5 things to know

Best of the best: Hockey people are fond of saying that, in the post-season, "your best players have to be your best players." These teams are in good shape then, because the two biggest names on each of their marquees are leading the way. Anaheim's Corey Perry tops all playoff scorers with 15 points, Chicago's Patrick Kane is right behind with 13, and the Ducks' Ryan Getzlaf (12) and Jonathan Toews (11) are nipping at their heels.

Net worth: Big-time scoring up front can be undone by shaky goaltending, as Chicago nearly learned the hard way in the opening round. Corey Crawford and backup Scott Darling playedhot potato with the job, until Crawford came on in relief in Game 6 to earn the series-clinching win over Nashvilleand reclaim the starter's role. He played every minute of the Minnesota sweep and stopped 124 of 131 shots a .946 save percentage. The Blackhawks need that guy to show up for Game 1 in Anaheim, where Frederik Andersen is the clear No. 1 man in net for the Ducks but is seeing his first conference-final action. Crawford is here for the third year in a row, and he won a Stanley Cup in 2013.

Relatively painless: Health is key to getting this far, and theseteams have helped themselves by playing only three games combined above the minimum.Anaheim has no significant injuries, while the Blackhawks should be slightly concerned about the loss of defenceman Michal Rozsival, who's gone for the playoffs after breaking his ankle in the last game against Minnesota. He's probably their fifth-most-importantdefenceman when you consideraverage ice time and possession stats. Forward Kris Versteed is listed as day-to-day with a lower-body injury.

Home runs: Both the Ducks and Blackhawks are undefeated on their own rinks this post-season, with Anaheim going 5-0 while outscoring Winnipeg and Calgary 18-6, and Chicago going 5-0 while outscoring Nashville and Minnesota 19-11. But home ice didn't seem to mean anything when these teams met in the regular season. The Ducks took the lone meeting in the Second City 1-0, while the Blackhawks won both games in Orange County by identical 4-1 scores.

Duck dynasty: That's a reach, but Anaheim is dominating its opponents through the first two rounds. Along with that playoff-best goal differential, the Ducks are leading in 5-on-5 for/against ratio (1.69), goals per game (3.89), power-play success rate (31.0%) and score-adjusted Fenwick (57.9% by the NHL's numbers). Some regression is inevitable, especially as Anaheim moves off a suspect Calgary team to take on a highly skilled, deep and playoff-seasoned opponent in Chicago. This series is a real toss-up