Rivalries and enemies are made during the NHL playoffs. While it’s probably premature to call the Blackhawks and the Ducks rivals, the two teams certainly don’t like each other very much. Just ask Anaheim’s Matt Beleskey.
Immediately following the Ducks’ Game 4 OT loss, Beleskey commented on his distaste for the Blackhawks, as seen in the OC Register.
“I’m sick of them,” Beleskey said with an incredulous look. “That’s for sure. Of course I’m sick of them.”
Beleskey’s feelings are probably mutual in the Chicago dressing room. All of the overtime hockey and the pressure of the third round will bring emotions and tempers to the surface. It’s a safe bet things are going to get worse before they get better as it’d be pretty easy to see this series going the distance.
Ryan Kesler summed up how the tension mounts as the series endures:
“I think you have tension out there when you have two really good teams competing, going back and forth, trying to string wins together to win this thing. You’re going to get tension there for sure.”
Kesler’s comments are much more politically correct, but Beleskey’s are probably more in tune with what the players are actually thinking.
