ended their series in five games with the Calgary Flames on May 10.

Just over five minutes into the contest, Kane corralled a Ryan Getzlaf turnover in the slot and coasted to the left circle. Andersen was drawn out of his net on the play, but managed to get a piece of Kane's wrister with his stick to keep it a scoreless game.

"He picked up a loose puck and I didn't really see how much time he had in the beginning," Andersen recalled. "I played aggressive, but he was patient and tried to get me moving laterally. I knew I had to throw my stick over and take away as much of the net as I could. Luckily, he hit the stick."

The Ducks got on the board first after Silfverberg spun around at the left circle and sent a pass to a trailing Lindholm, who used Matt Beleskey's screen in front to blast a one-timer past Crawford 8:48 into the game.

Chicago, playing in its fifth conference final since 2009, continued to threaten and outshot the hosts by a 16-7 margin, but still trailed after 20 minutes of play.

After throwing a thunderous check on David Rundblad along the corner boards, Palmieri skated toward the slot. Thompson's centering feed was shuffled aside by Crawford, but straight to Palmieri, who ripped a shot while falling into the net to increase Anaheim's lead to 2-0 just 4:17 into the second.