ANAHEIM, California: Marcus Kruger scored with 3:48 left in the third overtime to lift the Chicago Blackhawks to a 3-2 win over Anaheim Tuesday in game two of their Western Conference final series.

Swedish forward Kruger knocked the puck down with his left glove then tapped it in midair past Ducks goaltender Frederik Andersen to end the marathon contest and even the best-of-seven NHL playoff series at 1-1.

“It hit my glove and then I got my stick on it,” said the 24-year-old Stockholm native. “It is a great feeling. We played almost two games and we leave California 1-1. We are excited.”

The game, in front of a crowd of 17,200 at Honda Center arena, lasted four hours and 52 minutes, breaking the Blackhawks’ 84-year-old record for the longest game in franchise history.

It was also the longest home game in Ducks’ history. In 2003 they played into the fifth overtime period on the road in Dallas.

“I never played one that long before,” said Ducks defenseman Sami Vatanen. “It is a one-time experience.”

If the first two games are an indication, then the first ever postseason battle between these two clubs is shaping up to be a good one.

On the winning goal Chicago defenseman Brent Seabrook took a shot from the point and it went through a maze of players before reaching Kruger who was left alone at the side of the Anaheim net. He outduelled Andersen for the loose puck and swatted it into the open cage.

“I saw the puck being passed D to D and I was happy to find it and put it in,” said Kruger.

Chicago appeared to have the game won in the second overtime, but the goal was waived off by the officials after a review because Andrew Shaw head-butted the puck into the net.

“I tried to sell it,” Shaw said.

Shaw and Marian Hossa had first period power-play goals for the Blackhawks, who got 60 saves from Corey Crawford in the marathon contest. The Ducks Andersen made a remarkable 53 saves.

“It was just a great hockey game to watch,” said Crawford.

Andrew Cogliano and Corey Perry scored for the Ducks, who had won all six home games in the playoffs before this loss.

The Ducks also had opportunities to win it in the extra sessions as Perry missed two chances close in the second overtime.

“I thought we should have won the game,” said Cogliano. “We hit some crossbars. Perry had a good chance. It is a bounce and we didn’t get it.”

The Ducks boast a considerable size advantage over the Blackhawks, and for the second game in a row they outhit Chicago, but it also made them more fatigued as the game neared five hours in length.

“I know when I make a few hits and it can slow you down if you do it too much,” said Blackhawks forward Bryan Bickell.

The Blackhawks boast a very similar lineup to the teams which won the Stanley Cup titles in 2010 and 2013. But coach Joel Quenneville said they have never experienced a game quite like this one.

“It was as intense a game that I have ever been part of,” Quenneville said. “Unbelievable pace. Everybody was focused on playing the right way.”

That wasn’t the case in a 4-1 game one loss where the Blackhawks’ shorthanded defense didn’t get the support they needed from the forward.

Bickell said the forward did a much better job of helping to protect their own zone in game two.

“This game we had a third guy high. We tightened it up and kept the puck in front of us,” he said.