Discuss the hockey team that named themselves after a Disney franchise.

Ducks Get Second Overall Pick
NEW YORK (July 22, 2005) - The Mighty Ducks of Anaheim will have the second overall draft pick in the 2005 Entry Draft. The Pittsburgh Penguins won the National Hockey League Draft Drawing, held today following the League's Board of Governors meeting in New York, and obtained the first overall selection for the 2005 Entry Draft, to be held Saturday, July 30 (noon, ET) at the Westin Hotel in Ottawa. Anaheim will have both the second pick and the 31st overall selection (first pick of the second round) which they acquired from Tampa Bay via trade. The Draft Drawing, a weighted lottery system, was used to determine the order of selection for all seven rounds of the Entry Draft. Under the weighted lottery system, the clubs that neither qualified for the Stanley Cup Playoffs in each of the 2001-02, 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons, nor were awarded the first overall selection in each of the 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 Entry Drafts, had the greatest chance of receiving the first overall selection, 6.3 per cent. These clubs were the Penguins, Buffalo Sabres, Columbus Blue Jackets and New York Rangers.
Ten clubs met one of the seven criteria listed above and had a 4.2% chance of winning the Drawing, while the remaining 16 clubs met more than one of the criteria and had a 2.1% chance.
Forty-eight balls, numbered one through 48, were placed in a lottery machine. Three ball numbers were randomly assigned to each the Penguins, Sabres, Blue Jackets and Rangers; two ball numbers were assigned to the 10 clubs with a 4.2% chance; and one ball number was assigned to the 16 clubs with a 2.1% chance. The first ball expelled determined the winner of the first overall draft pick and it had been assigned to the Penguins.

After the first overall selection was awarded, another ball was expelled to determine which club, from among the 29 remaining, received the second overall pick. This process was continued until each of the 30 first-round draft positions was assigned.
FIRST-ROUND ORDER OF SELECTION, 2005 ENTRY DRAFT
1. Pittsburgh Penguins
2. Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
3. Carolina Hurricanes
4. Minnesota Wild
5. Montreal Canadiens
6. Columbus Blue Jackets
7. Chicago Blackhawks
8. Atlanta Thrashers
9. Ottawa Senators
10. Vancouver Canucks
11. Los Angeles Kings
12. San Jose Sharks
13. Buffalo Sabres
14. Washington Capitals
15. New York Islanders
16. New York Rangers

17. Phoenix Coyotes
18. Nashville Predators
19. Detroit Red Wings
20. Philadelphia Flyers
21. Toronto Maple Leafs
22. Boston Bruins
23. New Jersey Devils
24. St. Louis Blues
25. Edmonton Oilers
26. Calgary Flames
27. Colorado Avalanche
28. Dallas Stars
29. Florida Panthers
30. Tampa Bay Lightning
PROBABILITY OF RECEIVING THE FIRST OVERALL PICK IN THE DRAFT DRAWING
2002 2003 2004 2001 1st 2002 1st 2003 1st 2004 1st # Of Balls Chance Of
Playoffs Playoffs Playoffs Overall Pick * Overall Pick * Overall Pick * Overall Pick * Assigned Selection (%)
* "1st Overall Pick" refers to the club that emerged from the Draft Drawing holding the rights to the first overall selection for that particular Entry Draft. In 2001, Atlanta kept the pick and selected first overall; in 2002, Florida traded the pick to Columbus; in 2003, Florida traded the pick to Pittsburgh and in 2004 Washington kept the pick and selected first overall.

PICKS IN SUBSEQUENT ROUNDS
The order of selection for the second round of the Entry Draft will be inverse of the order of selection for the first round (i.e. the club that selected 30th overall in the first round will select first overall in the second round). The order of selection for the third round will be the same as the order of selection of the first round and the order of selection will alternate each round thereafter.
Each club's overall draft pick positions will be determined next week, following the awarding of compensatory draft picks.

NHL Draft Article http://www.nhl.com/futures/2005draft/draft...view072505.html

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Pacific: Sharks feel heat from Ducks
Doug Ward | NHL.com correspondent Nov 28, 2006, 12:00 PM EST
When the San Jose Sharks shut out the New Jersey Devils, 2-0, Saturday in San Jose, they improved their record vs. Eastern Conference teams to 6-1 this season. San Jose is a remarkable 15-2 against teams from the East over the past two seasons. If the Sharks make to the Stanley Cup Final, you have to like their odds.
Getting out of the Western Conference, of course, is no sure thing, and these days, the Sharks' biggest games are the ones that come against Anaheim.
San Jose has gotten off to an impressive start, going 17-7-0 to pick up 34 points in its first 24 games. But with the Ducks bolting out the gate at 17-2-6, the Sharks find themselves six points behind their division leading in-state rival.
The Ducks made the first meeting between the two Western Conference frontrunners a statement game, chalking up a resounding 5-0 win, last week at the Honda Center in Anaheim. Sharks Coach Ron Wilson said the Thanksgiving week showdown came down to one simple determinant. "They were hungry, we weren't," Wilson said after his team was out-shot, 44-23, in the loss.
"We worked extremely hard for everything we got," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said.
San Jose center Joe Thornton said the Ducks lived up to their hype as a Stanley Cup favorite. "Everybody says they're the best team in the league," he told reporters, "and they really gave it to us."
But Thornton was also philosophical about the loss, suggesting there is a cumulative effect that makes each progressive game bigger than the one played previously.
"This was the most important game up to tonight," Thornton said after the loss, "and tomorrow becomes the next most important game."
The Sharks rebounded nicely, winning what Thornton categorized as the season's next most important game, 6-3, a day later in Los Angeles.
San Jose and Anaheim will square off seven more times this season, with added gravity accompanying each subsequent meeting. The next match up is slated for Dec. 16 at the Shark Tank.
To see the importance of the head to head meetings, you need look only as far back as last season. A year ago, San Jose took the season series, 4-3-1, and the one game edge in head-to-head meetings was critical as the Sharks edged out the Ducks by one point in the final Pacific Division standings. The next seven games between the two teams figure to be more tightly contested than the first one.
"We're going to see a lot of each other in the regular season and hopefully the postseason," Thornton said.
Who's hot -- With his father battling pancreatic cancer in Quebec, defenseman Philippe Boucher of the Stars had his first career hat trick Friday against Los Angeles in a 5-3 Dallas win. Boucher, whose mother is recovering from open-heart surgery, was slated to visit his parents over the weekend before re-joining the Stars Monday in Detroit. ... Anze Kopitar of the Kings has four points (one goal, three assists) in his last two games to give him 22 points (six goals, 16 assists) in his first 22 NHL games. Kopitar is tied with Pittsburgh's Evgeni Malkin for most points by a rookie. King teammate Alexander Frolov has 11 points (eight goals, three assists) in his last six games. ... With 12 points (six goals, six assists) in his last 12 games, Teemu Selanne of Anaheim is the leading scorer on the Pacific's top team with 29 points (10 goals, 19 assists). Linemate Chris Kunitz leads Anaheim with 13 goals, while defenseman Chris Pronger has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his last five games. ... The Sharks' Joe Thornton has four points (two goals, two assists) in his last two games. Thornton is sixth in the league with 20 assists.
Not hot -- Stu Barnes of Dallas is scoreless in his last eight games. ... L.A.'s Tom Kostopoulos has not scored in seven. ... Phoenix defenseman Keith Ballard has a minus-3 rating and has not scored in nine games. ... Dallas goaltender Marty Turco is 0-1-0 with a 5.42 goals against average and .793 save percentage in his last two games. ... The Kings' Dan Cloutier continues his struggles, going 1-1-0 with a 5.42 goals against average and .843 save percentage in his last two games.
Rumor mill -- Phoenix is reportedly on the verge of acquiring a goaltender to backup Curtis Joseph. Such a deal would make current backup David LeNeveu expendable. ... Coyote coach Wayne Gretzky called his team's 4-0 defeat Friday at Minnesota, "the most discouraging loss of the year." Gretzky also benched Ladislav Nagy for one game due to the forward's poor effort in the game. ... With both J.S. Giguere ("lower body injury") and Ilya Bryzgalov (groin) unavailable, the Ducks summoned 21-year-old Michael Wall from Portland, where he had been backing up Michael Leighton, and started him in goal Sunday night at home against Calgary. Wall picked up the win, making 19 saves in Anaheim's 5-3 win.
Anaheim makes a two-game swing through Canada, stopping first in Edmonton (Tuesday) for defenseman Chris Pronger's return to Rexall Place. He asked the Oilers to deal him last summer, shortly after leading the team to within one game of the Stanley Cup. The Ducks then travel to Vancouver (Thursday), before returning to Southern California for a home-and-home series with the Kings. The cross-town rivals meet Saturday at 1 p.m. PST in Los Angeles and Sunday at 5 p.m. PST in Orange County. ... San Jose embarks on a four-game trip that takes them to St. Louis (Tuesday), Minnesota (Wednesday), Detroit (Saturday), and Dallas (Monday). ... After a three game roadie that takes them to Detroit (Monday), Chicago (Wednesday), Washington (Thursday), the Stars begin a four-game home stand that brings Minnesota (Saturday), San Jose (Monday), Phoenix (Dec. 6) and Edmonton (Dec. 8) to Dallas. ...The Kings will visit Phoenix Thursday before their home-and-home set with Anaheim. ... Phoenix plays just two games this week, hosting L.A. (Thursday) and Nashville (Monday).
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=page&pa...rticleid=284054

Pacific: Ducks, Sharks feeling the burn
Doug Ward | NHL.com correspondent Dec 19, 2006, 12:00 PM EST
In the NHL, a rivalry isn’t really a rivalry until the two principles meet in the playoffs, and this could be the year that a postseason showdown elevates games between the Ducks and the Sharks from mere intra-state series to a full-fledged passion play.
Until that happens, the Ducks and Sharks will have to be content to stoke the fire of their burgeoning rivalry with regular- season meetings that feel like playoff games.
After Anaheim dominated the first meeting of the year, 5-0, Nov. 21 at Honda Center, the Sharks came back to win the second contest, 4-3, Saturday at San Jose. The rematch was more indicative of the completive balance that exists between the two teams.
“For Game 34, it was incredible,” reigning MVP Joe Thornton said of the game’s intensity.
Thornton capped a third period Sharks rally by deflecting a shot off Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer for a power-play goal with 2:13 left in the game.
The Ducks had jumped out to a 2-0 lead on goals by Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry. It took a scrap between San Jose’s Mark Bell and the Ducks’ Shane O’Brien to alter the game’s energy.
“We were almost lifeless,” Sharks coach Ron Wilson said. “They had their way with us in Anaheim, 5-0. When they scored their second goal, we seemed to wilt a little bit.”
After Bell and O’Brien mixed it up, the Sharks got goals from Patrick Marleau and Mark Smith to tie it up. The Ducks got back on top in the third on Dustin Penner’s power-play goal, but 31 seconds later, Jonathan Cheechoo tied it up, setting the stage for Thornton’s game-winner.
“Both teams were up for it,” Thornton said. “It’s going to be a big game whenever we meet each other.”
The next big game in California will be Dec. 26, when the Ducks again travel to San Jose in one of six remaining regular-season meetings this season.
If they meet again after that, it will be in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, meaning this will be a real rivalry. The way the top two teams in the Pacific Division went at it last week, it looks like it already is.
Who's hot -- Ryan Getzlaf, 21, of the Ducks has three points in his last two games, while Corey Perry, also 21, has five points in three games. Getzlaf is on pace for 35 goals and 58 points. Teammate Andy McDonald has eight points in six games. Teemu Selanne has 24 points in 15 games. Defenseman Chris Pronger has four points in three games.
Anaheim goalie J.S. Giguere has a 1.95 goals against and .933 save percentage while picking up 10 wins in his last 13 games. ... Mike Ribeiro of the Stars has five points in his last six games. Teammate Brenden Morrow has three points in three games. On the Dallas blue line, Philippe Boucher and Sergei Zubov each have four points in their last two games. Boucher leads the Stars in both goals (11) and points (24). ... L.A.’s Mike Cammalleri has four points in four games, while Anze Kopitar and Alexander Frolov each have three points in two games. Sean Avery of the Kings has two points in two games. ... In five games since returning the Coyotes’ lineup, Mike Comrie has five points. Defenseman Ed Jovanovski has three points in his last three games for Phoenix. ... The Sharks’ Joe Thornton has 12 points in six games; Jonathan Cheechoo has six points in six games; Patrick Marleau has five points in four games. Goaltender Evgeni Nabokov is 5-1 with one shutout, a 1.17 goals-against average, and .952 save percentage in his last six appearances.
Not hot -- Matthew Barnaby of Dallas has not scored in 13 games. ... Phoenix’s Shane Doan is scoreless in seven games.
Rumor mill -- Goaltender Yutaka Fukufuji became the first Japanese-born player to suit up for an NHL game when he backed up Kings’ starter Barry Brust Saturday in Los Angeles. ... After being a healthy scratch for two consecutive games, including one that he watched from a Vancouver restaurant, Phoenix’s Jeremy Roenick entered a meeting with Coyotes GM Mike Barnett and CEO Jeff Shumway prepared to retire. But after what Roenick called, “an awesome meeting,” he was back in the team’s lineup. Roenick said retiring at season’s end remained a strong possibility, but he wouldn’t rule out playing another season.
The week ahead -- The division-leading Ducks close out an abbreviated two-game homestand by hosting Dallas Wednesday, and then begin a skein of four straight road games. The Ducks will travel to Phoenix, San Jose, Carolina, Minnesota, and Detroit, before returning to Honda Center Jan. 5. ... San Jose, meanwhile, will continue its four-game homestand, hosting Dallas (Thursday), Calgary (Saturday), the Ducks (Dec. 26), and Phoenix (Dec. 28). ... Dallas continues an excursion through California with games at Anaheim (Wednesday) and San Jose (Thursday), after kicking off the three-game trip with a shootout win Saturday in Los Angeles. ...The Kings will host Calgary Tuesday, then head out for a two-game roadie that begins in St. Louis, where they’ll get their first look at former coach Andy Murray in his new role behind the Blues’ bench. The trip concludes Saturday at Nashville. ... Phoenix hosts Edmonton (Thursday), and Anaheim (Saturday).
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?service=page&pa...rticleid=285588

Anaheim Mighty Ducks Article: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=290100

Ducks opening the gap in Pacific Division
Doug Ward | NHL.com correspondent Mar 13, 2007, 12:00 PM EDT
After opening an eight-game homestand with five straight wins, the Anaheim Ducks have improved to 9-1-3 in their last 13 games. More importantly, the Ducks appear to have recaptured a little of the mojo that saw them get off to the best start in franchise history when they won 27 of 38 games before Christmas.
In picking up 10 quick points at the Honda Center, the Ducks, who have now won seven of eight, have opened a 10-point lead in the Pacific Division over San Jose and Dallas, tied for second place. While the Ducks have used home ice to their advantage, San Jose has struggled at the HP Pavilion recently, going 2-4-3 in its last nine home games.
The Ducks have rejuvenated their season by taking on all comers. Their current run began with impressive wins over San Jose and Nashville, their top division and conference rivals, respectively. The Ducks were then able to avoid playing down to the competition, converting easy wins over lowly Phoenix and Edmonton.
While the Ducks were hockey’s best team before Christmas, their opponent Sunday has been the NHL’s hottest team after the holidays.
Vancouver brought an NHL-best 24-4-4 record since Christmas, along with a five-game winning streak, to Orange County to face the Ducks Sunday. In front of the 11th-consecutive sellout crowd at Honda Center, the Ducks cooled off the Canucks, churning out a 4-2 playoff-like win. With 104 penalty minutes handed out, the game had an intensity befitting a late-season game between two conference rivals preparing for the playoffs.
“It was almost like a playoff game,” Ducks winger Teemu Selenne said. “The intensity level was there.”
The Ducks' challenge is to retain that kind of emotion against the lower division teams that will visit the Honda Center this week to close out the homestand. With Columbus (61 points), Chicago (61 points), and Los Angeles (57 points) traveling to Anaheim this week, the Ducks are looking at the very real possibility of a perfect 8-0 homestand, provided they can avoid a letdown.
After that, Anaheim has nine regular season games remaining, seven of which will be played on the road.
In Sunday’s game, Selanne scored his 40th goal of the year, thus becoming the first player on the wrong side of 35 to put up back-to-back 40-goal seasons.
“It makes me feel very, very old,” Selanne, still boyish at 36, said.
It wasn’t so long ago that the Ducks looked as old as Selanne feels, as injuries threatened to turn a potential team for the ages into one that had peaked too early. In January and February, the free-falling Ducks won just nine of 23 games. Lately, however, the Ducks have looked more and more like a team that had the good fortune of having its bad luck at mid-season, while there was still time to recover.
Defenseman Chris Pronger is currently sidelined with a broken toe, but Scott Niedermayer and Francois Beauchemin are back, as is goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The Ducks appear to be back, too.
Giguere has posted a 2-0-0 record, 1.50 goals-against average and .941 save percentage in his last two games. The 2003 Conn Smythe winner is now 33-8-7 this season, just one win shy of the career-high he established in 2002-03.
With 95 points, the Ducks are just three behind Nashville, the League’s overall points leader, in the race for the Western Conference regular season title.
Who's hot -- Dallas goaltender Marty Turco is 2-0-0 with a 1.49 GAA and .941 save percentage in his last two games. Teammate Mike Modano has three points in three games. ... Phoenix
captain Shane Doan has eight points in his last six games; teammate Steve Reinprecht has two points in two games. ... San Jose defenseman Matt Carle has eight points in eight games. Shark center Joe Thornton has four points in three games, while winger Ryane Clowe has four points in four games. Sharks goaltender Evgeni Nabokov is 3-0-1 with a 0.49 GAA, .982 save-percentage and three shutouts in his last four outings. San Jose defenseman Craig Rivet is a plus-4 since being obtained from Montreal Feb. 25. ... In Anaheim, center Andy McDonald has four points in two games; winger Chris Kunitz has three points in two games; center Ryan Getzlaf has four points in two games; winger Dustin Penner has seven points in seven games; defenseman Scott Niedermayer has two points in two games.
Not hot -- San Jose winger Bill Guerin is scoreless in six games since joining the Sharks, while defenseman Jaroslav Modry is scoreless in six games in his second tour of duty with the Kings. ... Jeff Halpern of Dallas has not found the score sheet in 12 games. ... Phoenix goaltender Curtis Joseph is 0-2-0 with a .859 save percentage in his last three games.
News to note -- Center Gabe Gauthier, an Orange County native who played his college hockey at the University of Denver, made his NHL debut for the Kings Sunday. Gauthier combined with Noah Clarke, a native of the Los Angeles suburb of La Verne, to give the Kings two Southern Californians for the first time ever. Clarke played college hockey at Colorado College, Denver’s chief rival. ... Kings’ rookie Anze Kopitar, who has missed six games with an upper body injury, remains sidelined indefinitely.
The week ahead -- The Ducks will close out their eight-game homestand, which they have started 5-0, by hosting Columbus (Wednesday), Chicago (Friday), and Los Angeles (Sunday).
The Kings, mired in the Western Conference’s cellar, will try to make up ground on 13th place Chicago at Staples Center Thursday.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=290430

Ducks Article: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=290780

Pacific title going right down to the wire
Doug Ward | NHL.com correspondent Mar 27, 2007, 12:00 PM EDT
It wasn’t so long ago that the Anaheim Ducks appeared to have the Pacific Division title on ice. They began the month of March with a 3-1 win over San Jose at home, thus taking a commanding nine-point lead in the standings on their intrastate rivals. There was a little over a month left in season at the time.
Since then, the Sharks have gone off on their own version of March Madness. San Jose spent the month looking a lot like a No. 1 seed on a late run against an undermanned mid-major, running off eight wins in 10 games, frantically making up ground in the Pacific.
The Ducks, meanwhile, had lost three-of-four games before defenseman Chris Pronger returned from a toe injury Friday night, helping the team to a 3-2 win over Dallas. Pronger’s presence in the lineup has been paramount to the Ducks: they’ve lost 10 of 16 games in which the defenseman has been sidelined. Pronger has missed nine games after suffering a broken left hand in January, and another seven when he sustained a broken toe earlier this month. But even Pronger couldn’t help the Ducks Monday, as they began the week and their four-game road trip (games at Chicago, Columbus, and St. Louis remain) with a 1-0 loss at Detroit.
San Jose, meanwhile, has gotten a boost from newly acquired Bill Guerin, who has eight points in his last seven games after being held scoreless during his first six appearances in a Sharks uniform. Guerin, who broke out with a hat trick March 13 against Chicago, has now scored goals in five of his last seven games.
Defenseman Craig Rivet, the Sharks’ other acquisition before the deadline, has three points in three games, and has been a plus-4 in black and teal.
Last season’s Hart Trophy winner, Joe Thornton, is looking like an MVP again, putting up eight points in his last three games. Thornton now has 111 points on the season, just seven behind league-leader Sidney Crosby as he attempts to win a second consecutive Art Ross Trophy as the league’s scoring champion.
The Sharks and Ducks have only one head-to-head meeting remaining, and Anaheim plays five of its six remaining games away from Honda Center. The Sharks, conversely, return to the HP Pavilion for five of their final six games after clearing out last week so the building could play host the NCAA West Regional. While UCLA was turning the Shark Tank into a bear’s lair, ousting Pittsburgh and Kansas on the way to the Final Four, the Sharks went 2-1-1 on the road.
If the Sharks are to use the HP Pavilion as their own launching pad to the hockey’s final four, their initial playoff pairing might prove to be just as important as who they meet in their last one.
Providing San Jose can keep the heat on Anaheim, their April 4 showdown at the Pond just might shake out as a play-in game of sorts: the division winner is guaranteed home ice in the first round, while the runner-up will draw either Detroit or Nashville. When you consider the stakes, the final half dozen contests of the regular season could end up being play-out games for whichever team finishes second in the Pacific Division.
And don’t forget the Dallas Stars in this scenario. The Stars are also in the mix here with 96 points, making for a wild finish in the Pacific.
Who’s hot -- In San Jose, Jonathan Cheechoo has eight points in his last three games, while Matt Carle has four assists in four games. ... Scott Niedermayer of the Ducks has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in six games; teammate Francois Beauchemin has eight points (two goals, six assists) during that same time.
Not hot -- Rob Niedermayer has not scored in 13 games, during which time he has posted a minus-5 rating. ... Curtis Brown of San Jose is scoreless in seven games. ... Kings’ goaltender Sean Burke is 0-1-0 with a 4.72 goals against average and .833 save percentage.
Rumor mill -- The Kings are close to an agreement with defenseman Jack Johnson, who just completed his junior season at the University of Michigan. Johnson, the third overall pick of the 2005 Entry Draft, was unable to come to terms with Carolina, so the Hurricanes dealt his rights to the Kings in exchange for Tim Gleason and Eric Belanger Oct. 1. ... With the wife of goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere expecting the couple’s first child at any time, the Ducks have recalled goalie Sebastien Caron from Portland as insurance. ... The Kings plan on sending youngsters Patrick O’Sullivan, Gabe Gauthier, Noah Clarke and John Zeiler to Manchester in order to compete for the team’s primary minor league affiliate the American Hockey League playoffs. ... San Jose center Mark Smith and his band the Vinyl Trees opened for the Canadian band The Tragically Hip Monday night at The Fillmore, one of San Francisco’s most revered music venues. Smith followed the likes of Janis Joplin, The Grateful Dead, and The Doors among those who have graced The Fillmore’s stage. ... Bill Guerin has the rare distinction of having recorded a hat trick both for and against San Jose this season; the last player to accomplish the feat was Teemu Selanne, who had three-goal games for and against San Jose during the 2000-01 season.
The week ahead -- The division’s top two teams will spend the week in different time zones, with the first-place Ducks embarking on a four-game road trip, while the surging Sharks will be playing at home.
San Jose, which begins the week just four points behind Anaheim, hopes to take advantage of visits from division bottom-feeders Los Angeles (Tuesday and Sunday) and Phoenix (Friday). The Ducks, who have a game in hand on the Sharks, opened the trip Monday in Detroit and will visit Chicago (Wednesday), Columbus (Thursday), and St. Louis (Saturday).
After that the two Pacific leaders will collide in an April 4 showdown in Anaheim that will be both San Jose’s last road contest and the Ducks’ home finale.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=298220

Minnesota Wild at Anaheim Ducks (10:30 p.m. ET, TSN) - This has all the makings of a great series. The Ducks have been a strong team all season and the Wild are the NHL's best defensive team and have some strong offensive players too in Marian Gaborik, Pavol Demitra and Brian Rolston.
The Wild had the League's best defensive record in 2006-07, allowing a total of 191 goals (2.3 per game). The League's best defensive team has won the Stanley Cup twice in the last 20 years – New Jersey in 2003 and Dallas in 1999. On two other occasions (1989, Montreal and 1990, Boston) the team with the best defense lost in the Final.
Anaheim will test that defense thanks to players like Teemu Selanne, Andy McDonald, Chris Kunitz and the young trio of Dustin Penner, Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.
The Ducks also boast two of the NHL's elite defensemen in Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger.
But Wild coach Jacques Lemaire knows a thing or two about shutting down offensive players and he has keen insight into Niedermayer, having coached him in New Jersey. There, Lemaire coached the League's best defensive team twice (1996-97 and 1997-98), while, as a player, his Montreal Canadiens were the top defensive club in the League in six of his 12 seasons.
These teams met in the 2003 Western Conference finals where Anaheim goalie J.S. Giguere recorded three shutouts in a four-game sweep.
Special teams play may well be critical in this series. The Ducks ranked third on the power-play and fifth on the penalty kill this season; the Wild ranked sixth on the power-play and second in penalty killing.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=298771

Overlook the 'D' at your own peril
Karl Samuelson | NHL.com correspondent Apr 11, 2007, 12:00 PM EDT
The defensive duo of Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger give the Ducks an advantage over almost any opponent they face.
Watch any Stanley Cup Playoff game and you’ll see great attention devoted to the player scoring the goal or the goaltender stopping the puck. That’s understandable considering that solid goaltending and clutch scoring are huge factors in hockey.
But so is defense. Like quarterbacks in football, NHL defensemen can control the flow of the game. It is too easy to overlook the contributions of stalwart defense units when considering the main factors for success in the playoffs. Yet some defensemen play 25-30 hard minutes – sometimes more -- in each playoff game against the very best the other team can throw at them.
“Their contributions are underrated,” says Ottawa Senators forward Antoine Vermette, “especially in today’s NHL where they are not allowed to hold like they used to do. We have two guys in Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov who log huge minutes. But we don’t talk about them because the news is always about the guys who stop the puck or put the puck in the net. Rarely do we talk about the guys who prevent the scoring chances. But these two guys are tremendous in killing penalties and playing against the top lines every night. It’s the same when you look around the League at players like Chris Pronger, Scott Niedermayer, Niklas Lidstrom, and Chris Chelios. You have to do something really special to beat them.”
“Phillips and Volchenkov are shut-down guys,” adds Ottawa assistant coach John Paddock. “They get no power-play time at all compared to Niedermayer and Pronger. But they’re 25 minute guys with special teams and play 20 minutes each night against players like Sidney Crosby. On some playoff nights it will be longer because there will be games that go on for another hour or more. Sometimes those defensemen are going to get upwards to 45 minutes when you have an overtime or double overtime game. In the playoffs, we don’t practice long, but focus on getting ready for the next game. So it’s all about rest and preparation.”
Preparation. That’s the operative word whether considering the current race for the Stanley Cup or championship teams of the past. Top defense pairs have to be prepared to bring their “A” game every shift on every night while logging tons of ice time against the top lines in hockey. The most accomplished defense duos have contrasting yet complimentary styles of play.
No two defense partners were as different from each other as Pierre Pilote and Elmer Vasko, but during the early 1960’s they were dominant on the Chicago blue line and formed the backbone of the last Blackhawks championship team in 1961.
Pilote was the premier rushing defenseman of that era. He won the Norris Trophy three-straight years (1963-65) and played an aggressive game despite his size (5-10, 170 pounds).
“Although he was not big by NHL standards, he could be a hard hitter and always met the challenges,” says Hall of Fame defenseman Harry Howell. “Pierre handled the puck very well and could make great plays. We had our share of disagreements, but I always admired his determination.”
Vasko was a hulking rearguard (6-3, 220 pounds) who concentrated on play in the defensive zone.
“Moose was a big, strong man, but he never took advantage of his power to hurt an opponent,” recalls 12-year veteran Jerry Toppazzini. “He was rock solid in his end of the ice and took out the opposition cleanly and effectively. Pierre had tremendous ability. He could play in any era -- 50 years ago or 50 years from now. Pilote and Vasko were complete opposites, but they made a terrific pair.”
The great teams of Punch Imlach were built for the playoffs and their foundation was rock-solid defense. Tim Horton and Allan Stanley formed a formidable defense unit and anchored four Stanley Cup teams with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1960s.
“They were both good defensively,” says Toppazzini. “Horton could really skate with the puck and, while Stanley wasn’t really fleet-footed, he was very smart. You would go down the ice against those two and the only thing you would see with Horton and Stanley was the corners.”
Imlach was afforded the luxury of calling upon a second outstanding tandem. If the Horton and Stanley pair needed a break from action, the Maple Leafs coach sent out Bobby Baun and Carl Brewer. Brewer was a fast skater with excellent puck skills, while Baun, nicknamed “The Boomer”, was feared for his devastating body checks. Some of their contemporaries felt this duo was the equal of Horton and Stanley.
“I think they were just as good, if not better,” says Toppazzini. “Baun was tough and would really crunch you. He always finished his check. Brewer could handle the puck and move it out. He had tremendous ability. I think Brewer was as good as any defenseman at the time, including Pierre Pilote.”
But one defenseman stands supreme. When Bobby Orr was in top condition, he was the best defenseman in NHL history and while his career was cut short by injuries, he made an impact that will be remembered as long as hockey is played.
“Bobby was the fastest player I played against and certainly the most skilled defenseman,” says Howell. “His anticipation was incredible. He always knew where the puck was going and where everyone was on the ice.”
Dallas Smith was Orr’s long time partner and reminded you of the B side of a hit record – you do well, but nobody seems to notice. Orr and Smith were the mainstays on the Big, Bad Bruins that won the Stanley Cup in 1970 and 1972.
“Bobby was such a great offensive defenseman and it was comforting to know that you always had Dallas back there,” recalls former teammate Don Awrey. “Dallas was an absolutely great skater. They always knew that if one guy made a mistake Dallas was going to be there with great defensive skills to back you up.”
People justifiably marvel at the accomplishments of Nicklas Lidstrom and Chris Chelios in Detroit. When the Red Wings last won the Stanley Cup in 2001-02, this remarkable pair averaged 28 minutes of ice time and 30 points between them in 23 playoff games. All the while they provided air-tight defense. But an equally notable defensive duo wore the Winged Wheel 50 years earlier. Detroit won seven league championships and four Stanley Cups in the 1950’s with the Red Kelly and Marcel Pronovost combination.
An adroit stickhandler, Kelly was similar to Lidstrom in that he brought a dignified elegance to his position. Pronovost more resembled Chelios and forced opponents to keep their heads up. Each reminded you of a general on the ice, effectively organizing the Detroit attack and safeguarding their own end against invasion.
“Detroit had five players on the ice for 40 minutes each game,” recalls Toppazzini, “Kelly, Pronovost, (Gordie) Howe, (Ted) Lindsay and whichever center they were using at a given time. It seemed that Detroit always had the puck. One guy said at the time that when you’re playing against the Detroit powerhouse they should throw out two pucks and give the other team a chance with one. Kelly and Pronovost got a lot of ice time together. It seemed every time you looked down in their end they were on the ice.”
And that was by design.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=298760

Getzlaf turning vast potential to impressive reality
 As the Anaheim Ducks finished off the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs, Ryan Getzlaf is clearly showing that he is one of those do-it-all players that doesn't come along often. The center scored 25 goals this season, with six game-winners and eleven on the power play.

McDonald, Ducks dominate tired Canucks
Center's hat trick, assist pave way for Anaheim to win opener 5-1
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Andy McDonald’s first career hat trick came at a good time for the Anaheim Ducks.
McDonald had two goals and an assist in the opening period, then capped the scoring with 52 seconds left in the game as the Ducks opened their first playoff series against Vancouver with a 5-1 victory Wednesday night.
“It’s pretty exciting,” McDonald said of his initial hat trick, playoff or otherwise. “It’s just nice to be able to contribute.
“The first game is always tough in the series. I am pretty fortunate to be able to play with such great players.”
After Jeff Cowan gave Vancouver a 1-0 lead at 7:07 of the first period, the Ducks responded by scoring three times — twice by McDonald — on their first nine shots against goalie Roberto Luongo.
Teemu Selanne had a goal and assist during the outburst, and Chris Kunitz assisted on all three goals in the first period.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere finished with 26 saves for the Ducks.
Ryan Getzlaf gave Anaheim a three-goal pad midway through the final period, and McDonald scored on a shot from just right of the crease when the Ducks had a two-man advantage in the closing minute.
With the first multi-goal playoff game of his career, McDonald tied the Ducks’ record for most points in a postseason contest and became the second player to have a hat trick. Joffrey Lupul had a four-goal game last May against Colorado in Game 3 of the conference semifinals.
The second game of the series is Friday night in Anaheim before the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series shifts to Vancouver for games Sunday and Tuesday.
Luongo faced 31 shots as the Ducks kept the pressure on by crowding in front of the Vancouver goal. He was replaced by Dany Sabourin after Getzlaf’s goal. Sabourin faced six shots and gave up McDonald’s third goal.
Luongo said the Canucks need to avoid turnovers if they’re to beat the Ducks.
“Those are things you can’t do in this series. It’s going to hurt us every time, especially when (their top line) is on the ice,” he said.
“Their first line is fast. We talked about it before and it’s nothing that surprises us. We probably learned the lesson the hard way tonight, so we need to bounce back in the next game.”
Selanne has been impressed with Luongo, saying, “He’s an unbelievable goaltender and we got some good bounces. I watched some games in the other series and he was outstanding.
“We have to make sure he doesn’t see all the pucks, otherwise it is going to be too easy for him.”
After starting the game relatively slowly and with the Canucks on the attack for the first few minutes, the Ducks quickly shook off the rust. Anaheim hadn’t played since wrapping up the opening series against Minnesota last Thursday.
The Canucks didn’t really get a day off. They had taken a 3-1 lead in the series against Dallas, but lost the next two before finally concluding the series with a Game 7 win on Monday night. Tuesday was a travel day.
McDonald scored his second goal of the night to give the Ducks a 3-1 lead at 19:11 of the opening period. On a 2-on-1 rush, Selanne skated down the right side, waited for the defender to commit toward him, then slid the puck across to McDonald. The Ducks center beat Luongo with a shot between the pads.
Selanne put Anaheim ahead with a nifty move across the crease. Cutting through the right circle, Selanne took McDonald’s pass from behind the goal line, sliced around a defender and beat Luongo with a wrist shot to the stick side.
McDonald’s first goal came on a power play during a scramble in front. Luongo blocked Chris Pronger’s shot from the blue line, but McDonald controlled the puck. With traffic in front, Luongo had little chance to stop McDonald’s shot.
Notes: McDonald’s and Kunitz’s three points in the first period tied a Ducks’ record for points in a frame in the playoffs. Selanne had a goal and two assists in the second period last year against Colorado. Kunitz notched a career best with three assists and set the team playing record by recording them in one period. ... Along with not getting time off since eliminating Dallas, the Canucks came off a series when they played three overtime games — a total of 92:15 extra minutes.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18319523/

2007 Stanley Cup Playoff Storylines - Western Conference
May 8, 2007, 4:00 PM EDT
Western Conference Final -- (1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (2) Anaheim Ducks
PLAYOFF HISTORY: The Red Wings and Ducks will meet in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the fourth time overall. Each of the first three series has resulted in a four-game sweep.
In 1997, the Red Wings eliminated Anaheim in the Conference Semifinals en route to their first Stanley Cup in 42 years. Three of the four games went to overtime, including double- and triple-OT contests.
In 1999, the Red Wings swept Anaheim in decisive fashion, outscoring the Ducks 17-6.
In 2003, the seventh-seeded Ducks shocked the second-seeded Red Wings in the Conference Quarterfinals. Two games were decided in overtime, including a triple-OT thriller in Game 1.
CONFERENCE FINALS: This marks the second consecutive year and third time in the past four seasons the Ducks have advanced to the Conference Finals. Anaheim defeated Minnesota 4-0 in 2003 and dropped a 4-1 decision to the Edmonton Oilers in 2006. The Red Wings are making their first appearance in the Conference Finals since their Stanley Cup-winning campaign in 2002. This is the Wings' sixth trip to the third round of the playoffs in the past 13 years (1995, 1996, 1997, 1998, 2002), tying the Colorado Avalanche for the most over that span.
HOW THEY GOT HERE: Detroit defeated Calgary in six games and San Jose in six games. Anaheim defeated Minnesota in five games and Vancouver in five games.
NORRIS CHORUS: The Red Wings and Ducks feature four previous winners of the Norris Trophy, awarded to the League's top defenseman, including all three finalists for this year's honor. The Red Wings' Nicklas Lidstrom is a four-time winner and is nominated this year, while Chris Chelios is a three-time winner (Montreal, 1989; Chicago, 1993 and 1996). The Ducks boast the two other finalists this season, Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger. Niedermayer captured the award in 2004 with New Jersey and Pronger took home the hardware in 2000 with St. Louis.
Ducks head coach Randy Carlyle also won the award, with Pittsburgh in 1981.
WHAT A DIFFERENCE A YEAR MAKES: This series pits the top two seeds in the Western Conference. Last year in the West, the #5, #6, #7 and #8 seeds upset numbers #1, #2, #3 and #4.
CHELI KEEPS ON GOING: 45-year-old Red Wings defenseman Chris Chelios has appeared in 240 career playoff games, seven shy of tying Patrick Roy for the all-time lead.
Most Career Playoff Games:
1. Patrick Roy Montreal, Colorado 247 2. Chris Chelios Montreal, Chicago, Detroit 240 3. Mark Messier Edmonton, NY Rangers 236
CHELIOS, LIDSTROM AMONG TOP-SCORING 'D': The Red Wings' Chris Chelios and Nicklas Lidstrom rank seventh and eighth, respectively, on the all-time playoff scoring list for defensemen. Chelios has 142 points (39 goals, 103 assists), Lidstrom has 129 (38 goals, 91 assists). The only blueliners ahead of the Red Wings duo are Paul Coffey (196), Ray Bourque (180), Denis Potvin (164), Al MacInnis (160), Larry Murphy (152) and Larry Robinson (144).
CLUB CONNECTIONS: Red Wings head coach Mike Babcock made his NHL head coaching debut with the Ducks in 2002-03. In his rookie season behind the bench, the Ducks swept the highly-favored Red Wings in a first-round upset en route to the franchise's first Stanley Cup Final berth.
Six Ducks players remain from Babcock's last season with the club in 2003-04: forwards Andy McDonald, Rob Niedermayer, Samuel Pahlsson and Chris Kunitz and goaltenders J.S. Giguere and Ilja Bryzgalov.
WELCOME BACK: Ducks LW Chris Kunitz played four years of college hockey at Ferris State in Detroit, where he became a fan of the Detroit Tigers.
PRONGER KNOWS DETROIT: Ducks D Chris Pronger will take on the Red Wings for the second consecutive playoff year and for the sixth time in his career. He faced Detroit with the St. Louis Blues in 1996, 1997, 1998 and 2002, and with the Edmonton Oilers last year. Nearly one quarter of his NHL postseason games (29 of 119, 24%) have been against the Red Wings.
GOOD MEMORIES OF THE JOE: Ducks D Scott Niedermayer will be playing his first playoff game at Joe Louis Arena in nearly 12 years. In his last postseason game at the Joe, on June 20, 1995, Niedermayer's highlight-reel goal in the third period helped the New Jersey Devils defeat the Red Wings 4-2 in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final en route to a four-game sweep.
Ducks G Jean-Sebastien Giguere made a sensational playoff debut at Joe Louis Arena on April 10, 2003 in Game 1 of the Detroit-Anaheim Conference Quarterfinal, setting a record for most saves by a goaltender in his first postseason game (63) as the Ducks upset the Red Wings in triple overtime.
THE DOMINATOR: Red Wings G Dominik Hasek sports a career 1.97 goals-against average in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, second-best among those with 100 or more appearances:
GP GAA 1. Martin Brodeur 164 1.93 2. Dominik Hasek 109 1.97 3. Turk Broda 102 1.98 4. Jacques Plante 112 2.17 5. Ed Belfour 161 2.17
WE'RE NUMBER ONE: The Ducks' lineup features eight players who were selected in the first round of the NHL Entry Draft: C Ryan Getzlaf (#19, by Anaheim, 2003); G JS Giguere (#13, by Hartford, 1995); LW Brad May (#14, by Buffalo, 1990); C Rob Niedermayer (#5, by Florida, 1993); D Scott Niedermayer (#3, by New Jersey, 1991); RW Corey Perry (#28, by Anaheim, 2003); D Chris Pronger (#2 overall, by Hartford, 1993); RW Teemu Selanne (#10, by Winnipeg, 1988).
EASTERN INTEREST: The Eastern Conference Final will be of particular interest to Ducks D Sean O'Donnell, who was born in Kanata, Ont. (where Ottawa's home rink, Scotiabank Place, is located) and originally was drafted by Buffalo (sixth round, #123 overall, in 1991).
EASTERN INTEREST, Part 2: Red Wings G Dominik Hasek played for Buffalo (1992-2001) and Ottawa (2005-06).
DRAFT? OR COLD SHOULDER?: Four Ducks -- C Andy McDonald, RW Dustin Penner, LW Chris Kunitz, RW Ryan Shannon -- were not drafted.
THE KILLERS: The Ducks, who killed the final 22 manpower disadvantages they faced over the final five games of the regular season, have withstood 53 of 56 shortages in the playoffs (including 28 of 29 against Vancouver in the Conference Semifinal). So they have survived 75 of 78 (96.2%) over the past 15 games since March 28. Of the three power-play goals they have surrendered, one cost them a lead and one put them behind.
THAT'S SPECIAL: Of the four Conference Finalists, Anaheim made the biggest regular-season improvement in discipline. The Ducks, shorthanded 510 times in 2005-06, reduced that figure to 408 in 2006-07 -- an improvement of 102 times shorthanded. The other Conference Finalists, listing their shorthanded figure for 2005-06 prior to their 2006-07 mark: Buffalo 439-386 (improvement of 53); Detroit 461-408 (53); Ottawa 476-394 (82).
DUCK POWER: Of Anaheim's nine power-play goals so far, seven have provided the lead and one has tied the score.
LEADING THE FIELD: The Ducks have trailed just 68 minutes, 39 seconds of the 654:26 they have played over 10 games -- the least of the Conference Finalists.
WE COULDN'T BELIEVE HE WAS STILL AVAILABLE: Four key contributors to the Detroit cause were selected after more than 200 picks had been made at their respective Entry Drafts. In numerical order: G Dominik Hasek, #207, Chicago, 1983; LW Henrik Zetterberg, #210, Detroit, 1999; D Danny Markov, #223, Toronto, 1995; LW Tomas Holmstrom, #257, Detroit, 1994.
NEWSPAPER BUSINESS: Anaheim RW Dustin Penner used to deliver the Winnipeg Free Press on his paper route as a youngster and Ducks D Francois Beauchemin delivered the Journal de Montreal.
WINNERS FROM WINNIPEG: Anaheim Coach Randy Carlyle and RW Teemu Selanne played for the Winnipeg Jets, as did Red Wings C Kris Draper and assistant coach Paul MacLean.
NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED: Detroit's Mikael Samuelsson, who scored both goals in the Red Wings' series-clinching victory over San Jose, originally was drafted by the Sharks (#145 overall, 1998) and played four games for them in 2000-01.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=30541...ge&service=page

'You are in the Army. You're in my Army. Every day between three and five.'
NHL.com Staff May 9, 2007, 11:26 AM EDT
BE SURE TO WATCH:
On the Fly Final | The Rush Around the NHL
It's a tough call.
If you're having a tough time handicapping the Conference Finals, don't worry. You're not alone. Do you go with the speedy Sabres? What about the equally high-octane Senators? Are you leaning toward the top-seeded Red Wings? Or are you going with the rugged Ducks?
For the first time in years, there isn't a clear-cut favorite. And there certainly doesn't seem to be a weak squad in the bunch. They've all gotten to the final four by beating some pretty fearsome opponents, and all four finalists have arrived at this point without really being dragged into a long series at any point in the playoffs.
It's a tough call, indeed.
The goaltending is superb across the board. The offensive attacks are explosive, every one of them. The defensive units are tight and the five captains (Buffalo employs co-captains in Chris Drury and Daniel Briere) have all been outstanding leaders throughout the tournament. The lowest seed of the four is Ottawa, which went into the playoffs as the No. 4 team in the East. Detroit and Buffalo are the top seeds in each conference. Anaheim finished with the second-best record in the West and three points shy of winning the regular season.
Throw out the head-to-head records and past playoff experience, because, really, anything can happen this deep into the tournament.
So we're going to handicap the 2007 Conference Finals differently. No numbers. No stats. No web searches or odds makers involved. There's only one thing that can advance a team out of such an evenly balanced final four.
Fear.
Instead of analyzing facts and figures, if you can figure out which of the final four coaches left standing is the guy you want to be scolded by the least, well then you're on your way to figuring out how this next round plays out. Ask yourself which of the four coaches -- Buffalo's Lindy Ruff, Ottawa's Bryan Murray, Detroit's Mike Babcock, and Anaheim's Randy Carlyle -- you would be scared of the most as a player, and you might be able to handicap the third round.
EASTERN CONFERENCE (1) Buffalo Sabres vs. (4) Ottawa Senators
Buffalo's Lindy Ruff is the bigger man at about 6-foot-2, so he can really cast a shadow over
you. Ruff played in 691 NHL games and finished his career with 1,264 penalty minutes. Bryan Murray, on the other hand, is from the old school, and has gotten in the faces of players like Scott Stevens -- way back when Stevens was more of a maniac than a defenseman -- when Murray was with the Washington Capitals. In this matchup though, we like Ruff.
It would have been a toss-up though, but thanks to the bad blood boiling over between the Sabres and Sens in February, we got a glimpse of how mean the two coaches can get. Ruff was far more fearsome, hanging from the top of the glass, even as he lost his footing, as he shouted in Murray's direction. We wouldn't want to blow a defensive assignment for either guy, but Ruff just seems like he could peel paint from the walls if he had to raise his voice. Advantage: Buffalo.
WESTERN CONFERENCE (1) Detroit Red Wings vs. (2) Anaheim Ducks
Anaheim's Randy Carlyle won a Norris Trophy back in his playing days, but he doesn't own
much of height advantage over Detroit bench boss Mike Babcock. At 5-foot-10, Carlyle isn't much taller than many of his enormous players, but the guy compiled 1,400 penalty minutes over the course of his career. Carlyle isn't afraid to get in the face of a guy like 240-pound Dustin Penner, but there's just something about Babcock that scares the daylights out of us.
If he wasn't an NHL coach, the fire-and-brimstone Babcock might have been able to make a career as a cage fighter. He wears a scowl better than many coaches around the League and Babcock's not afraid to raise his voice. The guy has described his players as being "greasy" in the past, which is a word that could also describe the guys Babcock would have in his motorcycle gang. If he had one. We wouldn't want to turn the puck over in the neutral zone under his watch. Advantage: Detroit.
Two-handers:
* According to a report this week, an investigation in Australia found that a growing number of people in that country have been making powerful euthanasia sedatives in backyard laboratories. Experts believe that backyard rinks, popular throughout Canada during the winters, are a more acceptable allocation of resources out in the yard.
* Some politicians in Canada want to bring the NHL back to the great city of Winnipeg and have pledged to start raising money to lure a team to Manitoba. It's unknown if Shane Doan will be invited though.
* The newest diet fad out there is called the Lemonade Diet, a 10-day cycle that supposedly cleanses the body of toxins and promotes healing. Participants are required to drink massive quantities of the cool, refreshing drink as part of the plan that promises about two pounds of weight loss per day. It hasn't quite hit the mainstream yet, but the two-month NHL Playoffs diet has also seen proven weight-loss results. Participants though, complained that the beards became too itchy.
* According to a report this week, Hooters will open their first restaurant in Israel as part of an international initiative to spread the legendary restaurant chain around the world. Next thing you know, Tim Horton's is going to open up shop, too.
* Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards, who has been known to splurge on the occasional $400 haircut, said this week he worked for a hedge fund between campaigns to learn about the relationship between financial markets and poverty. If this latest bid for office doesn't work out, Edwards might like to take a job with the NHL to, you know, learn about hockey.
* An eight-day military training exercise in Indiana will begin on Thursday in one of the nation's largest training drills as emergency responders simulate procedures following a fake 10-kiloton nuclear explosion in Indianapolis. Officials had probably not considered Sheldon Souray's slap shot to simulate the blast.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=30545...ge&service=page

Pahlsson, Beauchemin become Anaheim headliners
Larry Wigge | NHL.com columnist May 8, 2007, 12:00 PM EDT
Resiliency. Hunger. A real will to win. And most of all, a challenge to prove they belong is often the impetus for some great playoff heroes.
We've written a lot about the success of the Anaheim Ducks over the last few years and talked about the team's success in recruiting undrafted players like Andy McDonald, Chris Kunitz and Dustin Penner. Every time those players were told they couldn't succeed, they dug in a little deeper and have played with that "I-told-you-so" attitude it takes to stand out in the NHL.
But it doesn't stop there as far as the heart and soul makeup of the Ducks. There are other stories that fit this same do-not-fit mold. This is a team that has plenty of strong-willed, committed, character players who will not take no for an answer. And they are headed for the Western Conference finals for the second-straight year and third time in the last four seasons.
How about being the throw-in in a deal for a legitimate NHL star? We all map the results of the star player first, right? Then, the next key player in the deal. But what about the throw-ins?
What about players who were once traded for superstars like Ray Bourque and Sergei Fedorov? It's pretty clear that the Ducks have gotten a lot of mileage in their trip to the Western Conference finals from Samuel Pahlsson and Francois Beauchemin, proving once and for all they are more than just afterthoughts in those blockbuster deals.
***
On March 6, 2000, Samuel Pahlsson was about to board a flight in Sweden when his cell phone rang.
"It was one of my friends telling me I had just been traded," Pahlsson recalled. "He was babbling on and on about seeing the item on the internet. I was playing for MoDo in the Swedish Elite League and I really hadn't given a lot of thought about playing in the NHL ... and I didn't get all the details."
Pahlsson was 23 at the time and it had been nearly four years since he was the 10th choice, 176th pick overall, in the 1996 draft by the Colorado Avalanche. His mindset was far from North America. He was still curious about that phone call, which was hurried because of the team boarding the plane.
On the flight he began wondering about the news that the Avalanche had traded him ... somewhere ... for someone.
There was no NHL.com or TSN to turn to for the news of the moment, so he had to wait until the plane landed. It was then that he learned that his rights had been traded along with Brian Rolston, Martin Grenier and a first-round draft choice for future Hall of Famer Ray Bourque, plus Dave Andreychuk.
"Because I come from the same town in Sweden that Peter Forsberg does (Ornskoldsvik) and he won a Stanley Cup with the Avalanche in 1996, I knew that Colorado was a team that everyone wanted to play for. So I was shocked ... a little, because I had sort of dreamed of playing for the Avs," Pahlsson recalled. "Now, I had to ask some friends about the Boston Bruins."
A few months later, Pahlsson was in the Bruins' camp. But not for long. Then-coach Mike Keenan saw no upside in the 5-foot-11, 212-pound center and got him shipped to Anaheim for defenseman Patrick Traverse and tough winger Andrei Nazarov.
But life working for Disney was no comedy for Pahlsson, either, especially when Mike Babcock became the new coach of the Ducks in 2002 and told the center he was being sent to Cincinnati of the American Hockey League. Pahlsson packed his bags and flew home instead.
"I felt I was good enough to play in the NHL and didn't want to play in the minors," Pahlsson remembered. "It wasn't the best time of my life. I thought I made a good stand, but when I got back home to Sweden, I began to have second thoughts. So I came back and played a couple of weeks in Cincinnati and then got recalled."
When Pahlsson returned to Anaheim, he was put on a checking line with 20-year-old prodigy Stanislav Chistov and 39-year-old journeyman Steve Thomas. The line became invaluable in the playoffs as the Ducks went on to the Stanley Cup Final before losing to the New Jersey Devils.
Since then, Pahlsson has become a real shutdown player -- matching strides with the best opposing forwards in the game, moving the puck and trying to earn extra possessions for the Ducks.
In the four seasons he's played in Anaheim, the Ducks have been to the Stanley Cup Final once and the Western Conference finals each of the last two seasons. And don't forget Sweden's gold medal in the 2006 Olympics at Turin, Italy.
Coincidence? I think not.
"He's been a big part of our group," said coach Randy Carlyle. "At first, when I came here a year ago, I didn't know much about him. But when you see what he does defensively, on faceoffs, in all the traffic areas along the boards and in front of the net, you don't look at him as a five-goal scorer or a 10-goal scorer. You appreciate his skill level in other ways and start to count up all of the goals he prevented."
The normally low-scoring Pahlsson is beginning to flex his offensive muscles in this year's playoffs. In Anaheim's 3-2 double-overtime victory over Vancouver in Game 4 of the second round of the playoffs, Sammy had two key assists -- the first assist on Chris Pronger's goal early in the third period that started the Ducks' rally from a 2-0 deficit, and the second one coming on Travis Moen's game-winning goal. Add to that the third-most hits in the playoffs and a top 10 ranking in faceoffs.
Then, two nights later, he netted his first playoff goal of this year to go along with six assists to start the Ducks off on their series-clinching 2-1 double-overtime victory over the Canucks (Pahlsson by the way was on the ice when Scott Niedermayer scored the winner).
"I feel more confident at both sides of the rink since coming back from the Olympics last February," Pahlsson said, with a wink.
Sammy Pahlsson is no Ray Bourque, but he's made a lot of disapproving people take notice since arriving in Anaheim.
***
There was no international dateline to cross or lack of news available when Francois Beauchemin became part of the deal for Sergei Fedorov on Nov. 15, 2005, along with journeyman winger Tyler Wright.
Wright certainly was the name player in this Anaheim salary dump of Fedorov's contract (there was nearly $18 million over three years left on that pact). But it was the 24-year-old defenseman from Sorel, Quebec, who was Montreal's third-round pick, 75th overall, in the 1998 draft, who would be getting a new lease on life.
"I was coming off three pretty productive seasons in the American Hockey League and I was happy that I made it to the NHL with Columbus last season when I got word of the trade," Beauchemin remembered. "I said, 'Wow!!' I got traded for Sergei Fedorov!
"I remember thinking that it was like a new start for me. A challenge to show my new team. But when I got to Anaheim, I didn't know what to think. Randy Carlyle told me to lose some weight or I'd be sitting in the press box. While I was sitting in the press box, I remember riding the bike and eating chicken salad for a little more than a week before I dropped 10 pounds. Then, I began getting more and more ice time. Tons of ice time (he went from 17 minutes a game in Columbus to 24 in Anaheim)."<./p>
Now, when the 6-foot, 210-pound Beauchemin looks to his right he usually sees Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Scott Niedermayer. Not bad for a guy who was cut by Montreal, trimmed by Columbus and scratched from the lineup when he first arrived in Anaheim.
"I've surprised myself, actually," said the 25-year-old Beauchemin, grinning. "So I must have surprised somebody else, too."
Despite the prevailing out-of-nowhere implications, Beauchemin was on the Ducks' radar before the deal was consummated.
"We had gotten some pretty good reports on Francois in the American Hockey League," Ducks General Manager Brian Burke said. "In fact, when we started talking to Columbus about the Fedorov deal, (vice president of hockey operations) Bob Murray said the guy you have to get in the deal is Beauchemin. Boy was he right."
Carlyle, who had coached at Manitoba of the AHL, also remembered seeing Beauchemin during Francois' three seasons of playing at Hamilton and Syracuse.
"I remember thinking he was a workhorse down there, played a lot of minutes in a lot of different situations. He had paid his dues," Carlyle said. "As it turned out, we feel that we got a great player that hadn't really had an opportunity to show what he could do at this level."
Beauchemin wound up with eight goals and 26 assists in 61 games for the Ducks and added another three goals and six assists in the playoffs while averaging a whopping 27 minutes in 16 playoff games last year. He's already got three goals in this year's playoffs.
He's still a wide-eyed youngster, especially when he considers that he was traded for Fedorov, plus he gets a chance to play alongside Niedermayer.
"When you consider where I was and where I'm at now, you have to look at my story as some sort of fantasy, don't you?" said Beauchemin, laughing. "I looked at moving to Anaheim as more of a challenge, more of an opportunity to prove myself. Not trying to be as good as Sergei Fedorov."
Throw-ins. After-thoughts. Add-ons. That's what most observers would call Sammy Pahlsson and Francois Beauchemin.
But when you look at the important minutes they are playing for the Anaheim Ducks now, throw-ins doesn't quite fit how good they really are now does it?
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=304238

Ducks win in 2OT, return to Western finals
Niedermayers play key role in knocking out Canucks in Game 5
ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Ducks’ Niedermayer brothers teamed to finally end the game — and the series.
Rob Niedermayer made a big hit to jar the puck loose, it squirted across to Scott, and the elder Niedermayer quickly got off a wrist shot from the left point. The puck got past Vancouver goalie Roberto Luongo 4:30 into the second overtime on Thursday night.
Anaheim’s 2-1 victory moved the Ducks into the Western Conference finals for the second year in a row.
The Ducks, who lost to Edmonton in the conference finals last year, may have to wait for almost a week to find out their next opponent. Detroit and San Jose are tied 2-2 in the other Western Conference semifinal. If that series goes the distance, the seventh game would be played May 9.
The Ducks kept putting shots at Luongo, and he kept snaring, smothering or flicking them aside. Anaheim finished with a club playoff record 63 shots.
By contrast, Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere faced just 27 shots.
“I think we felt good about how we were playing,” Scott Niedermayer said. “You will have nights like this where the puck is not going in, but you keep doing it.
“I think he (Luongo) is what kept them in most of the night. We did a good job of continuing to put pressure on and keep trying to get scoring chances. And it paid off.”
Things fell into place on the final scoring sequence.
“My brother got a big hit on their guy (Jannik Hansen) and the puck slid to me,” Scott Niedermayer said. “I just tried to get a wrist shot on net and I don’t know if he didn’t see it or what.”
Rob Niedermayer said, “Luckily, it went to Scott and I think it kind of surprised Luongo. It was a lucky goal, but we’ll take it, for sure.”
Luongo took his eye off the puck for an instant and it cost him.
“I thought there was an elbow (on Rob Niedermayer’s hit), so I looked at the ref for one split second and when I turned my head, the puck was coming at me. I couldn’t get a piece of it.”’
Luongo had kept the Canucks in it as they tried to stay alive in Game 5, and he finished with 56 saves.
“It’s probably the best goaltending performance I’ve ever seen in a game,” the Canucks’ Brendan Morrison said.
Luongo had an equipment problem and wasn’t ready to start the first overtime. Dany Sabourin filled in and the Ducks went after him, getting off five shots in the first 3:34 of the extra period.
When there finally was a stoppage, Luongo skated on and gave his backup a grateful pat on the head. Then he went back to work and made four saves during a Ducks power play that followed a delay-of-game penalty against Willie Mitchell midway through the first OT.
“Anytime you see a goalie in there who’s not warm and has just been watching the game, I mean, we tried to get one in there as fast as we could because Luongo was stopping everything,” Rob Niedermayer said. “And to see him come back in was kind of a downer.”
Alexandre Burrows drew the Canucks even with 8:57 remaining in regulation. Samuel Pahlsson gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead with his goal 14 seconds into the second period when he jumped on a loose puck and poked it past Luongo, who was on his knees inside the net after being pushed back by Travis Moen’s stick. It was Pahlsson’s first goal of the postseason
On Burrows’ tying goal, Brandon Reid intercepted Joe DiPenta’s clearing pass along the left boards and passed to Josh Green. Giguere stopped Green’s slap shot, but Burrows was there for the rebound.
The overtime was the sixth for the Canucks in this year’s playoffs, including winning in the fourth OT against Dallas in their first postseason game. Luongo made 72 saves in that 5-4 victory.
The Canucks had a two-man advantage for 1:32 after penalties to Corey Perry and Francois Beauchemin. But Giguere stopped all four shots Vancouver during the 5-on-3 power play, and Sami Salo’s shot hit the post.
Luongo was under constant pressure through the first period, but vacuumed up everything the Ducks threw at him to keep it scoreless. Anaheim got off six shots in the opening couple of minutes, and finished the period with a 17-6 edge.
Among his 17 saves, Luongo was able to smother the puck on Sean O’Donnell’s breakaway as time was running out in the opening period.
Notes: The Ducks were eliminated 4-1 by Edmonton in last year’s Western Conference finals. After the season, Anaheim acquired D Chris Pronger from the Oilers. ... The Ducks made the Stanley Cup finals in 2003, when the New Jersey Devils beat them in Game 7. ... Anaheim’s penalty-killing unit has allowed only three goals in 56 short-handed situations during the postseason, and none in 33 at home. ... Six of the Ducks’ eight playoff wins have been decided by one-goal margins.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18480912/

Ducks top Wings in OT, even series
Niedermayer's goal lifts Anaheim to 4-3 victory
DETROIT - The Anaheim Ducks looked like they were on the power play in even-strength situations.
Anaheim’s penalty-killing unit once was so dominant it played keep-away from the Detroit Red Wings.
The Ducks controlled the puck and play again and for a change, they had something to show for it.
Scott Niedermayer scored at 14:17 of overtime to lift Anaheim to a 4-3 victory Sunday night over Detroit, evening the Western Conference finals at a game apiece.
“Our goal was to get at least one here,” Ducks goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. “Now we have home ice and we have to take advantage of it.”
Game 3 is Tuesday night in Anaheim.
The Red Wings seemed fortunate to win 2-1 Friday night when a Ducks player touched the puck last on both of their goals.
“We had some lucky bounces in the first and they had a few in this one,” Detroit’s Henrik Zetterberg said.
Anaheim was thankful the NHL uses video replays because its second and third goals went up on the scoreboard after reviews, and both appeared to be the correct calls.
Ducks coach Randy Carlyle certainly wasn’t apologizing.
“Both pucks were in the net. It’s as simple as that,” Carlyle said. “You’re supposed to be rewarded when the puck goes in the net.”
A review wasn’t necessary for Niedermayer’s game-winner, but he needed a replay.
“I didn’t really see it go in actually,” he said. “I saw it hit the post.”
Detroit went ahead for the first time 1:03 into the third period, when a two-man advantage created space for Pavel Datsyuk’s one-timer off a crisp pass from Robert Lang.
The 3-2 lead didn’t last long.
Travis Moen tied it 4 minutes later, giving the Ducks their second straight goal that required a video review.
Swarming defense limited scoring chances for the rest of regulation and when shots did go toward the net, Detroit’s Dominik Hasek and Giguere turned them away.
Hasek had 29 saves and Giguere finished with 24.
In the first two periods of Game 2, the Ducks took the lead twice and Detroit tied the game each time.
Rob Niedermayer scored at 17:04 of the first period and Kirk Maltby answered with a short-handed goal midway through the second.
Just as they did in the third period, the Ducks scored shortly after Detroit to quiet the crowd and stunt momentum.
Andy McDonald scored — following a review — a little more than a minute after Maltby to put Anaheim ahead 2-1.
“When I saw the puck, it wasn’t over the goal line,” Hasek said. “I was really surprised when they called it a goal. I know the second goal was in for sure.”
Detroit’s Nicklas Lidstrom tied it at 16:07 of the second period with a power-play goal.
“It was one of those games that could have went either way,” Carlyle said. “We feel very fortunate to win.”
Anaheim’s win guarantees the series will not end with a sweep for the first time in four matchups.
Midway through overtime, Detroit’s Mikael Samuelsson sent the puck over the glass and was called for a delay-of-game penalty.
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Anaheim wasted the opportunity by not getting a shot on Hasek with the man advantage.
The Niedermayer brothers made up for it.
Rob Niedermayer set up brother Scott for a shot from the right circle that went through traffic and found an opening between Hasek and the post.
“This is a big thrill for me, for sure,” Rob Niedermayer said. “It’s certainly nice to come up with the win tonight and just watching Scott score that winning goal was pretty special.”
If the Red Wings didn’t have Hasek in net, they likely would’ve lost in regulation. The six-time Vezina Trophy winner made numerous tough saves, including getting his left arm in the way of a shot with a twisting, diving stop.
“Playoff time you see great goalies, great goaltending,” Scott Niedermayer said. “We try to do things to make it hard on him. Don’t let him see the puck, keep getting the puck there, go for rebounds.”
Anaheim outshot Detroit 33-27 and seemed to outplay the home team, particularly when special teams were not on the ice.
“Five on five, they spent more time below the hash marks in our zone than we spent in their zone,” Red Wings coach Mike Babcock said.
Notes: The Ducks scratched F Chris Kunitz, who scored their only goal in Game 1, from the lineup because of an upper-body injury and Carlyle said he is day-to-day. ... Anaheim F Shawn Thornton played just 2 minutes because of a lower-body injury. ... Team Canada, led by general manager Steve Yzerman, beat Finland 4-2 Sunday to win the world hockey championships. Yzerman retired last summer after 22 seasons — all in Detroit — and works for the organization as a vice president. ... Datsyuk has two goals and six points over the past four games.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18647716/

Ducks wonder what went wrong in Game 3
Evan Grossman | NHL.com Staff Writer May 16, 2007, 12:04 PM EDT
Anaheim Ducks General Manager Brian Burke said on Monday that his team’s Game 2 overtime victory in Detroit was probably a turning point in the series.
Maybe someone should ask him that question again after the Ducks suffered the worst playoff loss in franchise history Tuesday night in a 5-0 blowout. Detroit now leads the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals 2-1 as they continue to show that they’re a tougher, more resilient bunch than people originally gave them credit for being.
“I mean, they controlled the game, controlled the puck,” Rob Niedermayer said. “They out-battled us in a lot of areas. You know, we got to get back to our game, which is forechecking and controlling the puck down low. Yeah, that's what we have to do.”
Niedermayer was involved in the biggest play of the night when he was tossed out for boarding Tomas Holmstrom on a vicious hit with Chris Pronger from behind. Holmstrom remained down for several minutes after his face was planted in the glass by the two Ducks, a crash that opened two cuts.
“Well, I only got one look at it,” Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. “I didn't think that Niedermayer was involved as much. I thought Pronger just finished his check. It's unfortunate the player got hurt. But it was fortunate he was able to come back and play.”
Holmstrom returned for the third period, but because Pronger and Niedermayer both came in with their arms up high, you could make an argument that it wasn’t the cleanest of checks.
“I think I had two guys on me,” Holmstrom said. “Fell into the boards, got hit again. Hit from behind. I don't really know what happened.”
Niedermayer was assessed with a five-minute boarding major and a game misconduct on the play.
“My problem is I haven't seen it a bunch of times,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “You know, I'm a big believer, you're supposed to finish your check. I'm a big believer in looking after each other. What I mean by that is, I don't care how much is on the line at any time, you have to look after the other player. When he doesn't see you and you decide you're going to bury his head off the turnbuckle or whatever, that's a decision you make. We make lots of decisions.
“You know, once again, I haven't seen it,” he said. “I want to be real careful here. But, you know, it's the same for our guys. I saw a hit in Buffalo, in the Buffalo game the other night, (Daniel) Alfredsson on (Henrik) Tallinder. To me, Alfredsson doesn't mean to, but it's a risky thing. No one wants to hurt anybody. People want to play hard; no one wants to hurt anybody.”
After splitting the two games in Detroit, the Red Wings won Game 3 by a knockout with an early blitz on the Anaheim goal that may have been the true turning point of this series. In nets, Dominik Hasek was brilliant when he had to be, turning aside 29 Anaheim shots for his 14-th career playoff shutout.
At the other end, Holmstrom got two goals and 13 stitches after he was mashed into the glass. By the time he returned for the third period, the game was well in hand with the Red Wings holding a 4-0 lead.
Holmstrom’s first goal of the game came in the final minute of the first period when his power-play zap from the right circle gave Detroit a 2-0 lead going into the first break. Todd Bertuzzi, who played his best game since joining the Wings at the trade deadline, and Holmstrom each scored 17 seconds apart in the second period to make it 4-0.
“I thought we came out fairly good and then, you know, they scored a couple of goals, just kind of took our legs away,” said Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere who was pulled after surrendering three goals on 13 shots. “As a team, it was a disappointing effort tonight. You know, it's time to move on, focus on the next game.”
Game 4 is Thursday night in Anaheim.
Look for the Ducks to play with more discipline in that crucial contest after they were charged with 23 minutes in penalties in the last 30 minutes of Game 3. The Ducks lost their composure a bit, and the score would have been a lot more lopsided, if that’s possible, if the Detroit power play was able to capitalize on all that extra-man time.
“Well, obviously things really spiraled down quickly for our group in the second,” Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. “I think we must have taken five penalties in a row or something like that. Obviously, our frustration level got up there, and we didn't show the necessary discipline that's required. It just seemed to have a snowball effect. What else can you say?
“Did we lose our composure? I'd have to say that it left lots of room for improvement.”
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=307441

No Pronger, no problem for Ducks vs. Wings
With star suspended, Selanne steps up to help Anaheim even series 2-2
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Coming off a lopsided loss, missing perhaps their best player, the Anaheim Ducks blew an early lead and were outshot from the start.
They still found a way to even their Western Conference finals against the Detroit Red Wings.
Teemu Selanne snapped out of his scoring slump with a goal and two assists, and Ryan Getzlaf scored the go-ahead goal Thursday night to help the Ducks beat the Red Wings 5-3 in Game 4.
The next game is in Detroit on Sunday afternoon.
“A big relief,” Selanne, the Ducks’ leading scorer in the regular season, said after getting his first goal in five games and first assist in seven contests. “It’s tough when you don’t score and you get a little frustrated.
“We need everybody, and tonight it was a little bit my turn. Obviously, confidence is everything about this game. I think this was a really good boost for myself, too.”
The Ducks, with defenseman Chris Pronger serving a one-game suspension, outlasted the Red Wings, who rallied from a 3-1 first-period deficit to tie it in the second.
Getzlaf put the Ducks in front to stay on a power play with 14:36 remaining, and Rob Niedermayer added an empty-net goal with 1:08 left. Corey Perry scored Anaheim’s first goal and Ric Jackman, helping to fill in for Pronger, had the second, scoring on the first shot of his NHL playoff debut.
Pronger, a finalist for his second Norris Trophy and Anaheim’s points leader with 12 this postseason, was suspended for a blow to the head of Detroit’s Tomas Holmstrom in the previous game, a 5-0 victory by the Red Wings.
Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who made 36 saves, said captain Scott Niedermayer and the other defensemen did a good of taking up the slack created by Pronger’s absence.
“Everybody had to do it and all six defensemen as a group did a great job of facing them,” Giguere said. “There were a couple of young guys out there for us and it wasn’t an easy game for anybody. But they really came through.
“I’m sure Jackman was a little bit nervous, although he had a big goal and I’m really happy for him.”
The Ducks built their 3-1 lead by scoring three times on their first eight shots against Dominik Hasek, who faced just 22 shots overall.
“We were dominating, but the bounces didn’t go our way,” Hasek said. “They scored on their first shot and they scored on their first power play.
“To play without Pronger, I believe, was a great motivation for them, and we didn’t use that advantage — unfortunately.”
Red Wings veteran defenseman Chris Chelios added: “We had breakdowns defensively. We’ve got one of the best goalies in the league, if not the best. But we somehow found a way to make him look bad, and we’ve got to find a way to correct that.
“You can say it was bounces or deflections or screens, but you make your own breaks. They worked hard, they were in position and made some plays.
“I think both teams realized what was at stake here, and they came out on top.”
Daniel Cleary had two goals and an assist for Detroit.
Jackman’s goal made it 2-1, and Selanne, who assisted on that goal scored his own later in the first period for 3-1 edge.
Getzlaf beat Hasek with a 40-foot wrist shot. Anaheim’s Todd Marchant screened the Detroit goalie on the play. The goal came with Cleary off for tripping Ducks defenseman Kent Huskins.
Cleary drew the Red Wings even with his second goal of the game, poking the puck under the prone Giguere’s lower legs during a scramble in front of the net at 15:36 of the second period. The goal was Cleary’s fifth of the playoffs.
Todd Bertuzzi had pulled Detroit within 3-2 at 7:48 of the second period with his third goal.
Selanne was just right of the crease when he swatted the bouncing puck past Hasek on the glove side. The goal was his fourth of this year’s playoffs. Jackman beat Hasek on a power play with a slap shot down the slot at 11:46.
Like the Ducks, the Red Wings scored on their first shot of the night. Perry gave Anaheim a short-lived lead with his goal just 1:37 after the opening faceoff. It took Cleary less than two minutes to tie it.
Notes: The Red Wings won the opening game 2-1 in Detroit, the Ducks took the second 4-3 in overtime, also in Detroit. The Red Wings won the third game 5-0 in Anaheim, the Ducks’ most lopsided playoff loss ever. ... The last time Hasek gave up as many as three goals in one period of a playoff game was in 1999. ... Anaheim had gone 0-for-16 on the power play during the first three games of the series and 0-for-31 over the previous five games combined. The Ducks finished the game 2-for-5 with a man advantage.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18730513/

Ducks oust Wings for trip to Stanley Cup finals
Anaheim gets second shot at championship, this time against Ottawa
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Jean-Sebastien Giguere insisted he didn’t win the Western Conference finals. Dominik Hasek didn’t necessarily agree.
Giguere shut out Detroit for the first two periods as Anaheim built a 3-0 lead, then withstood a three-goal outburst by the Red Wings in the closing period to take a 4-3 victory Tuesday night.
Samuel Pahlsson’s goal with 14:06 remaining proved to be the difference for Anaheim, which meets Ottawa in the Stanley Cup finals.
Rob Niedermayer, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf also scored against Hasek as the Ducks downed the Red Wings to take the Western Conference finals 4-2.
The Ducks and Senators, both looking for their first NHL championship, open Monday night in Anaheim.
Giguere finished with 26 saves. Hasek had 25.
The Ducks’ goalie afterward expressed his respect for the 42-year-old Hasek, “doing what he does at his age.”
“You know it’s not easy. I won’t be there when I’m his age, for sure. But I really see it as the Ducks beating the Red Wings. It’s not about the goalies,” Giguere said. “In fact there were a lot of goals (15 given up by each goalie) in this series.
“We have almost 25 guys on our lineup. So you need all these guys to win. And it’s always the better group that’s going to get out of it, not the better goalie, and I truly believe in that.”
Hasek, a six-time winner of the Vezina Trophy as the NHL’s best goalie during the regular season, gave Giguere more credit than the Anaheim goalie gave himself.
“He (Giguere) played great. I hate to say he played better than me, but maybe he did,” Hasek said. “He stole Game 5, and that was the key to the series.
“You have to be a little bit lucky, and he was. He won the series for that team.”
Hasek said he would decide in a few weeks whether he’ll be back next season.
Giguere had made 36 saves in each of the previous two games. He kept the Ducks in Game 5 until Scott Niedermayer tied it with 48 seconds left and Teemu Selanne scored the game-winner in the 2-1 overtime victory.
The Red Wings outshot the Ducks 16-3 in the third period this time and got one goal from Henrik Zetterberg and two — both on power plays — from Pavel Datsyuk, the last with 3:04 remaining.
“They took the attitude that this was desperation and they started to control the puck,” Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. “Our counteraction was that we didn’t skate. We stood still, and we just kept feeding them the puck.
“It’s kind of like a paralysis that takes place over your team.”
Detroit coach Mike Babcock, who was the Ducks’ coach when they played in the Cup finals in 2003, gave them credit.
“Games 4 and 5 where we played at every opportunity to win and let them slip away, that in the end cost us. You have to tip your hat to Anaheim,” Babcock said.
“They’ve got a good team and they found a way to get it done, and they are going to play a good Ottawa team.”
Anaheim star Teemu Selanne, who at 36 will be playing in his first Stanley Cup finals, was afraid it was all slipping away when the Red Wings stormed back.
“In the third period, I have never been so nervous and so shaky in a hockey game in my life — and I was on the bench,” Selanne said.
“We did not want to go back to Detroit. When it ended, I took several deep breaths.”
The Ducks lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals to New Jersey in 2003. Giguere was the MVP of the playoffs.
He is one of only four players remaining from that Anaheim team, which also has had a change of owners, front-office personnel and coaches. Rob Niedermayer, who had a goal and assist in the clincher against Detroit; Andy McDonald and Pahlsson are the only others still with the Ducks.
The team also dropped the “Mighty” from their name after Henry and Susan Samueli bought the franchise from The Walt Disney Co. in June 2005.
Two of Detroit’s third-period goals against Giguere came on deflections, including Datsyuk’s score with 9:52 left.
The Ducks scored once against Hasek on a deflection, and the other three on rebounds.
Getzlaf made it 3-0 on a power play at 18:33 of the second, scoring on a goalmouth scramble after the Red Wings were assessed a bench minor for having too many men on the ice.
Rob Niedermayer scored a short-handed goal on a deflection 3:51 into the game. Perry gave Anaheim a two-goal lead when he tapped in a rebound midway through the second period.
The second game of the Stanley Cup finals will be in Anaheim on Wednesday, May 30, then the series shifts to Ottawa for Games 3 and 4 on June 2 and June 4.
Notes: The Ducks are 7-0 in series-clinching games at home, including all three rounds so far this year. ... All four times the Ducks and Red Wings have met in the playoffs, the winning team advanced to the Stanley Cup finals. This was the first time they faced each other in the conference finals. ... The Ducks and Senators will be playing each other for the first time since Jan. 19, 2006 at Ottawa, when Anaheim won 4-3 in a shootout. Hasek was the Senators’ goalie that night. The teams haven’t played in Anaheim since Oct. 17, 2003, when the Ducks were beaten 3-0 by Patrick Lalime.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18812051/

Stanley Cup Final: Anaheim Ducks vs. Ottawa Senators
NHL.com Staff May 23, 2007, 9:44 AM EDT
The Skinny
There will no lack of star power as the Anaheim Ducks and the Ottawa Senators clash in the Stanley Cup Final with each franchise looking for its first Stanley Cup title.
Anaheim, the second seed in the West, rode the brilliant goaltending of J.S. Giguere, the minute-eating brilliance of stud defensemen Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer and the clutch scoring of Teemu Selanne to return to the Stanley Cup Final four years after the franchise's only other trip -- a seven-game loss to the New Jersey Devils in 2003.
Ottawa, meanwhile, used a rampaging top line -- featuring established star and team captain Daniel Alfredsson paired with young center Jason Spezza and winger Dany Heatley, the equally young sniper with back-to-back 50-goal seasons on his resume, to fire its way into the first Stanley Cup Final appearance for the franchise in its modern incarnation. Second-year goalie Ray Emery, meanwhile, is making a name for himself on the postseason stage, much in the same way Giguere did back in 2003.
Most likely, the series will play out just as the series' stars are aligned, as well. The quick-skating, fundamentally sound Senators are a solid two-way team, but has been surprisingly one-dimensional in the attacking zone, riding the exploits of its big line to five-game triumphs against Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Buffalo. Heatley leads the playoffs with 21 points. Spezza has 20 points and Alfredsson has a team-high 10 goals and 17 points to rank second and third on the overall playoff scoring chart.
Defensemen Wade Redden and Joe Corvo, with eight points apiece, are the next-highest scorers on the Ottawa roster.
Anaheim, on the other hand, has shown itself to be a balanced offensive team that occasionally struggled to find goals in dispatching Minnesota, Vancouver and Detroit. The Ducks boast nine players with at least three goals and no player with more than five. But the Western Conference champs can get away with a sometime-anemic offense because of the brilliance of their elite defensemen and the steadiness of Giguere, already a proven playoff commodity after winning the Conn Smythe Trophy as the losing goalie in the 2003 Final.
Like the past three Stanley Cup Final showdowns, which all went seven games, the 2007 Stanley Cup Final matchup between Anaheim and Ottawa appears to be so evenly matched that this series could go either way on the turn of just one play.
As a result, it will be interesting, to say the least. It promises to be physical. And, it will be filled with enough star power to illuminate the entire hockey world.
Anaheim Game Breakers
Chris Pronger – The second-highest scoring defenseman in the tournament -- only Nicklas Lidstrom of the eliminated Detroit Red Wings had more points than Pronger's 14 -- Pronger is putting his stamp on the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the second-straight spring. Last year, Pronger was the catalyst, at both ends of the ice, during Edmonton's surprising run to Game 7 of the Final. This year, he is reprising that role in his first season with the Ducks. Nobody in these playoffs plays more than Pronger, who is averaging more than 31 minutes per game and nobody, it seems, does as much. Pronger is on the first power-play unit, he is a primary penalty killer and he plays the bulk of his five-on-five time against top forwards from the other team. He is also the catalyst for Anaheim's attack in the offensive zone, passing or shooting as he sees fit.
J.S. Giguere – The Anaheim goalie won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2003 by playing brilliantly as the then-Mighty Ducks made a mighty surprising run to Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final against New Jersey. Giguere has been just as good, if not better, in this postseason. Since re-assuming the starting job midway through the first round, Giguere has done nothing, it seems, but win. He has won nine of 12 decisions while posting laudatory numbers comparable to the stats that made him MVP four years ago. At 5-on-5, Giguere has been nearly unbeatable, allowing just 12 even-strength goals in 11 starts. Plus, Giguere's experience on the Stanley Cup Final stage should give him an early advantage over Ottawa goalie Ray Emery, who has posted similar numbers to Giguere through the first three rounds.
Teemu Selanne – "The Finnish Flash" has been a streaky scorer throughout his career and fortunately for the Ducks he appears to be entering the Stanley Cup Final on another one of his patented hot streaks. Selanne closed out the Western Conference Finals with points in the final three games. During that stretch, he had two goals -- including the pivotal overtime winner in Game 5 -- and four assists. That strong finishing kick put to rest complaints about a four-game run without points that began at the end of the second round against Vancouver. The overtime goal in Game 5 against Detroit was his second game-winning goal of this postseason, and the eighth in a 81-game postseason career. The Senators will have to account for his whereabouts at all times.
Ottawa Game Breakers
Ray Emery – Finally, his game and his ability have caught up to his flashy style and brash personality. Emery isn’t the backup anymore and the 24-year-old has used these playoffs as his own personal coming out party, growing into a formidable No. 1 goaltender over the course of the last three weeks. In the opening round he beat Pittsburgh’s Marc Andre Fleury. In the second round, he out-played Martin Brodeur. In the conference finals, Ryan Miller was next in line as Emery’s made Ottawa look like the team to beat this spring. With a 12-3 record in the tournament with a 1.95 GAA and .919 save-percentage, Emery could be the key to Ottawa winning the first Stanley Cup.
Daniel Alfredsson – The captain leads by example, and what an example he’s set so far in the playoffs. Long gone are the days when Alfie would get booed by the home crowd, just as when the Senators were playoff patsies is also ancient history. Alfredsson is on his way to winning a Conn Smyth as playoff MVP, leading all playoff scorers with four game-winning goals, including the biggest one in Ottawa’s history when he scored in overtime of Game 5 against the Sabres to send his team to their first Stanley Cup Finals. Did we mention his line has been equally impressive at the defensive end?
Dany Heatley – Back-to-back 50-goal seasons was only a warm-up for Heatley, who leads all playoff scorers with 21 points in 15 games. One-third of Ottawa’s vaunted top line with Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, Heatley is the triggerman of the trio, but tied for the team lead at plus-7 in the tournament, he’s also defensively responsible. Head coach Bryan Murray has not hesitated to put Heatley’s line against any opponent, in any situation. Big, fast and strong, Heatley will be a lot to handle as he plays for his first Stanley Cup.
X Factors
Samuel Pahlsson -- Barely mentioned because of the big stars that populate the Anaheim roster, Pahlsson may just be the cog that makes this team go. But he will be noticed in the Stanley Cup Final. As the team's checking-line center, he will be at the forefront of the Ducks' game plan to slow down Ottawa's rampaging top line of center Jason Spezza and wingers Dany Heatley and Daniel Alfredsson. Sure, Pahlsson will get help from his linemates -- Travis Moen and Rob Niedermayer -- and the all-star defensemen Anaheim features; but Pahlsson will assume the lion's share of the responsibility. He has proven to be capable of handling such a workload, though. Not only is Pahlsson up for the Selke Award as the League's best defensive forward in the regular season, but he has already helped derail the top lines from Minnesota, Vancouver and Detroit.
Jason Spezza – If Heatley is the sniper, then Spezza is the playmaker of the group. Right behind his teammate for the playoff scoring lead, Spezza’s checked in with 20 points in 15 games between Heatley and Alfredsson on the top line. "The Spezz Dispenser" has 13 assists in the playoffs and presents an interesting dilemma for opposing coaches, because if you concentrate too much on Heatley and Alfredsson, Spezza has the skill set to take games over. Though he might not be the most physical player on the ice, the 23-year old isn’t going to take any penalties. In the open ice, he can make any defenseman look silly.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=310666

'They say the smog is the reason we have such beautiful sunsets.'
NHL.com Staff May 23, 2007, 12:08 PM EDT
From 16 we now have two teams left standing. The Anaheim Ducks and the Ottawa Senators will begin the Stanley Cup Final starting Monday.
Few could argue these aren’t the two best teams of the playoffs so far. Really, who has played better than the Sens and Ducks? Despite what Brett Hull thinks, the Ducks deserved to win the Western Finals against the Red Wings. They may have been outplayed at times in the series, but they weren’t as awful as Hull said they were. Not even close.
Only one team deserves to win, and it’s always, 100-percent of the time, the team that wins the series. If they didn’t deserve to win, then we might be waiting for the Ducks and Wings to engage in Game 7 tomorrow night. If the Ducks didn’t deserve to win, then they wouldn’t have.
The point is that winning four games in a best-of-seven series is the only thing that determines who deserves to advance and who does not. It’s not gymnastics, where you’re judged on style points. This isn’t diving or figure skating. Everyone is operating under the exact same degree of difficulty.
In the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the degree of difficulty is extraordinary, no matter who you are or who you play.
Sure, the Red Wings carried play for long stretches of the series, but it’s not like it went seven games. The Ducks, obviously angry about losing Game 3 by a 5-0 score, the worst playoff loss in franchise history, won three-straight games to close it out after that embarrassing loss. Jean-Sebastien Giguere, pulled after 20 minutes and three goals on 13 shots in that game, hasn’t lost since.
Hull will argue that the Red Wings deserved to win. We liked the Red Wings here as much as anybody, but they didn’t win. Winning a conference title is not something you earn without winning four games. The Ducks were the only team to win four. The Red Wings, they only won two.
How Hull can argue against the Ducks is almost beyond belief. Here’s a team that overcame losing their most important defenseman for one game, a game they won. Here’s a team that was on the verge of falling behind in the series, 3-2, less than a minute from having to play for their lives. And they managed a miraculous goal when Scott Niedermayer bounced a shot off a stick and somehow it floated over Dominik Hasek.
And they wound up winning that game in overtime soon thereafter.
Anaheim may not have done it as pretty as the Red Wings. They may not have played hockey as picturesque as Hull would have liked. But since when is playoff hockey supposed to be anything but blood-and-guts, ugly hockey. The Buffalo Sabres are done because they didn’t play ugly enough. The Red Wings got this far because they played harder than everyone else.
Until they came up against the Ducks.
You don’t have to run out and devote your love to Anaheim. You don’t have to be a born-again Ducks fan. But when the puck drops on Monday in Anaheim for Game 1 of the Cup Final, you should respect that the Ducks are one of two teams left standing.
They started with 30. Then 16. Eight. Four. And now there’s only two left.
You don’t get here by being awful.
Hull should know that.
Game 1 is Monday. And two very deserving clubs will be there.
Two-handers:
* According to a report, a new species of hummingbird was recently discovered in Colombia. In related news, a new species of Ottawa Senators has also been discovered. The new Sens can be easily distinguished by their blue collars, something their predecessors didn’t have.
* The head of Britain’s leading health watchdog, according to reports, has called for review of the potential health risks linked to wireless internet networks in schools. Hockey writers using wireless in the press box don’t seem to care about the added risk, as long as the press meal is free.
* Con Edison and the American Superconductor Corporation, according to reports, have agreed to put a new super power line under New York that would create a stronger electrical grid able to withstand extreme weather. The plan was developed after blackouts in New York last summer and in 2003 when it became clear the city’s electrical supply could be strained. The Detroit Red Wings, 2-for-14 on the power play in the last two games of the Western Finals, should be next on the list.
* A teenager was shocked with a Taser gun and several others were detained at Disney World in Florida after the group attacked security guards responding to reports the group was spitting at other guests. So now electrocution is the punishment for spitting at someone? Good thing the Rangers didn’t have a stun gun a few years back when they accused Mike Milbury of spitting at Ulf Samuelsson.
* Four town employees were recently fired from their jobs for gossiping and spreading false rumors around their New Hampshire office. It’s unknown if the four plan to take up careers in the rumor-mongering hockey media now that they need new jobs.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=310675

Ducks advance with Game 6 win over Wings
Evan Grossman | NHL.com Staff Writer May 23, 2007, 12:00 PM EDT
The Ottawa Senators finally know who they’ll play for the Stanley Cup.
The Anaheim Ducks advanced to the Stanley Cup Final last night behind a dramatic 4-3 victory in Game 6 of the Western Finals against the Red Wings, winning the conference after trailing the series 2-1.
Rob Niedermayer, Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf got the Ducks out to an early lead and Sammy Pahlsson iced it in the third amid the Red Wings’ furious comeback.
“It's obvious both teams want to win and they got a shorthanded goal early and I thought we lost our composure a little bit,” Detroit coach Mike Babcock said. “And in the end you're wanting to win so bad, I thought it got in the way of our poise and our execution. Yet you gotta give them credit. The Games 4 and 5 where we played at every opportunity to win and let them slip away, that in the end cost us in the end.
“You have to tip your hat to Anaheim,” he said. “They've got a good team and they found a way to get it done and they are going to play a good Ottawa team.”
Ottawa advanced to their first Finals by beating Pittsburgh, New Jersey and the top-seeded Buffalo Sabres. Anaheim went through Minnesota, Vancouver and the No. 1 Red Wings to get to this point.
“Every year you start from scratch, and we finished last year probably better than we expected and obviously got a taste of playoff hockey as a group,” Scott Niedermayer, looking for his fourth Cup, said. “We were excited to try and get back here and give ourselves an opportunity to go further.
“And that's what we've done right now. We got an opportunity to play in the Final and that's what obviously was our goal. And it's great. We have a great group of guys. We're having a lot of fun and obviously a lot of tough hockey to be played and we're looking forward to it.”
The last time Jean-Sebastien Giguere got this far in the playoffs, he was backstopped the Ducks to the 2003 Final, but despite losing in seven games to the Devils, he went home with the Conn Smyth Trophy as playoff MVP. He made 26 saves in Game 6.
“I've been there once and we weren't able to win it all,” he said. “So and these occasions don't come every year. You gotta try to take advantage of it. And I'm just looking forward to having fun, enjoy the moment. It's going to be a lot of fun. And hopefully as a team we'll be able to achieve our goal.”
Like the last time they advanced to the Final, the Ducks owe a lot of their deep run to Giguere, who has been spectacular since he was pulled after allowing three goals on 13 shots in just over 20 minutes in the Game 4 loss. Since that disheartening defeat, the Ducks have won three straight. Since he was lifted early, Giguere outplayed his legendary counterpart, 42-year old Dominik Hasek, who admitted so after the series ended.
“I got a lot of respect for him,” Giguere said. “Doing what he does at his age. You know it's not easy. I won't be there when I'm at his age, for sure. But I really see it as the Ducks beat the Red Wings. It's not about the goalies. In fact, there were a lot of goals scored in this series.
“In the playoffs you need 20 guys to win, even more than 20 guys,” he said. “You need - we have almost 25 guys on our lineup. So you need all these guys to win. And it's always the better group that's going to get out of it, not the better goalie and I truly believe in that.”
Despite an ideal start indicative of their desperation to close out the series, the Ducks took a 3-0 lead into the third period. Keeping with the resiliency they’ve shown all through the playoffs, the Red Wings – led by Henrik Zetterberg and Pavel Datsyuk – made a game of it, netting three goals in the third while out-shooting the Ducks 16-3 in the game’s final 20 minutes.
“Well, obviously when you're down three goals as a team you're going to do things a lot differently than you would at the start of a game,” said Niedermayer, who scored the biggest goal of the series when he forced overtime in Game 5, which the Ducks won Sunday to take a 3-2 lead in the series. “You're a lot more aggressive. You bring a lot more pressure, defensemen are pinching, joining the attack, obviously put a lot more pressure on us.
“Did we respond to it very well? Not as well as we probably wanted to at times. To give them a couple of power plays like that as well is not something that you want to do in that situation. So, yeah, we could have been better but at the same time they had nothing to lose. I mean, the series obviously -- if they didn't come back to tie it, the series is over like it ended up happening. They're going to come with everything they have. That's what's going to happen when it's the situation. We could have been a little better, but we knew that was the case, they were going to come pretty hard.”
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=31067...ge&service=page

Ducks squeeze past Senators in Game 1
Anaheim takes 1-0 lead in Stanley Cup finals with 3-2 victory
ANAHEIM, Calif. - When a bouncing puck found Travis Moen in the slot, he was every bit as dangerous as Teemu Selanne, instead of the checker he’s paid to be.
Moen wasted no time and snapped a shot past Ray Emery with 2:51 left, giving the Ducks a 3-2 victory over the Senators in the Stanley Cup finals opener Monday night. Moen’s fifth of the playoffs came after Ryan Getzlaf’s tying goal 11:25 earlier erased the 2-1 lead Ottawa carried into the third period.
Rob Niedermayer kept the play alive with a sweeping move behind the net, then nudged the puck in his checking linemate’s direction.
“It was kind of bouncing and I got lucky,” Moen said. “I caught it on the way down, got a lucky shot and it went in. It was huge.
“I think every kid dreams of scoring a goal to win a game in the Stanley Cup final.”
The 36-year-old Selanne, playing in the finals for the first time in his 14-year career, was goalless. He led the Ducks this season with 48 goals and 94 points.
In the first matchup of the teams this season, Moen, along with Niedermayer and Samuel Pahlsson, held Ottawa’s top line of Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley to two assists and handed the Senators their first series-opening loss in these playoffs.
Mike Fisher staked Ottawa to a 1-0 lead in the first period with a power-play goal on the Senators’ first shot, and defenseman Wade Redden also scored on the man advantage in the second.
Andy McDonald netted a goal in the first for the Ducks, who will look to take a 2-0 lead at home on Wednesday night.
The Senators appeared ready to win their first Stanley Cup finals game since the franchise was reborn in 1992, but the Ducks fought back and stole it away. Ottawa lost only one game in each of its other three playoff series and now faces its first deficit.
“I thought we came out pretty good the first 10 minutes,” Heatley said. “After a layoff, you can’t duplicate game situations. I don’t think we’re using it as an excuse, I just don’t think we played up to our capabilities.”
Ottawa went without a shot from the 5:36 mark of the first until the end of the period and finished with three.
“It’s not so much what they did, it’s what we didn’t do as a line,” Spezza said. “We didn’t have as much jump.”
Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 18 saves overall to improve to 10-3 in the playoffs. Getzlaf’s goal put the Ducks in a great position: Anaheim is 13-0 in the playoffs when scoring at least twice.
Then Moen put them right where they want to be — ahead in the finals.
As thrilled as the sellout crowd was in the arena, it was nowhere near the excitement back in Saskatchewan, where his family and friends camped out in front of the TV to see him play.
“I know my mom had 15, 20 people over watching,” he said.
Even after grabbing an early lead, Ottawa goalie Ray Emery and the rest of the Senators showed a bit of rust in the first period following an eight-day layoff.
After leaving juicy rebounds and looking a bit unsteady in his crease, Emery bounced back in the second period, stopping all 10 Anaheim shots, including one he grabbed out of the air as it threatened to bound past him.
Redden broke a 1-1 tie in the middle frame, making up for losing the puck in the opening period that led to McDonald’s tying goal.
It was nearly enough to give the Senators a win in their first venture out of the Eastern time zone since March. Ottawa fell to 7-2 on the road in the playoffs.
“We didn’t get the puck on them. We didn’t have the jump. It’s not easy when you have that many days off,” Spezza said. “We didn’t give our best effort and still had a chance to win. We were in it right to the end and it says a lot about our team.”
The Ducks, off five days since eliminating Detroit, seemed to take control after McDonald tied it, but gave back the momentum to the Senators by taking penalties. That is a common theme for Anaheim, the NHL’s most-penalized team during the regular season at 17.8 minutes a game.
It could’ve been even worse for the Ducks in the second period, but they were able to kill off a 5-on-3 disadvantage that lasted 1:35 — and nearly scored a goal that would’ve haunted Emery.
With the seconds dwindling on the power play, Emery came far out of his net to save time and fired the puck up ice. The pass was intercepted by Getzlaf outside the blue line, but his quick attempt at a strange empty-net goal went wide.
Not only did Moen, Niedermayer and Pahlsson keep Ottawa scoreless during even-strength play, the unit also got 12 shots on goal.
“Five-on-five we played well,” Moen said, “the way we wanted to: physical. They got two power-play goals on us and we have to shore that up.”
Alfredsson and Spezza, ranked second and third in postseason scoring, teamed to set up Redden’s third of the playoffs. Alfredsson had scored a goal in five straight road games, and Spezza had multiple points in six consecutive away from Ottawa, but both streaks were snapped.
The lone bright spot was the Senators’ power play broke out of an 0-for-16 slump that spanned the final three games of the Eastern Conference finals against Buffalo.
Emery almost pulled this one out, too. He was left to catch his breath following an acrobatic glove save in the second period, taking a moment to kneel in the crease with his back to the ice and his head gazing upward.
That period played out at such a frantic up-and-down pace that there were no whistles for a span of 6:47 — showcasing exactly the action the NHL wanted when rules were changed following the 2004-05 lockout. The Ducks turned it up in the third with 14 shots.
As has been Ottawa’s style throughout the opening period of series in this year’s playoffs, the Senators grabbed an early lead. While Fisher’s power-play goal gave them the edge and some jump, Anaheim’s hard-hitters took it away.
“I thought we were physical, and as the game went on, we wore their defense down a little bit,” McDonald said.
The best lick of the period came from seldom-used Ducks forward Drew Miller, who rammed Redden along the boards to the right of Emery. Redden fell to the ice and coughed up the puck to Teemu Selanne, who fed it into the slot to McDonald for a snap shot past Emery’s glove to tie it at 10:55.
While Ducks teammates Scott and Rob Niedermayer grabbed most of the brotherly headlines in Anaheim, Miller exacted a little revenge for his sibling Ryan, the Buffalo Sabres’ top goalie who was eliminated by the Senators a round earlier and was in attendance Monday.
Miller spent all season in the AHL and got only 2:15 of ice time in the playoffs before being scratched the previous 11 games. He made the most of his second shift Monday and was rewarded with four more in the second half of the period.
It was the first time in series-opening first periods that the Senators didn’t grab a multi-goal lead.
Notes: The Senators hadn’t played in the Pacific time zone since Dec. 9, 2005, at Vancouver. ... Ottawa had been 8-0 when scoring first. ... California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger dropped the ceremonial first puck. ... Anaheim won 4-3 in a shootout on Jan. 19, 2006, the last time the teams met.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18911789/

Ducks find themselves an unlikely hero
Moen makes tiny Saskatchewan village proud in Game 1
ANAHEIM - For the longest time Monday evening, as the Stanley Cup finals opened up at the Honda Center in Anaheim, it seemed like every time the Anaheim Ducks found themselves with a decent scoring chance, the puck was on the wrong man’s stick.
Brad May, Dustin Penner, Shawn Thornton — not exactly noted snipers, but each had quality looks in front of Ottawa Senators netminder Ray Emery with middling results.
So when the emerging superstar Ryan Getzlaf scored the tying goal early in the third period, it seemed as if the Ducks’ puck luck had changed, right?
Well, you’ll never guess who was on the business end of the game-winning goal that gave the Anaheim Ducks Game 1 of the 2007 Stanley Cup finals. That’s right — third-liner Travis Moen, whose bullet shot at 17:09 made the difference in a 3-2 Anaheim victory.
“Every kid dreams of scoring a goal to win the game in a Stanley Cup final. It’s something special. Something I’ll never forget,” said Moen, who toils quietly on the left side of Anaheim’s trusty checking unit with Rob Niedermayer and Samuel Pahlsson.
He scored an overtime goal against Vancouver earlier in the playoffs, and the next the banner headline in the Orange County Register read: MOEN ‘EM DOWN. It was a snappy line some newspaper guy likely had been sitting on for a few months. But when was Travis Moen ever going to do anything to justify using a headline like that?
Well, he’s done it twice this spring. Not bad for a 25-year-old farm boy who grew up in the Saskatchewan village of Stewart Valley, six miles north on Highway 4 from Swift Current.
Hockey fans may have heard of the Swift Current Broncos, a small market team even in the Western Hockey League junior ranks. But its fertile hockey country, and they’ll be talking about a local boy who done good Monday night in Anaheim.
“Back in Stewart Valley they’ll be just jumping around right now,” said Getzlaf, who hails from the Saskatchewan capital of Regina. He looked over at Moen: “There’s the heart and soul right now, sitting just next to me. I’ve never been there ... I’m sure it’s a wonderful place. It is in Saskatchewan.”
Moen’s mother, Sheryl, told the Regina Leader-Post this week that she can still barely believe she has a son in the NHL.
“It’s something you thought would come true,” she said. “You always hoped it would, but when it comes true, you think, ‘Oh my goodness.’”
Home to just 75 people, the folks in Stewart Valley did what every other prairie town does: they put up a sign on the highway at the edge of town that tells everyone which NHL player comes from there. So Stewart Valley is the Home of Travis Moen, though few people there thought they were also home to the hero of Game 1 of the Cup finals.
Least of all Moen himself.
“I just saw the puck, it was kind of bouncing, I got lucky and caught it on the way down,” he said. “Just a lucky shot and it went in. Big goal.”
Ya think?
The Senators had won Game 1 of each of their previous three series this spring, two of those wins coming on the road in New Jersey and Pittsburgh. But they were out-hit and outplayed in this one by an Anaheim team that got its just desserts by erasing a one-goal deficit after two periods.
“We didn’t start very well. We didn’t finish very well. They had the majority of the chances,” said disappointed Ottawa coach Bryan Murray. “Their checking line went head to head with our [first line] and they ended up scoring the winning goal. That’s the game.”
That the Ducks checking line scored one more goal in this game than the hottest line in these playoffs — Ottawa’s Jason Spezza between Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley — is the kind of stat that shapes a hockey game. The Ducks' checking line had 12 shots on goal in Game 1, to a paltry five for the Spezza line.
You can take this to the bank: if that continues to happen, this will be a four-game series in Anaheim’s favor.
“Most of the turnovers were by our big line in the middle part of the hockey game,” Murray said. “Until they start realizing that if you don’t put it in [deep], go to work and get it back once in a while, then their checking line would be effective.”
Ottawa lead 2-1 after 40 minutes and were lucky to be doing so. Anaheim’s comeback began when Getzlaf, knifing into the Ottawa zone like a man possessed, took the puck to his backhand before firing it through Ray Emery’s legs. That evened the count at 2-2 just 5:44 into the third period, and the way the ice was tilting, it seemed like Anaheim wasn’t done yet.
After Moen’s heroics, on a goal assisted on by both of the Bros. Niedermayer, the game ended with Ducks defenceman Chris Pronger in the penalty box, Emery on the Senators bench, and Jean-Sebastien Giguere robbing Daniel Alfredsson with a miraculous glove save five ticks left on the clock.
As we’ve seen many times in the playoffs thus far, it matters far less which team has the majority of the play, and far more who scores the majority of the goals. So a 1-1 tie after one period flattered Ottawa, who could well have been behind two or three to nothing if not for a fortuitous bounce around the Anaheim net, and a few Grade A chances around their own goal that went unconverted by the Ducks.
“We turned the puck over too many times. If we don’t play better five-on-five than that, then it makes it a tough road ahead in this building,” said Murray.
Usually steady Ottawa defenceman Wade Redden scored a powerplay goal but went minus-3 on the night, while his partner on defence Andrej Meszaros was minus-2. After a nice opening seven or eight minutes — in which Mike Fisher’s shot caromed into the Ducks goal for a powerplay marker on the game’s first shot — Anaheim took the period away, evening the score on an Andy McDonald goal.
IN THE CREASE: Four referees have survived the Finals cut: Paul Devorski and Dan O’Halloran, who worked Game 1, plus Bill McCreary (13th Cup) and first-timer Brad Watson ... Teams winning Game 1 have gone on to win 78 percent of all Stanley Cups, since the best-of-seven was instituted in 1939.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18912392/

Anaheim Ducks Article: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=31448...ge&service=page

Getting by with a little help from his friends
Larry Wigge | NHL.com columnist May 29, 2007, 1:12 AM EDT
ANAHEIM -- When Teemu Selanne pounced on a loose puck midway through the first period of Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final and set up linemate Andy McDonald for a goal, there were more than just a few fans in the stands cheering on "The Finnish Flash."
Here's a "Finnish Flashback" for you.
"It was 14 or 15 years ago, before I came to the NHL, I guess I told some of my friends that if I ever got to the Stanley Cup Final, they could come too," Selanne laughed. "They obviously have good memories."
These weren't just hangers-on. You know the kind. Pals when they need something from you. No, not these guys.
"We've been friends since we were about 6 or 7, " he added, motioning about knee-high. "Real good friends."
Well, the 16 of Selanne's nearest and dearest friends were in the stands at Honda Center in Anaheim Monday night to watch Selanne and the Ducks beat the Ottawa Senators, 3-2, to open what figures to be a pretty even series.
"You can't miss them," Selanne said, laughing once again. "They are wearing bright orange T-shirts with TEEMU on them."
With the demand for tickets at a premium for this series, even Selanne, who led the team with 48 goals and 94 points this season, couldn't get 16 together.
"It was funny, I looked out over the crowd at one point early in the game and saw three or four in one spot, two in another, maybe five in another and ... " his voice trailing off in excitement that his friends could even be here to enjoy perhaps his greatest moment in hockey.
This series is so special to Selanne, because he never thought it would ever come. At 36, he is the oldest player in the series and he is second to countryman Teppo Numminen of Buffalo on the dubious list of most games played in the NHL without winning a Stanley Cup -- Numminen leads with 1,314 games, followed by Selanne with 1,041.
But remember, Ray Bourque was on that list before he won with Colorado in 2001, Dave Andreychuk was near the top when he won with Tampa Bay in 2004 and Glen Wesley, Rod Brind'Amour and Doug Weight were in the top five on this dubious list before they won in Carolina last year.
"I've watched these things on TV so many times. I've been dreaming about getting this chance too and finally it happened," said Selanne. "It took 15 years to do it, but I finally did it."
Curiously, it was Selanne, who along with Paul Kariya, put the Ducks on the hockey map with parts of six phenomenal offensive seasons together in Anaheim before Teemu was traded to San Jose at the end of the 2001 season -- before the Ducks finally reached the Stanley Cup Final in 2003.
"I remember I was at home in Finland and I was cheering for them all the way, because I knew how much those guys had been through as a franchise," Selanne continued. "I'd wake up every morning and watch their games and cheer for them. They came so close.
"It's funny though, I always figured I'd be here to help lead the Ducks to their first Cup Final. Now, I might really be a part of that kind of history."
First he went to San Jose and then he thought he'd find the rainbow to the Promised Land when he and Kariya signed on to play in Colorado.
"I learned that year that you can't try to find your happiness," Selanne said. "It just has to come naturally. I'm so happy it's here in Anaheim. I've always been happy here on and off the ice."
His career rejuvenated after he underwent knee surgery in 2004 and the Ducks brought him back to Anaheim in August 2005, Selanne was the team's leading scorer with 48 goals and 46 assists during the regular season. It was his most productive season since he had 107 points in 1998-99, during his first stint in Anaheim.
The Ducks won three straight over the Red Wings after losing two of the first three, and Selanne was a major contributor in those games -- getting two goals and six points, including the game-winning goal in a 2-1 overtime victory in Game 5 that turned the series in the Ducks' favor.
After rolling to a 3-0 lead after two periods in Game 6 at Anaheim, the Ducks held on for dear life and won 4-3 with Detroit frantically trying to get the tying goal.
"I have never been so nervous and so shaky in a hockey game in my life -- and I was on the bench," he said as the clock ticked down. "We did not want to go back to Detroit. It wasn't pretty, but ..."
Now, Selanne is in that dream series -- playing for the Stanley Cup.
And he helped set up the team's first goal in Game 1.
"Teemu's one of the best players in the League for a reason," said Ducks winger Ryan Getzlaf, who was 7-years-old when Selanne set a rookie goal-scoring record of 76 in the 1992-93 season.
"There have been many times I wondered if I would ever get to play in the Final," Selanne said, shaking his head. "It's easily the toughest championship to win. You've got to go through four rounds of Hell.
"And its even more difficult to do now in the salary cap world we have here. You can no longer just go out and find a team to win a Stanley Cup. With a salary cap, you can't go out and buy everybody you want to win it all."
Not that a lot of teams didn't try ... and fail to win in the past anyway.
There are four rounds and 16 games to win to capture Lord Stanley's Cup. And now, after all those years, Teemu Selanne is getting his chance.
And he's got a pretty loud group of fans in the stands cheering him on.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=311016

Ducks, Sens address mistakes, move on to Game 2
Phil Coffey | NHL.com Editorial Director May 30, 2007, 9:00 AM EDT
ANAHEIM -- If anyone was selling the Anaheim Ducks on the idea of a sweep in the Stanley Cup Final, the Western Conference champs weren't buying.
Holding a 1-0 series lead thanks to a 3-2 win in Monday's Game 1, the Ducks look to cash in on the home-ice edge tonight (8 p.m. ET, Versus, CBC, RDS) in Game 2. The Ducks aren't expecting the Ottawa Senators to go quietly into the night. Rather, the Ducks were bracing for a more determined, mistake-free performance from the Senators on Honda Center ice.
"As far as how Ottawa is going to come out, you always expect the best from your opponent, no matter what the situation is," Scott Niedermayer said. "You expect that they're going to come out, be at the top of their game. I would expect that from them. They're a great hockey club, playing very well."
Chris Pronger, another all-star defenseman for the Ducks, agreed.
"Yes, I would expect they would come out the same way they came out in Game 1," Chris Pronger agreed. "Playing hard, skating very well. Being physical. I think they'll obviously try to match that intensity."
Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle is also on that same page.
"I think they'll play a much more, I guess, structure to their system in the sense of they feel that they turned the puck over way too many times," Carlyle said. "They didn't cycle the puck enough.
"They did some things uncharacteristic of the previous three series that they played. When we look at them, they're an excellent hockey club. We respect that opposition immensely."
Especially in light of the fact that Carlyle wasn't overly impressed by his team's performance. The Ducks trailed, 2-1, entering the third period Monday night and rebounded on goals by Ryan Getzlaf and Travis Moen.
"We know that we're going to have to play a better game than we played last night to have success, because I know in our minds they will come a lot harder and they will be a lot better," Carlyle said.
The power play accounted for the Senators' two goals in the opener and Carlyle was not very happy with the undisciplined nature of the transgressions his team committed Monday night.
"It's an area that we have to improve on for sure," he said. "The concern for me is the ability for teams to move the puck through our box or through our defensive system. And we think that's a huge area of concern at this point for us. Obviously, specialty teams will continue to play a major role in the success or failure into the playoffs. And it's an area of concern for our hockey club.
"I've talked about the discipline factor," he said. "I've been asked that question so many times that you think I've never talked to the players about it. And it's like your kids at home, I guess. Sometimes there's a thousand different ways to tell them, but it's a lot easier to say it than to live it. And the game in a lot of situations, some of the penalties, like we talked about the (Ric) Jackman penalty today (roughing Mike Comrie in the first period), that's an unacceptable penalty. The Getzlaf penalty (cross-checking Comrie in the second), it's unacceptable. (Francois) Beauchemin tripping penalty (in the second), those are unacceptable.
"There're other penalties that you take in defending your net position and whatnot that you would consider good penalties or acceptable. We think that we have to play the game to a certain level. But those things are -- we're not making excuses for those. Did we take too many penalties? Yes, we do take too many penalties and it taxes people in certain situations.
"We want to limit the number of penalties. Simple as that. Sometimes it's easier said than done."
"You got that part right," Niedermayer said. "I've been hearing a lot about that. There're always things you're going to improve. There will be faults you can find in any team's game. Some of the penalties we took last night were really not from being aggressive. They were bad decisions, bad mistakes with your stick or sort of reacting to what the other team is doing. You can't afford to do that in the playoffs."
Turnovers were a fatal flaw for Ottawa in Game 1, as was being pinned on its heels in the third period. The Senators want more momentum offensively to force the Ducks to play in their own end.
"Yeah, too many (turnovers)," winger Mike Fisher said. "Throughout the whole game really, and we weren't getting pucks deep and making smart plays. We gotta be sharper for sure."
Captain Daniel Alfredsson expects a different team tonight.
"It was a tough loss," said Alfredsson, who picked up one assist in the game. "I think we would have really liked to win this one. But not much we can do now. I think we have to get better in some areas and try to win the next one."
Ottawa hadn't played in nine days after winning the Eastern Conference Finals. But Alfredsson discounted the idea the team was rusty. Certainly rust won't be a factor tonight.
"I don't know if it's rust, but it's something that we want to limit more, turnovers, there's no question.
"We did get off to the start, we were the better team first five or six minutes," Alfredsson said. "They got some momentum. I think, overall, I think we did give ourselves a chance to win. We just didn't come through in the third (period)."
"We didn't do good enough job getting pucks on them," Jason Spezza said. "We have a few things we have to change in our game. We just didn't seem like we had as much jump out there."
Goalie Ray Emery was philosophical about the Game 1 loss.
"It's tough," he said. "(We) have to give ourselves a chance going into the third. We want to have a better period than that. I want to play better than that. That's a disappointing one. But we did a lot of good things and made a lot of mistakes. We'll continue to do the good things and fix the mistakes we find."
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=314476

Miller's NHL home a folding chair - for now
Shawn P. Roarke | NHL.com Senior Writer May 29, 2007, 6:36 PM EDT
ANAHEIM -- There was precious little Tuesday to suggest that first-year pro Drew Miller played a huge part in Anaheim's Game 1 win of the Stanley Cup Final.
The 23-year-old winger was a somewhat surprising addition to Monday's lineup, inserted by coach Randy Carlyle to play the left side on the Ducks' top line, a unit featuring Andy McDonald at center and Teemu Selanne, a future Hall of Famer, on the right side.
The rookie, who spent the majority of his first pro season playing with Portland of the American Hockey League, responded with an error-free game in a little more than nine minutes of ice time. He also set up Anaheim's first goal, scored by McDonald, which got the Ducks going in what turned out to be a 3-2 victory.
Yet about 16 hours later, Miller still found himself with a folding-chair setup in the Ducks' dressing room, instead of lounging in one of the roomy stalls reserved for more established members of the team. Miller's shaving kit, out of place with its Portland Pirates logo, was nestled under the chair, serving as a reminder of his modest roots.
So, it was not surprising that Miller stayed out with the healthy scratches during Tuesday's off-day practice, playing a spirited game of shinny with the other extras.
Miller wouldn't have it any other way.
"We were playing a good game out there and having fun," Miller said of Tuesday's shinny match. "I'm still not guaranteed to play tomorrow, so you have to do the things that rookies do. Just because I played (Monday night), doesn't mean I'm not a rookie. So, I still have to be out there."
But there is a good chance that Miller - the younger brother of Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller and the latest member of the famous Miller hockey clan to make the pro ranks - will be in the lineup for Wednesday's Game 2.
Monday night, Miller had modest statistical totals, registering one shot on net and also delivering one check in a 30-hit onslaught by his team in a physically punishing game.
But it was that check that showed why Miller has earned Carlyle's trust. Miller pinched defenseman Wade Redden along the side board in Anaheim's attacking zone and forced the veteran defenseman into a turnover. Selanne pounced on the loose puck and immediately fed MacDonald, who beat Ottawa goalie Ray Emery with a shot that tied the game at 1-all and took away Ottawa's early momentum.
Miller was not credited with an assist on the play, but he was as big a part of it as either Selanne or McDonald.
McDonald was impressed with Miller's contributions, and just not on the goal.
"I certainly give him credit to come in and to play like that," McDonald said. "It's probably not easy. I'm sure he was pretty nervous. But he did a really good job. He was aggressive. He skated hard. And, like you said, on the goal he went in and made contact and they turned the puck over."
Those were all things that Carlyle expected, however. That was the type of game that Miller played during his three-year tenure with Michigan State and again this year with Portland, where he scored 16 goals and 36 points in 79 games.
Before the Final began, Carlyle suggested Miller might earn a look on the top line, but many dismissed that suggestion as pre-series gamesmanship. After all, Miller had played sparingly in his playoff debut, back in the first round against Minnesota. Since that outing, Miller was a healthy scratch for 11-straight games.
In the end, Carlyle went with his gut and the payoff was immediate.
"I think that we didn't hide the fact that we had confidence in the player before," Carlyle said Tuesday. "(People) thought it might have been smoke and mirrors, but, in fact, it was the truth.
"We felt that the young player had done an excellent job in his first year in the American Hockey League. First and foremost, he was a safe and responsible player. The second point being that he has the ability to get around the rink. He can skate.
"Those two things were at the forefront of the thought process of putting a guy in. Obviously, it's a difficult situation to put an untested rookie into the Stanley Cup Final, but we felt we could match him up with a skating group of Selanne and McDonald, and that he was responsible enough. That was the best option we had for that game."
Likely, it will be the best option in Game 2, as well. Carlyle is one of those coaches that rarely makes lineup changes after a victory.
So, one would think that perhaps Miller would get a little more comfortable in his place with the team. Maybe, just maybe, ask the equipment guys for a new Dopp kit with a snazzy Ducks' logo, or maybe demand a stall?
Nah, that's not really Miller's style.
"I'm happy with the chair," he said. "You need to put in your time and pay your dues."
Miller is genuinely happy to just be along for the ride and understands how lucky he is to be on this stage.
"This has really been a great experience," Miller said. "This is something I can take along for the rest of my hockey career and just remember the people that I was with and the things I have learned in my first year."
Miller's first pro year, coincidentally, could have been next season. Miller made the very difficult decision to leave Michigan State a year early and start his pro career this past fall. After all, Drew Miller was the 10th member of his family to play for that prestigious hockey school.
In a cruel twist of fate, the Spartans won the NCAA national title this season. But, Miller still wouldn't change the past; although he does admit a victory lap with the Stanley Cup might erase some of the sting of missing out on a national title.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=314473

Winning Stanley is Anaheim's biggest challenge
Phil Coffey | NHL.com Editorial Director Jun 6, 2007, 2:41 AM EDT
ANAHEIM -- Believe it or not, the toughest game of the season for the Anaheim Ducks is tonight (8 p.m. ET, NBC, CBC, RDS, NHL Radio).
There will be a keen sense of anticipation around the Honda Center as the Ducks, leading the Ottawa Senators, 3-1, in the series, can win their first Stanley Cup.
Ducks fans are ready for a celebration. Randy Carlyle and crew know they had better be ready for a very tough hockey game.
The clinching game in a championship series is universally regarded as the hardest one to win. Remember, the Ducks’ three wins against the Senators have come in one-goal games.
”We've discussed that last night and discussed it today,” Carlyle said. “We'll discuss it again. We have to let all the other outside distractions, and you are one of them, being the media, that's all part of it. And that's part of the maturing process that takes place.
”We understand we have a responsibility to the media. We understand we have a responsibility to your friends and family, but we have to be selfish. We have to focus on the one task at hand and that's playing the best hockey game we can possibly play (in Game 5). And whatever things that are outside of that have to be pushed to the side and remain there. Sports is a business where it's never over till it's actually over, and you want to put yourself and give yourself the best possible chance to have success and you can't allow all those things that I just described to creep into it.
”And it's all about being a professional athlete and representing your hockey club and your organization and understanding what the task and how hard it will be.”
And despite being up three games to one, Carlyle knows they have yet to see the best the Senators have to offer.
”We know that we're going to have to play a hockey team that's going to be very desperate,” Carlyle said. “We'll have to play the best game we possibly have played this year in the next one. We know that.
”That's a fact,” Carlyle said. “They've got a lot of pride over there. They've got a good hockey club. They've got some outstanding individuals. And we have to match their intensity. We have to match their skill. We have to match their will.”
For the Senators, it doesn’t get much simpler. Win and stay in. Lose and go home.
Do or die.
”It's a one-game at a time thing, any situation you're in,” Senators goalie Ray Emery said. “So we are disappointed, but we gotta win the next game and that's it.
Is it impossible to come out of? No,” Emery said. “We won three games in a row against great teams this year tons of times. So, certainly we can win two games in a row, no problem. Once you do that, it's just whoever wins Game 7. We have to look at it one game at a time and something we're definitely capable of.
”We're confident,” Emery said. “We realize if we play our game, which we have in spurts, you know we dominate on the ice there. So we just gotta do the things that have been working during those stretches where we're the dominant team, and we'll be fine.”
That surreal feeling of reality mixed with optimism seems to permeate the Ottawa dressing room. But, if you thing about it, the pressure is off the Senators. History doesn’t support their desire for a comeback, they are on the road in a hostile environment. No one is giving them much of a chance. So, they can be as loose as they like.
”It's a big hole, but it's not something that's insurmountable,” Jason Spezza said. “We just have to worry about chipping away one game at a time. We can't worry about trying to win the series. We have to try to worry about winning a game first.”
”I think just our focus now is Anaheim and trying to put this behind us, learn from it and some of the things we need to do and some of the things that have worked,” Mike Fisher said after the Game 4 loss. “It's going to be tough in Anaheim. They played well there. We just gotta go in there on a mission and be relentless and give it everything we've got and don't worry about history. Just worry about winning games.”
As for Dany Heatley, he’s a realist. Being down 3-1 is where the Senators find themselves. They may not like it, but it is what it is.
”You gotta be positive. Nothing comes easy,” Heatley said. “This is not a situation we wanted to be in. But we have no choice. We gotta run the table now obviously and we're going into that, steel one, and come back here in a couple of days.
”Yeah, backs against the wall,” he continued. “We just gotta go play now. Like I said, this is not the position we wanted, but this is where we're at right now.”
Make no mistake about it, the Ducks also are right where they want to be, knowing that one more victory will take them to the pinnacle of their profession.
”We're an organization, as I've talked about before, that has worked extremely hard at trying to become an elite hockey club and organization,” Carlyle said. “There's a huge group of people that have put forth a lot of hours and a lot of blood and sweat that went into it. And the players are at the forefront of that. But there're a lot of people behind the scenes, and the players are in the line; then there's the scouts and the management and the marketing people that are putting the people in the seats.
”There's this list of people that have worked extremely hard to try and put this organization at the forefront in our market. And we think that, obviously, winning has a marketing success that usually goes with it. But as far as discussing it or whatnot, we're not into discussing any of those things. We've got a hockey game to play. That's the most important thing. And we've got to play the best game we can possibly play. And all this other stuff is stuff that we let other people discuss and let other people make those assumptions.”
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=316727

Senators won't concede Stanley to Anaheim
Evan Grossman | NHL.com Staff Writer Jun 5, 2007, 12:41 AM EDT
KANATA, Ont. – Few things in life are guaranteed, bet-your-bottom-dollar locks.
Death. Taxes. And teams falling behind 3-1 in a best-of-seven playoff series not coming back. It just doesn't happen.
That's the unenviable place the Ottawa Senators now find themselves after losing Game 4 Monday night, 3-2, at Scotiabank Place. Falling into the deepest of all holes, the Sens have their work cut out for them, needing to make a comeback of historic proportions if they hope to bring the first Stanley Cup since 1993 back to Canada.
That seems like an impossible dream right now.
"It definitely makes it a lot tougher," defenseman Wade Redden said. "But our focus is to win one game. We've got to just take it a step at a time. I mean, that's all we can focus on right now. We have to fight to the end. There's a lot of life left in us. There's nobody thinking it's over, so we know this next game is the biggest one of our life, probably. Just got to go in there and do what we do well.
"We can't do anything else," he said. "Just go play a hard 60."
Only two teams have ever come back from down 3-1 in NHL history and only three have come back from that deficit in a best-of-seven series in the history of sports. The 1942 Maple Leafs and the 1975 Islanders both climbed out of that hole and the 2004 Boston Red Sox are the only other team to accomplish the feat.
What stung the most after the Ducks came back to win Monday night in front of a shocked-silent Ottawa crowd was the fact the Senators carried the momentum for the better part of the game's first 40 minutes, only to have it – and their playoff life expectancy – snatched by the visitors. That sudden momentum swing, which the Ducks stole away behind Dustin Penner's winner early in the third period, may have cost the Senators the Stanley Cup.
The Sens are facing the most daunting of challenges because of execution mishaps that led to Penner's goal.
"If we play like we did for two periods tonight, it's not very good," Ottawa head coach Bryan Murray said, assessing his team's chances. "If we play like we did in the first period and go in there and play with, play position a little better and don't give up the type -- like Andy McDonald's goal, walking in, walking around our D, two-on-one goal. Those are not very good goals to give up at playoff time."
The Senators have an awesome challenge in front of them. But, even if their odds are a million-to-one, the fact that they're not a million-to-zero is what they're clinging to for life support.
"We go to Anaheim and we have to give it everything we've got," heart-and-soul guy Mike Fisher said. "It's do-or-die now."
Many of these Senators were down 3-1 to the New Jersey Devils in the 2003 Eastern Conference Final. That team came back to force a seventh game, though the Sens lost the series to the eventual Cup champions. Therefore, they know they can stretch the series. But before they go to a potential Game 7, Ottawa must first win a Game 5 in Anaheim on Wednesday.
"Just got to take it a step at a time," Redden, a member of that 2003 team, said. "We can't do anything else. I mean, it's do-or-die. Just got to win one game. That's all our focus is right now."
The Sens are going to come out playing for their lives on Wednesday, and that's a guarantee. The Ducks will be ready for them as they stand one win from winning the Stanley Cup.
"We know that we're going to have to play hockey that's going to be very desperate," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "We'll have to play the best game we possibly have played this year in the next one. We know that. That's a fact. They've got a lot of pride over there. They've got a good hockey club. They've got some outstanding individuals. And we have to match their intensity. We have to match their skill. We have to match their will."
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=316623

Emotion brings out the best in '07 Final
Shawn P. Roarke | NHL.com Senior Writer Jun 5, 2007, 12:00 PM EDT
KANATA, Ont. -- More than half way through this Stanley Cup Final, the angst level between the Anaheim Ducks and Ottawa Senators has finally reached the appropriate level.
The result was the best game of the series to date Monday night in Game 4, a game eventually claimed by Anaheim, 3-2. Now, the Ducks return to their California home with a three-games-to-one stranglehold in this best-of-seven series.
But it was not easy, by any stretch of the imagination.
Monday night was a hard-hitting, bitterly contested donnybrook of a game -- old-time hockey at its best -- that left the game's spectators physically exhausted and emotionally spent, yet hungry for more.
Monday night, every inch of ice was contested. Nothing was ceded and there was no retreat. Both teams attacked in unrelenting waves, the battle lines relocating up and down the ice as ground was gained or lost.
Thirty-six skaters stood up valiantly and were counted. Both goalies were resolute in the face of unrelenting pressure. Each coach marshaled his troops to stare down the odds and find a way back into the fight.
The Senators out-shot the Ducks, 13-2, in the first period; yet did not score until the final second of the period. The period featured 20 board-rattling hits.
The next 20 minutes were even more dramatic. Anaheim's Andy McDonald scored on back-to-back shots a minute apart to give the visitors a 2-1 lead. Dany Heatley, however, answered with Ottawa's last shot of the period again. This time, there were 26 more hits delivered in the period, coupled with a 10-player scrum as time expired.
Finally, in the third, McDonald earned his third point with the secondary assist on Dustin Penner's go-ahead goal with 4:07 gone in the final period. Despite aching bodies and dead legs, the teams combined to dish out 15 more hits.
For those that enjoyed Monday night's game – and, if you didn't, you might be beyond help – you can thank the foundation established 48 hours earlier in what had, to that point, been the best game of the series.
In that Game 3 -- a game that featured a body-numbing 58 hits by the two teams combined -- Anaheim defenseman Chris Pronger put a match to the powder keg that erupted into Monday's game. At that moment Pronger's elbow connected with the head of Ottawa's Dean McAmmond in the opening minutes of the third period, the series changed its entire complexion.
Monday night, the inferno incited by Pronger's match strike and his cohorts' verbal sniping exploded onto the Scotiabank Place ice. It proved to be nothing less than grand theater.
Which proved to be most fortunate. The Stanley Cup Final deserves nothing less than the type of game we witnessed Monday night.
The "play-nice" atmosphere that dominated the first few days of this series is now officially dead.
Pronger's playful dressing-room skit with an Edmonton television reporter before Game 2 is long forgotten, the memory of the laughter shared by the Duck defenseman and those fortunate to be watching the off-the-cuff performance has been drowned out by the harsh oratory that has emerged in the past 48 hours.
The eloquent and intelligent quotes coming from Ottawa coach Bryan Murray early in the series have slowly turned into shorter and more cutting sound bites. Anaheim's Randy Carlyle has also started dropping grenades in his press-conference musings, including Monday morning's well-planted suggestion that McAmmond might not have been as seriously injured from Pronger's forearm shiver as the Ottawa people would have others believe. It should be noted, for accuracy sake, that McAmmond missed Game 4 because of the head injury he suffered.
Monday morning, Murray congratulated Anaheim GM Brian Burke for his ability to massage the message in the wake of the one-game suspension Pronger earned Sunday afternoon for the hit on McAmmond.
In his comments about the suspension that afternoon, Burke allowed that Pronger had crossed the line against McAmmond; but also suggested that Ottawa agitator Chris Neil should be on the hot seat of NHL VP Colin Campbell, the man who handed down Pronger's ban.
Bravo, Burkie, was the message relayed by Murray, no shrinking violet himself when it comes to media manipulation.
"First of all, Brian did a great job of giving you guys the story," Murray said. "He did a terrific job of camouflaging really what was the real point. Chris Neil? Everybody, I'm sure, has looked at the hit now. Andy (McDonald) spun (and) he got hit in the helmet with a forearm."
Not satisfied to merely make his own point, Murray returned fire in the next breath.
"I've got two other incidents with Pronger hitting to the head," Murray continued, never presenting evidence. "(Anaheim forward) Corey Perry never hits anybody without going to the head. So there's lots of stories in this we can point out; but Brian did a job. He sold lots of papers for you, gave you an easy afternoon on Sunday, which you had to have. That's good."
Not as good as what followed, though.
Neil, the aggrieved party in the Ottawa GM's outburst the day before, launched a diatribe of his own at the Monday morning skate.
In it, Neil defended his credentials as a choir boy before suggesting that Pronger was a not-so-distant relative of Norman Bates. Reporters gobbled this up in between guffaws before relaying to the boys down the hall, spawning a new volley of verbal jousting.
It was, perhaps, forward Ryan Getzlaf that landed the most sound blow in the return fusillade.
"That's childish stuff," Getzlaf said when Neil's words were thrown out for the consumption of any Anaheim player willing to listen. "We're not going to call anybody out.
"The same thing happens to our guy, but he doesn't get hurt. That happens on the ice and that's where it should stay. We don't need to play these games in the media."
Ah, but the media games were only the staging area for the full-frontal assault to come that evening; the insults serving as kindling to a now raging fire in the heart of each dressing room.
Perhaps, those motivated by political correctness and the justifiable merits of politeness expect more from those who have earned the right to be called the class of the NHL during the 2006-07 season. But hockey fans know that this explosion was just around the corner.
There is a tipping point in every playoff series. The ones in the Stanley Cup Final, however, are usually too hard to miss.
Hard-core hockey fans know that the battle for the Stanley Cup is a no-holds-barred brawl. Platitudes should give way to verbal potshots. The media, all too happy to fan the flames of ill-temperedness, should be employed in that quest. Nerves should be raw. Nothing should come easy.
That is the way it should be, the Stanley Cup -- the most sacred trophy in sports – is up for grabs. It is not meant to be claimed by those weak of heart or faint of grip.
Only the strongest, both physically and mentally, can be judged worthy enough to perform the Cup-raising ritual that has defined the ultimate in hockey success for more than a century.
The strength, will, fortitude, courage – call it whatever poetic term you must – was tested by both teams throughout Monday's game -- from the opening faceoff to last tense seconds.
As expected, neither team was found wanting in Monday's test. And, rest assured, both will be ready to answer the bell Wednesday night for Game 5. The angst that fuelled Monday's game will not evaporate as the club's fly across the continent to prepare for another pitched battle in 48 hours.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=316639

Inside The Numbers: Game 4
John Kreiser | NHL.com columnist Jun 5, 2007, 12:48 AM EDT
The Anaheim Ducks' official coronation as Stanley Cup champs could come as early as Wednesday night. But whether it takes five, six or seven games, the odds are that it's going to happen.
Leading 3-1 in any playoff series is a near-lock for success — the Ducks are the 219th team to take a 3-1 lead in a best-of-seven series and the ninth this year. Of the first 218, 198 (90.8 percent) of those teams have won the series, including all eight this year and the last 16 in a row dating to Montreal's seven-game victory over Boston in the first round in 2003.
Even better for Anaheim, which became the 29th team to take a 3-1 lead in the Final: It's been 65 years since the only time a team made up a 3-1 deficit to win the Stanley Cup. The Toronto Maple Leafs actually made up a 3-0 deficit to beat the Detroit Red Wings in seven games in 1942. The other 27 teams to lead 3-1 all won the Cup.
But it's not impossible for the Senators to get back into the series: Last year's Edmonton Oilers were in the exact same situation as the Senators — down 3-1 with Game 5 on the road — and forced a seventh game. In the last 50 years, only the 1994 Vancouver Canucks and 1987 Philadelphia Flyers were able to match that feat — and both lost Game 7 on the road. That's a problem the Senators would be happy to worry about.
Some Other Numbers Of Interest From Game 4:
1 — Road wins by Anaheim in the six Final games in team history. The Ducks' 3-2 win in Game 4 at Ottawa was the first time Anaheim won a Final game away from home. The Ducks lost all four games at New Jersey in 2003 and Game 3 at Ottawa Saturday.
4 — Goals in the Final by Anaheim's Andy McDonald, the most by any player on either team, after he scored twice in the second period of Game 4. McDonald's nine goals in the Ducks' 20 playoff games are also a team high.
5 — Times in the penalty box for an opposition power-play goal by Anaheim's Ryan Getzlaf, who was the man in the box for Daniel Alfredsson's first-period goal, the most by any player in this year's playoffs. It's the second time in the Final he's been in the box for an Ottawa goal. During the regular season, Getzlaf was in the box for only one opposition power-play goal.
6 — Shots on goal by Ottawa's Dany Heatley, including three of the Senators' four in the second period, when he also scored his first goal of the series. The six shots were twice as many as Heatley had in the first three games of the series combined.
9 — Hits credited to Ottawa center Mike Fisher in Game 4, the most by any player on either team in any game in the Finals. Ottawa had 17 of its 30 hits from three players — Fisher, Chris Neil (4) and Christoph Schubert (4). Sammy Pahlsson led Anaheim with five of the Ducks' 31 hits.
10 — Times in the playoffs that Ottawa has scored the game's first goal. The Senators were 8-0 when scoring first coming into the Final, but have lost both times against Anaheim, including Game 4.
11 — Games since Anaheim's Dustin Penner had scored a goal before he got the winner in Game 4. Penner hadn't scored since Game 3 of the Western Conference semifinals against Vancouver on April 29.
12 — One-goal wins by Anaheim in this year's playoffs, tying the record set by the 1993 Montreal Canadiens and the 2003 Ducks. Anaheim has three one-goal wins in each round of the playoffs.
13 — Shots on goal by Ottawa in the first period, when the Senators had the game's first nine shots and wound up with a 13-2 advantage and a 1-0 lead. The Senators had just 10 shots on goal in the final two periods.
22 — Power plays for Ottawa in the first four games of the Final, compared with 14 for Anaheim. Ottawa has 4 power-play goals to one for the Ducks, but Anaheim has outscored the Senators 9-5 at even strength.
23:34 — Ice time for Anaheim defenseman Sean O'Donnell in Game 4, more than five minutes above his average of 18:05 in the first three games. O'Donnell picked up a lot of the ice time left when defenseman Chris Pronger was suspended for Game 4.
26:56 — Ice time for Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson in Game 4, the most of any Senator. It was also the most ice time for any forward on either team in a game in this series.
31:40 — Time on ice by Anaheim defenseman Francois Beauchemin, the most by any player on either team in Game 4 and the most by any player on either team in a game in this series.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=316622

Beauchemin finally delivered to prime-time role
Larry Wigge | NHL.com columnist Jun 5, 2007, 12:00 PM EDT
The coaching decision by Randy Carlyle to put All-Stars Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger together to face the Ottawa Senators’ top line of Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza in the Stanley Cup Final showed the kind of confidence in fellow Anaheim defenseman Francois Beauchemin he often dreamed of getting one day.
Just deliver, he was told. And he did, but it only got him passed over for recall in Montreal first and then in Columbus.
Today, Francois delivers with a smile on his face and lots of ice time on his resume for the Ducks.
"He really does everything very well," Niedermayer said. "Francois is strong one-on-one defensively, he moves the puck very well and he’s got a cannon for a shot."
"He’s scored some big goals for this team over the last two seasons," Carlyle said. "But he's turned out to be a player that you can rely on for the tough minutes. He'll do whatever you ask of him as far as the defensive side of it."
Resiliency. Hunger. A real will to win. And most of all, a challenge to prove he belongs.
That’s the biggest part of the story that comes along with the Sorel, Quebec, native who was in heaven when he was selected in the third round, 75th overall, in the 1998 Entry Draft by the Montreal Canadiens, his favorite team growing up. He was in hockey hell when the Canadiens waived him in September 2004 and he was claimed by the Columbus Blue Jackets and spent more time in the minors.
After making the Blue Jackets out of training camp in 2005, Francois sat a lot, playing just 11 games until he was literally a throw-in in a trade with Anaheim for center Sergei Fedorov. But his record exile of 343 games in the minors were over.
First words out of the mouth of Carlyle -- lose some weight or you’ll never play.
Again. Just deliver. Or else.
"I was coming off three pretty productive seasons in the American Hockey League and I was happy that I made it to the NHL with Columbus last season when I got word of the trade," Beauchemin remembered. "I said, 'Wow!!' I got traded for Sergei Fedorov!
"I remember thinking that it was like a new start for me. A challenge to show my new team. But when I got to Anaheim, I didn't know what to think. Randy Carlyle told me to lose some weight or I'd be sitting in the press box. While I was sitting in the press box, I remember riding the bike and eating chicken salad for a little more than a week before I dropped 10 pounds. Then, I began getting more and more ice time. Tons of ice time (he went from 17 minutes a game in Columbus to 24 in Anaheim)."
And now Francois Beauchemin has proved that he is more than just an afterthought from the 2005 blockbuster deal that involved Fedorov.
Now, when the 6-foot, 210-pound Beauchemin looks to his right he usually sees Norris Trophy-winning defenseman Scott Niedermayer. Not bad for a guy who was cut by Montreal, trimmed by Columbus and scratched from the lineup when he first arrived in Anaheim.
"I've surprised myself, actually," said Beauchemin. "So I must have surprised somebody else, too."
Despite the prevailing out-of-nowhere implications, Beauchemin was on the Ducks' radar before the deal was consummated.
"We had gotten some pretty good reports on Francois in the American Hockey League," Ducks General Manager Brian Burke said. "In fact, when we started talking to Columbus about the Fedorov deal, (vice president of hockey operations) Bob Murray said the guy you have to get in the deal is Beauchemin.
"Still, we would be lying if we said anticipated he would be this good."
"When you consider where I was and where I'm at now, you have to look at my story as some sort of fantasy, don't you?" said Beauchemin, laughing. "I looked at moving to Anaheim as more of a challenge, more of an opportunity to prove myself. Not trying to be as good as Sergei Fedorov."
Just deliver? That phrase took on a different meaning for Francois when he was 12-years-old.
"I had a paper route back home," Beauchemin said. "I was up at 4:30 each morning ready to deliver Journal de Montreal. It took me about two hours to complete my route on my bike. It was about an hour in bad weather in the winter when my dad would drive me. After I was finished, I’d go back home, put my feet up on the chair and relax -- reading the sports section.
"I remember going right to Bertrand Raymond’s column each day and wondering if someday he’d be writing about me."
Francois delivered papers for about two years before he had to leave Sorel to play hockey, but his work ethic has never been questioned. No wonder. He learned it from Michael, his dad, who is a fire inspector, and Diane, his mom, who is a restaurant cook.
"When you consider where I was and where I'm at now, you have to look at my story as some sort of fantasy, don't you?" said Beauchemin, laughing. "I looked at moving to Anaheim as more of a challenge, more of an opportunity to prove myself. Not trying to be as good as Sergei Fedorov."
Throw-in. After-thought. Add-on. That's what most observers would call Francois Beauchemin.
But when you look at the important minutes he is playing for the Anaheim Ducks now, clearly he long ago learned how to deliver when asked to.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=316636

Check it out: Ducks 2 wins from first Cup
Defensive star Pahlsson scores lone goal as Anaheim goes up 2-0 on Ottawa
Senators Ducks Stanley Cup Hockey
Mark Avery / AP
ANAHEIM, Calif. - Defense has come so easily to the Anaheim Ducks’ checking line, the unit is honing its scoring touch.
First Travis Moen, then Samuel Pahlsson.
A couple of late third-period goals from unexpected sources have the Ducks within two wins of Southern California’s first Stanley Cup.
Pahlsson figured out sharp goalie Ray Emery with 5:44 left to give the Ducks a 1-0 victory over Ottawa on Wednesday night and a 2-0 lead in the Stanley Cup finals.
“We worked really hard the whole game for that one, but we couldn’t get anything by Emery,” said Pahlsson, a finalist to be the NHL’s top defensive forward. “We just try to play our game, make it easy for us and hard for them. We got some goals and we don’t expect that every game. It’s fun.”
On Saturday, the series will shift to Ottawa for the first time since 1927, and the Senators will have to figure out how to break out of a scoring funk in the next two games to earn a trip back to Anaheim. Teams that won the first two games at home have captured the Cup 29 of 30 times.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 16 shots for his sixth postseason shutout and first this year. He leaped as time ran out and the loud duck call vibrated through a deafening arena in the Ducks’ fifth straight postseason win.
Emery finished with 30 saves for the Senators, who lost only once in each of their first three series.
“Anybody who writes this team off is crazy,” top-line forward Jason Spezza said. “We feel like we can get a couple games at home.”
After a turnover by Dany Heatley, Pahlsson carried the puck down the right-wing boards, worked around Daniel Alfredsson, and let go a shot past defenseman Joe Corvo, who had his back to him. That matched Moen’s winning tally that came with 2:51 left Monday night.
“We try to make them turn the puck over,” Pahlsson said. “That’s the best possible scenario for us, to get turnovers on the blue line.”
Ottawa gave the puck away 21 times, 11 by Alfredsson (6), Spezza (4) and Heatley (1). It was only the second time in the Senators’ 17 playoff games the trio was pointless. The team has gone 95 minutes, 24 seconds since Wade Redden provided a 2-1 lead in the second period of Game 1.
“For some reason, we’re playing differently than the way we’ve played,” Corvo said. “We have to find a way to get that feeling back.”
Along with Rob Niedermayer, the Ducks’ checkers have five winning playoff goals. They might have to work even harder in Ottawa, where the Senators have the last line change and will likely try to keep their scorers away from them.
“It’s going to be a different game,” Pahlsson said. “We’re going to have to change a lot.”
After a postseason low of 20 shots in the opener, the Senators managed less of a punch in Game 2.
“Our turnovers are creating offense for them,” Senators coach Bryan Murray said. “I’m not sure why we’re doing it, but we’re trying to create some offense and we’re not getting much.”
What the game lacked in goals, it didn’t fall short in exciting, tense play. Whether it was enough to bring viewers to TV sets is another issue. Game 1 on Versus got only a 0.72 cable rating and was seen in 523,000 households in the United States.
Emery was brilliant and had the added bonus of a few quick whistles as he tried to freeze the puck. Murray complained after Game 1 that the Ducks delivered a few extra stick jabs after the whistle and the message was received by referees Bill McCreary and Brad Watson.
Teemu Selanne nearly scored 31⁄2 minutes into the third when he chipped the puck to Emery’s right up to the height of the crossbar. The puck fell tantalizingly close to the goal line, but Emery gloved it in time.
Whether it was panic or progressive thinking, Murray started the game with Alfredsson without his familiar linemates Heatley and Spezza — a trio that combined for 28 goals and 60 points in Ottawa’s first 16 playoff games but had only two assists in the 3-2 loss Monday.
The group got back together for the Senators’ three power plays in the first period and scattered shifts during the opening two frames. But Ottawa looked little like the team that scored nine times in the first two games of the East finals against Buffalo.
When the Ducks put pressure on early in the third, they did it at the expense of Ottawa’s scoring line. The trio’s defense was no sharper than its offense. The unit was also on for the winning goal for the second straight game.
Of the Senators’ seven shots in the first period, five came on the power play and another came just after an Anaheim penalty expired. Ottawa mustered little more in the second when the sides played 5-on-5 until the final 2 minutes.
The Ducks sent 12 shots at Emery in the first and 14 more in the second, while holding Ottawa to 11 through 40 minutes.
Emery shook off any rust or nerves that troubled him in the opener and turned it into confidence that seemed to grow with every dangerous scoring chance he faced. The Senators tried to exert a physical style to match the Ducks’ hard-hitters but paid a price.
While the heavy checks landed, Ottawa also adopted another characteristic of the aggressive Ducks — the penchant for taking undisciplined penalties. Mike Comrie started the trend 2:17 in by sending defenseman Francois Beauchemin into the boards. Anton Volchenkov added another boarding penalty, when he drove Corey Perry into the glass behind Emery 6 minutes later.
Perry drew another penalty on Mike Fisher, who drove him to the ice twice.
The Ducks gave the Senators life by getting Ottawa’s potent power play on the ice. Charging and slashing calls against Shawn Thornton and Chris Pronger created a 5-on-3 advantage for 1:08 of the first period.
As they did in Game 1 during another two-man advantage, the Ducks kept the Senators at bay.
Giguere was the best penalty killer of the bunch, stopping three straight whacks by Spezza into his pads at the left post. He also frustrated the rest of the Senators with his share of sparkling stops after passes by Spezza.
Notes: The teams played 5-on-5 in the first period for only 9 minutes. ... Alfredsson saw time on a shift with Fisher and Peter Schaefer. Chris Neil moved up to play with Spezza and Heatley. ... The Ducks are 5-0 at home in their two finals appearances, 0-4 on the road.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18949744/

Ducks’ Pronger suspended for Game 4 vs. Sens
McAmmond, who was hit by Anaheim defenseman, may also be out
OTTAWA - The Anaheim Ducks will have to play without Chris Pronger — again.
Pronger was suspended Sunday for Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals for his forearm to the head of Dean McAmmond that knocked out the Senators forward and made his status for Monday night’s pivotal game questionable.
The loss of Pronger is nothing new to the Ducks. They beat Detroit in Game 4 of the Western Conference finals when Pronger was suspended for a high hit to the head of Red Wings forward Tomas Holmstrom. He also missed 16 games during the regular season, his first in Anaheim, due to injuries, but this discipline pattern has become troublesome to the Norris Trophy finalist.
“It was a reaction play. I stepped up to make the hit and got him with my forearm,” said Pronger, who practiced with the team Sunday. “Obviously you’ve got to suffer the consequences of what’s come down. It was a situation we were in last series, and certainly teammates rallied around me and rallied around one another.
“Certainly we’re looking for that again.”
Pronger leveled McAmmond with his elbow Saturday in the Ducks’ 5-3 loss to the Senators. The Ducks are ahead in the series 2-1 and will get Pronger back upon returning home to Anaheim for Game 5 on Wednesday.
They will either be tied or a win away from the first Stanley Cup title in the Ducks’ 13 NHL seasons. Anaheim is 7-7-3 without him in the lineup.
“Nobody can replace a guy like Chris Pronger,” said forward Teemu Selanne, tied with the All-Star defenseman with 14 playoff points. “It’s just another bump on the road. We have to put the all-wheel drive on and keep pushing forward.
“We just want to get better and play better ... and not worry about too much other stuff.”
NHL disciplinarian Colin Campbell announced his decision via conference call at Scotiabank Place, a few hours after meeting with Pronger.
“This one took a lot of thought,” Campbell said. “We had to examine the medical. We had to examine the play, the act. It wasn’t an easy one. But there were some simple aspects to it. A blow to the head with the elbow that resulted in a concussion.”
In Campbell’s nine years on the job following an NHL coaching career, he has suspended three players in the finals.
Pronger is the third to be banished twice in one playoff year and the third to sit out a finals game for an act committed in the championship round. The 6-foot-6, 220-pounder has been suspended seven times, including a one-game ban for leaving the bench for an altercation.
This will be the 14th game Pronger has missed because of suspension: two for elbows to the head, four for high-sticking, another four for slashing, two for cross-checking and one for kicking.
“I’ve been in front of them before and now I’m a repeat offender,” Pronger, 32, said at a news conference, dressed in a warmup suit and wearing a baseball cap. “I’m sure that plays into it as it normally does in any situation.
“They did the right thing here. It’s a situation where there was a head blow, and that’s obviously something that the league’s trying to crack down on. I don’t blame them in any way.”
The Ducks lost Game 3 to Detroit, but starting with the contest in which Pronger sat out they ran off five straight wins before Saturday night.
“I’m not unhappy with Chris Pronger,” Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. “The positives that Chris Pronger brings to the table far outweigh any of the negatives.”
McAmmond — seven inches and 30 pounds smaller than Pronger — was struck as he skated with the puck toward the Ducks net. He did a spin, fell backward, struck his head on the ice, and slid into the corner in the Anaheim zone at 2:01 of the third period.
“It’s no doubt that he did this on purpose,” Senators general manager John Muckler said. “Unfortunately, we have a player that is injured and has a concussion. And it’s doubtful whether he’ll be able to play on Monday. Hopefully he will. We just have to move forward.”
McAmmond lost consciousness but got up, dazed and woozy, and was helped to the dressing room.
“I think it should have been a suspension because it was a blow to the head,” McAmmond said. “It wasn’t incidental. It’s not like that couldn’t have been avoided.”
His status for Game 4 is undetermined.
“I’m feeling pretty much the same,” he said. “A little bit headachy, not feeling quite right. I’m going to do everything I can, or as little as a I can, to feel good (Monday). I want to play but at this point in time, I’m not sure.”
While Ducks GM Brian Burke was adamant that Pronger didn’t deserve a suspension for his hit against Holmstrom, he accepted the latest punishment to the star defenseman he acquired in an offseason trade with Edmonton.
Burke’s biggest problem Sunday was Campbell’s decision not to suspend hard-hitting Ottawa forward Chris Neil, who also sports a checkered past.
Late in the second period Saturday, Neil took several hard strides before shoving his left elbow into the right side of forward Andy McDonald’s head. McDonald ducked to avoid the full force of the blow, but still went down after being struck.
Just like the two shots that drew suspensions for Pronger, Neil also avoided an on-ice penalty for the hit on McDonald that didn’t cause injury.
“I think there should have been another hearing today,” said Burke, the NHL disciplinarian during the 1990s. “This was a reaction hit on a tough play. Chris Neil’s hit on Andy McDonald was reprehensible.
“Our player skates away. He gets a free pass. Their player gets hurt. Chris Pronger gets a game.”
Ducks executive Bob Murray called McAmmond, who scored the eventual winning goal late in the second period, to see how he was feeling, Burke said.
Campbell said he had “no doubt” McAmmond was knocked out on the ice.
“We think it was totally unintentional. The league thought different,” Carlyle said. “Chris Pronger is a competitive player. Some people will say he’s using his size as an excuse.
“The fact of the matter is his elbows are higher than most people’s elbows. It’s not like he raised his elbow to deliver a blow to the head.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19014250/

Ducks one win from first Stanley Cup
McDonald steps up with Pronger out, keys 3-2 victory; Sens trail finals 3-1
OTTAWA - The Stanley Cup might’ve been born in Ottawa, but it’s very close to relocating to Southern California.
The Anaheim Ducks are a win away from their first NHL championship.
While a Canadian team hasn’t captured the Cup since 1993, when the Montreal Canadiens earned their 23rd, the U.S. sun belt is on the verge of its third straight. Tampa Bay and Carolina bookended the 2004-05 lockout with unexpected titles.
And to think the Ducks got here without star defenseman Chris Pronger, who served his second one-game suspension of these playoffs. Andy McDonald bailed him out with a pair of goals and an assist on Dustin Penner’s tiebreaker in the third period, lifting the Ducks, 3-2 over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night.
“I didn’t really watch a whole lot. I had my back to the TV,” Pronger said. “When you don’t have a say in what’s going on out there, it’s very tough to watch and nerve-racking, more so than when you’re in the game.”
The Ducks will carry a 3-1 advantage back to Anaheim, where they are 7-0 in clinching games, including 3-0 this year. This one became possible because of the Ducks’ first road win in the finals in six chances over two series.
McDonald scored twice in the second period, then shook free of hard-hitting nemesis Chris Neil to help set up Penner. Anaheim is 5-0 in the finals on home ice and can secure its first Stanley Cup title as early as Wednesday night.
“We’re going to enjoy it here probably for the next couple of minutes,” McDonald said. “But this game is over, and we have to get ready for the next game.”
Only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, who rallied from a 3-0 deficit, came back from such a hole in the finals to win in 28 such situations.
“Sunk in?” Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. “We know we have a 3-1 lead, but the reality of it is the next one is going to be the toughest one to win.”
Anaheim moved into position despite a miserable first period in which it was outshot 13-2 without Pronger, a Norris Trophy finalist who served a one-game suspension for an elbow to the head of Dean McAmmond in Game 3 on Saturday.
General manager Brian Burke was incensed Sunday that Pronger was suspended while Neil wasn’t, claiming the only difference was McAmmond was injured and McDonald wasn’t when Neil charged and landed a high, hard hit in Game 3.
“Chris is a big part of our team,” goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere said. “I’m sure in a way he feels bad he couldn’t help us. But we know he’s going to make it up in two days.”
Neil missed Monday’s big hit on McDonald and instead crashed into the boards. McDonald got the puck up ice to Teemu Selanne.
Skating alongside Penner, with only defenseman Anton Volchenkov back, Selanne moved the puck across to Penner, who beat Ray Emery 4:07 into the third to snap a 2-2 tie. It was his first goal in 12 games and came during a line change.
“He put it right on my tape, and I had an open net to put it in,” Penner said.
Dany Heatley had his best game of the finals, scoring his first goal of the series to get Ottawa even 2-2 with 2 minutes left in the second period. Heatley struggled along with linemates Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza, who had been shut down through three games.
Alfredsson netted his second of the series with less than a second left in the first period to stake Ottawa to a 1-0 lead.
Spezza, who went pointless in consecutive games for the first time since October, earned an assist on Heatley’s seventh of the playoffs. That restored excitement to a nervous arena that might’ve seen the Senators’ last home game of the best season in team history.
“You don’t get big leads very often,” Senators coach Bryan Murray said. “If we could have gotten a little more reward, it probably would have been better.”
Ottawa managed only four shots in the second period — to Anaheim’s 13 — three taken by Heatley.
“He scored a big goal for us to get back in the game,” Alfredsson said. “It gave us some momentum going into the third. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the winning goal.”
Giguere, the playoffs MVP in 2003 when the Ducks lost Game 7 of the finals at New Jersey, stopped 21 shots. That was enough to give Anaheim its record-tying 12th one-goal win of the postseason (12-2).
Alfredsson, Ottawa’s captain, was the last-second hero in the first period, but turned into the villain in the final moments of the second. He inexplicably faked a shot on net, reloaded and fired the puck from center ice at Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer.
The usually mild-mannered defenseman, a three-time Cup champion in his days with New Jersey, angrily engaged Alfredsson.
“You can probably figure out what I thought,” Niedermayer said. “I wasn’t happy. No need to get hit with a puck at that point. I’m not going to say anything more.”
Suddenly the Ducks had momentum and a purpose heading into the final period — quite a change from the first.
Just as it seemed the Ducks would survive the penalty-filled and offensively challenged frame unscathed, Alfredsson one-timed a pass from Peter Schaefer past Giguere with 0.3 seconds left.
Alfredsson, playing in his 98th consecutive playoff contest with the Senators, scored for the second straight game after being blanked in Anaheim. Unlike Saturday, when he scored off his skate and had to wait out a video replay, there was no doubt about his NHL-leading 12th of the playoffs.
Emery, who made 18 saves, didn’t have much to do in the opening period, facing his first shot nearly 12 minutes in and seeing only one more the rest of the way.
Anaheim enjoyed the only two power plays of the second, but couldn’t take advantage. Instead, the Ducks scored twice at even strength and held a 13-4 edge in shots.
McDonald tied it midway through the period, then notched his ninth of the playoffs exactly a minute later for a 2-1 lead. He nearly had another goal earlier in the period, but his shot rang right off the post.
Notes: Anaheim’s two shots in the first tied the franchise low for a playoff period, matched in Game 3 of this year’s second round against Vancouver. ... Anaheim in 2003 and Montreal in 1993 won 12 one-goal playoff decisions. ... McAmmond sat out with a concussion. ... The Ducks are 8-7-3 without Pronger, including 2-0 in the playoffs after suspensions. ... The Ducks were again without LW Chris Kunitz (abdominal injury).
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19038562/

With big guy out, Ducks' little man rises
Another unlikely hero shines as Pronger-less Anaheim moves closer to Cup
OTTAWA - The big guy was out, so the little guy took over.
On a night when everyone wondered how the Anaheim Ducks could grab a hold of this Stanley Cup finals with 6-foot-6 defenseman Chris Pronger out of the lineup while serving a suspension, it was diminutive center Andy McDonald who stole the show with two lovely goals and an assist in a 3-2 Ducks win.
And if this series goes the way it looks like it might — Anaheim leads 3-1 with Game 5 set for Wednesday in California — McDonald’s performance on Monday will be the metaphor for what kept Anaheim ahead of Ottawa.
“Huge,” was how defenseman Scott Niedermayer assessed McDonald’s game. “Obviously you need to score goals to win a hockey game, and what you need is [to get them] from different lines at different times. That line tonight was the difference in the game for us.”
Ottawa got to this stage by relying on scoring from it’s league-leading No. 1 line. That line, however, has been largely absent in this series, and the Senators production has duly suffered.
Across the way, the Ducks have received clutch, game-wing goals from plugger Travis Moen in Game 1 and a quiet checking specialist named Samuel Pahlsson in Game 2. On Monday it was Dustin Penner, another undrafted player who was once cut from his Tier II junior team back in Winkler, Manitoba, who fired home the winner — with an assist going to McDonald, no less.
“I don’t think we want to get used to playing without Chris, he’s a great player,” Niedermayer said of Pronger, suspended for a head shot on Ottawa forward Dean McAmmond in Game 3. “But we realized, when he’s not there, we have to be at our absolute best. Everybody has to do their jobs.”
Generously listed at 5-foot-11 and 185 pounds — but with lightning speed and gifted hands — it’s not hard to define how McDonald fits in the Ducks' scheme of things. He was never drafted coming out of Colgate, but the game has since changed to favor the smaller man. On Monday, that smaller man took charge of the Ducks offense, showing incredible patience on both of the Anaheim’s first two goals before doing his part to set up the winner in the third period.
“When you put people in situations,” said Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle, “and when you see them execute to that level, it’s just a tribute to the individual about his skill level.”
It’s awfully tough, when the hockey world is spinning around you, to have the patience to out-wait a goaltender down low, the way McDonald did on Anaheim’s first goal in the second period. Or exactly 60 seconds later, when he held, held, held the puck while an Ottawa defenseman faded out of the picture. Then, like a viper, he slipped a hard shot through the moving legs of Senators goalie Ray Emery.
McDonald went out of his way to deflect praise after the game, so it was left to his coach and teammates to describe a career effort in the biggest game of McDonald’s life.
“That’s not an easy play to be as patient as he was in both of those situations,” marveled Carlyle. “Those are big league plays. That’s a hockey player stepping up, playing desperate and executing at a very high level for his teammates.”
The win put a serious dent in the momentum Ottawa had gained in winning Game 3, and positions Anaheim to win their first Stanley Cup in franchise history.
Ottawa dominated the first period, but then was beaten cleanly through the final 40 minutes as McDonald and crew ramped up their effort. Unlike the Ducks, who keep getting contributions from new sources, Ottawa can not get anything out of its top line. Daniel Alfredsson and Dany Heatley each scored Monday, but neither has led their club anywhere. Either has their linemate Spezza, who has had a miserable Stanley Cup debut.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know that I can explain it,” Ottawa coach Bryan Murray lamented of his absent stars. “At times, the battle level down low ... that line is not made that way. It’s more of a play-making, finesse line. They did give me some good shifts, but you’re right. There were times when they weren’t getting much done.”
What are the Sens chances of prolonging this series down in California?
“If we played like we did for two periods tonight, it’s not very good,” Murray said. “If we play like we did in the first period...”
The teams were tied 2-2 after 40 minutes, and the second period ended strangely with Alfredsson at center ice, intentionally wiring a slap shot right at Anaheim defenseman Niedermayer. The two exchanged words immediately, with Niedermayer feigning to shoot the puck back at Alfredsson.
“You can figure out what I thought by how I acted after it happened,” said Niedermayer, who did not want to expound on the incident post-game. “I wasn’t happy. No need to get hit by a puck at that point.”
It was an uncharacteristic and cheap play by Alfredsson, and If karma counts for anything, maybe that’s why Penner scored the only goal in the third period. Penner tapped home a perfect feed from Teemu Selanne for his first goal in a dozen playoff games. It came after some questionable plays by Sens defenseman Wade Redden, another cog in the Ottawa lineup who continues to struggle through these playoffs.
They’d better start delivering soon, these Sens, because Anaheim looks ready to close.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19039098/

Ducks deliver Cup to California for first time
Anaheim routs Ottawa in Game 5; Selanne, Pronger finally sip from Stanley
ANAHEIM, Calif. - The Anaheim Ducks were born on the silver screen and came of age by capturing the shiniest of silver cups.
They dropped the mighty from their name, but not their game and skated off with the first Stanley Cup championship in California history.
The 14-year-old Ducks captured the NHL title with a 6-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night, ending the series in five games in front of the home folks again.
For the first time, the Stanley Cup can enjoy an NHL western home, and the Ducks’ victory came at the expense of Canada. The cherished trophy was born in Ottawa, but no team north of the border has won it since Montreal in 1993.
“Canada loves their hockey, and from what I heard out there, we have quite a few fans who love their hockey out here, too,” said captain Scott Niedermayer, a four-time champion from British Columbia and this year’s Conn Smythe Trophy winner.
Calgary, Edmonton and now Ottawa — in its first trip since the Senators were reborn in 1992 — had three straight chances only to be done in by U.S. clubs from the sun belt. Tampa Bay, Carolina and Anaheim aren’t traditional hockey hotbeds but they have been the Cup’s warm weather homes since 2004.
Wayne Gretzky made the game a happening in Southern California when he came to Los Angeles in 1988, the Ducks made it legit two decades later. No longer Disney’s darlings, the Mighty Ducks’ movie days are gone. A victory rally awaits the new Ducks on Saturday.
Niedermayer brought his brother Rob and teammates Teemu Selanne and Chris Pronger along for the ride for their first Stanley Cup. Rob Niedermayer is one of three Ducks left from the losing side in 2003 when Scott and the New Jersey Devils captured their third title in Game 7.
Only goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere had something to smile about then when he was given the Conn Smythe. This was so much sweeter as he stopped 11 shots in the clincher. The biggest roar for him came when Antoine Vermette had the puck slide wide of the post during a third-period penalty shot, the 10th in finals history.
Scott Niedermayer finally earned the MVP award many thought he deserved four years ago. His biggest thrill came when he handed the Cup off to Rob, a big reason he came to Anaheim before last season.
“I don’t think I’ll ever have a better feeling than that in my career,” Rob said. “When he came here, I know he turned down a lot from New Jersey and he had a lot of fond memories there.
“I never touched it when he won. He’s won so much, but he’s never been a guy whose ever rubbed it in a guy’s face. He’s been rooting for me my whole career, and I’m just lucky to have him as a brother.”
The 36-year-old Selanne, the Ducks’ leading scorer this season, waited 14 seasons to become a champion. Pronger was on Edmonton last season when the Oilers lost in seven games to Carolina. He returned to the lineup for the clincher after serving a one-game suspension.
A perfect finish after demanding a trade from Edmonton last summer.
“This is a special moment,” he said. “It’s always worth it when you win it.”
Pronger became a target because of his Game 3 hit on Dean McAmmond that knocked the Ottawa forward out of the series with a concussion and drew the one-game suspension. Pronger absorbed a hard shot behind the Anaheim net from Antoine Vermette in the first period, leaving him with a separated shoulder.
“I just kind of got hit awkwardly there and went into the boards funny and separated it,” Pronger told TSN of Canada.
He played the rest of the game, following a brief absence, before returning.
“I was going to be on the ice, no question,” he said.
Sticks and gloves flew in front of Giguere when it ended. Fireworks went off and streamers fell as the Ducks rushed off the bench to celebrate.
Selanne bounced on his skates and shook the Cup after Pronger handed it to him on the opposite side of the ice from where a banner dropped signifying the Ducks’ championship. Heavy showers of confetti fell to the ice.
“I was just like, ’I couldn’t believe it, it’s going to happen,”’ Selanne said. “So much hard work, so many years to dream about that moment.
“There has been times I didn’t know if it was ever going to happen.”
Senators forward Daniel Alfredsson, the first European captain in finals history, came up short of his first championship in 11 seasons. He supplied all the Ottawa offense despite feeling the wrath of fans, who booed him all night in response to his shooting the puck at Scott Niedermayer in Game 4.
Andy McDonald started the scoring 3:41 into the first period with a power-play goal, his third tally in two games, and Rob Niedermayer made it 2-0 with 2:19 left. Travis Moen had two goals, one that never touched his stick and another in conventional fashion.
Alfredsson scored twice in the second period, including a short-handed goal that cut Anaheim’s lead to one for a second time, but the Senators couldn’t shake off a fluke goal that defenseman Chris Phillips put into his own net with a pass off the skates of goalie Ray Emery.
That one was credited to Moen.
When Francois Beauchemin scored a power-play goal with 1:32 left in the second, the Ducks’ two-goal lead was back and the excited crowd anticipated an appearance by the Stanley Cup.
By then it was just a matter of time for the Ducks, 8-0 at home in series-clinching games — including 4-0 this year. Anaheim is 6-0 at home during the finals.
“They had more depth than us in this series,” Alfredsson said. “We didn’t play our best. We tried to come back in the second period, but that didn’t last. It seemed like they were better than us.”
In the middle of the third, the buzzing and quacking crowd serenaded Emery, called for the now-polished Cup, and bellowed with delight after each whistle.
The Ducks played five games above the minimum in the postseason and went past five games only in the Western Conference finals when they won three straight to wipe out Detroit in six.
Ottawa also had a quick run to the finals, needing only five games in each previous series. But the Ducks proved too tough with their hard-hitters and tight checkers shutting down the Senators’ top forward line that was broken up after holding the top three spots in NHL playoff scoring.
“We had some guys that didn’t play to what they were playing,” said Senators coach Bryan Murray, a former coach and GM of the Ducks. “I think that’s most disappointing and what we and they have to live with through the summer.”
Anaheim is the first West Coast city to lay claim to the silver chalice since Victoria of the Western Canada Hockey League defeated Montreal in 1925, two years before NHL clubs began exclusively playing for the Cup.
“Their perseverance and determination in defeating the Ottawa Senators is a testament to the greatness of California’s world-class sports teams,” Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said in a statement.
McDonald scored just after the first half of a 5-on-3 penalty expired, and Rob Niedermayer doubled the lead with a streak down the right side. He blew past Mike Comrie and backhanded a shot in off Emery with 2:19 left in the period.
Alfredsson made it 2-1 at 11:27 of the second, but Phillips’ big mistake put the life back in the building. While being chased behind the net, Phillips pushed a pass as he came out the left side. The puck went into Emery’s skates and found its way in with 4:16 left in the period.
It was shades of Edmonton defenseman Steve Smith, who short-circuited the Oilers’ chances for a “three-peat” in 1986 when he put the puck in off the left skate of Grant Fuhr in the third period of Game 7 of the Smythe Division finals.
But Alfredsson renewed Ottawa’s hope with a short-handed goal with 2:22 left. The good feeling was soon dashed when Beauchemin ripped a long shot past Emery 50 seconds later during the same power play.
Moen made it 5-2 with his second of the game and Corey Perry gave the Ducks a four-goal lead with 3 minutes remaining.
Emery never looked comfortable in net, allowing six goals on 18 shots. Jason Spezza scored 34 goals in the regular season, but had none in the finals.
“I knew if I didn’t play better it would be tough for us to win,” Spezza said. “It’s extremely disappointing to come this far and lose.”
Notes: The Niedermayers are the first brothers since Brent and Duane Sutter of the Islanders in 1983 to win the Cup as teammates. ... Pronger owns the only successful penalty-shot goal in finals history. ... Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. sipped beer in the victorious dressing room.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19081339/

Ducks' Cup could spark other SoCal teams
Hockey (hockey!) to rescue as Lakers, Dodgers among those in title drought
Game 5 - Ottawa Senators v Anaheim Ducks
In Southern California, they’re just wild about their Lakers. The franchise has brought championship hoopla and glamour to a town that knows a little about entertainment. But alas, they haven’t won a championship since 2002, and their star player has thrown almost as many tantrums this summer as he takes shots in a typical game.
The Dodgers also have an illustrious past filled with thrills and glory. But they haven’t won a World Series since 1988, which also happens to be the last time they won a playoff series.
The Angels won a world championship in 2002, but haven’t seriously threatened since, although they currently have the best record in the majors.
The Los Angeles Kings reek. The Los Angeles Clippers are consistently disappointing. More people follow Victoria Beckham around Beverly Hills than follow the L.A. Galaxy. There is no NFL team in L.A. and there may never be again, and San Diego’s Chargers fired their coach after he went 14-2, putting preposterous pressure on his replacement to do even better.
Yes, USC is still in the hunt for national titles in football, just as UCLA is in basketball. But as far as professional franchises are concerned, the pickings are slim in one of the richest and most populous areas of the U.S.
Woe is Southern California.
But now there is hope. An unlikely group of heroes has emerged. It’s as if somebody were casting a movie, couldn’t find any matinee idols willing to take on the challenge, and had to settle for a bunch of no-names who had only ever worked as extras.
Meet the saviors of Southern California sports: your Anaheim Ducks!
The Ducks finished off the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday with a 6-2 victory in Game 5 at Anaheim. In the hockey realm it was significant because it marked the first time the Stanley Cup was won by a team in California and, in a quaint bit of puck esoterica, the first time the chalice went to a West Coast team since the Victoria Cougars of the Western Canada Hockey League defeated Montreal in 1925, two years before NHL clubs began playing exclusively for the Cup.
In fact, the Victoria Cougars, who disintegrated and eventually morphed into the Detroit Red Wings, still have a better shot at bringing another championship to the West Coast than the Kings or Clippers.
Meanwhile, the Ducks have sent the area into a sedate frenzy, or if you prefer, a languid state of pandemonium. Sports championships in Southern California tend to produce rather brief periods of jubilation, because fans leave early to beat the traffic so they can go home and call a sports radio talk show and complain about why the other teams in the area haven’t won.
Into this cynical maelstrom step the Ducks, from a city so nondescript that the owner of the Angels has fought court battles to give his club a “Los Angeles” identity. And the city of Anaheim has made headlines lately with another legal tussle, this one against Disneyland, over a tract of land the theme park wants to use to expand, but which the city wants for low-income housing.
It’s almost like the Ducks had to politely interrupt in order to get some attention. If Anaheim stages a parade, most of the Ducks might be mistaken for the drivers.
Yet, a championship is a championship. The Los Angeles Kings had their shot in 1993. Led by Wayne Gretzky, they eliminated the Calgary Flames, Vancouver Canucks and Toronto Maple Leafs in the playoffs, but fell to the Montreal Canadiens in five games in the finals. In a bit of bum luck that continues to haunt the franchise the way Bill Buckner’s ground ball shadowed the Boston Red Sox for many years, Marty McSorley’s hockey stick was deemed too curvy in Game 2, which eventually led to the Canadiens winning that game and the next three.
When championship-caliber hockey is mentioned in and around Southern California, McSorley’s stick still sticks in the collective craw.
But maybe not anymore.
The Ducks have no demons in their past to exorcise, save for perhaps their loss in the 2003 Stanley Cup finals in seven games to the New Jersey Devils. But that will be remembered as a spirited and hard-fought series, not as a cauldron of controversy.
They’re just a bunch of lunch-pail guys, many of whom might be mistaken for well-spoken lumberjacks if Anaheim were in British Columbia. Scott and Rob Niedermayer, Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Samuel Pahlsson, Travis Moen, Ryan Getzlaf, Dustin Penner, et al., might each be mistaken for the guy who comes out of the back room and changes the kegs at your local sports bar. Only Teemu Selanne and Chris Pronger possess a flicker of star quality that might cause somebody in the region to divert their eyes from the latest Lindsay Lohan car accident to do a brief double take.
Hockey is the most unlikely rescuer to resuscitate championship hopes in the Southern California area. The ratings for the sport are miniscule nationally, and only slightly higher in and around the L.A. market when the Ducks are strutting in the postseason. Hockey is a niche sport, and Anaheim is a cubbyhole.
Mighty Ducks, hair-raising wrecks, a tantrum for the ages, and more.
But the Ducks can wiggle with glee today, because they don’t have to take a back seat to the Lakers, Dodgers, Angels, Kings, Clippers or any other showoff neighbor. They can finally say they’re the toasts of the town. They can finally say they rule the roost.
They can finally say that they’re champions, which says it all.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19081098/

Niedermayer has room for more hardware
Shawn P. Roarke | NHL.com Senior Writer Jun 12, 2007, 12:00 PM EDT
Niedermayer did not lead his team in scoring in the Stanley Cup Playoffs; not even the team’s contingent of defenseman. He also was not the team’s leading ice-time getter.
But make no mistake about this: the Anaheim Ducks could not have won the Stanley Cup without the immeasurable contributions of their captain.
For that reason, the veteran defenseman, in his fifth Stanley Cup Final, claimed his fourth Stanley Cup championship.
He is the only active player in the NHL to have that many titles to his credit. He also earned his first Conn Smythe Trophy, as Stanley Cup Playoff MVP, after the clinching victory over Ottawa in Game 5.
“I've done more than I ever thought,” Niedermayer said. “Like I just said; I've been very fortunate to play with a lot of really good players, good teammates, good friends, and that's how you have success in the playoffs is by trusting each other and wanting to play hard for each other. I've been in a lot of groups that have been like that. It's obviously very rewarding to do that.”
Niedermayer developed his steely-eyed demeanor; quiet, yet competent, leadership style and win-at-all costs mentality while winning three Stanley Cup championships with the New Jersey Devils, the only team he knew before signing as a free agent with the Ducks two seasons ago.
Simply put, Scott Niedermayer is the whole package. And, he is the primary reason, the 2006-07 Anaheim Ducks will forever be known as Stanley Cup Champions.
”He’s a leader in his own way, the way he battles, the way he skates, he just does everything the right way,” said Corey Perry, a young forward on the Ducks that benefited greatly from Niedermayer’s guiding hand. “He’s something special and that is why he is our captain.”
So, how special is Niedermayer exactly?
We’ve already established he has won four Stanley Cups, the most among any active player. But he has also won the Memorial Cup, which is Canadian Junior hockey’s biggest honor. As a member of Team Canada, he has claimed gold on the Olympic stage, the World Junior stage, the World Championship stage and the World Cup stage.
He is the only player in the grand history of hockey that can rightfully list all six of those titles on his playing resume.
That alone should make Niedermayer the best defenseman of his generation, perhaps one of the best since Bobby Orr redefined the position 30-something years ago.
Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle was a pretty good defenseman himself back in the day. He won the Norris Trophy, in fact. But in the two years he has coached Scott Niedermayer, Carlyle has come to realize that he is in the company of greatness when it comes to Niedermayer.
”He belongs right at the top,” Carlyle said. “He's an amazing athlete. He's an amazing individual. He's so unassuming, you just feel fortunate that you're able to coach players like that.
”We’ve talked about no-maintenance people. He's at the top of that list. He has that veteran leadership. He's our leader and just another exclamation point, another notch on his belt for the things that he's been able to accomplish.”
So, how does Niedermayer keep such a low profile? He has won only one Norris Trophy -- he is one of three finalists for this year’s award, as well -- and he is never the flavor of the day when it comes to top defensemen.
Mainly, he stays in the background because that is the way he likes it.
Niedermayer is rarely flashy, although when he does display his world-class skills package in an individual moment of brilliance -- see his end-to-end goal in Game 2 of the 1995 Finals -- it is usually a jaw-dropping moment from even the most jaded hockey fan.
He is not vocal, like some legendary captains. Rather, he lets his on-ice actions -- the near-flawless handling of the game’s most difficult minutes and his determination to play through adversity -- set the tone for his team.
He has never been overcome by the magnitude of any moment.
”I’ve always joked that we have to do research someday to see if this guy has any nerves at all,” said Teemu Selanne, a veteran forward for the Ducks.
And, he is the sum of his experiences; a walking, talking encyclopedia of big-game hockey. His institutional memory of what it means to play on the biggest stages is second to none. That memory may not be the decisive factor during a non-conference game in December; but it is priceless when a season is on the line.
“When you have the experience that he has had in pressure situations, it's not just the Stanley Cup Playoffs,” Carlyle says. “He's been in Olympic gold-medal games; he's been in world championships gold-medal games and major-junior title games. It's his whole demeanor that's a calming effect.
”It's not necessarily one thing or another. He's not a real vocal individual. What you see is what you get is what you get with Scotty. I think he would rather not talk in most situations. He's the kind of guy that likes to be private, but he leads by example. When he does talk, he has that calming effect.”
Such praise is not easily handed out by hockey lifers who have seen much in their day. Rather, it is laboriously earned through clutch play. It comes in the form of the accumulation of credentials that speak far more loudly than any dressing-room tirade.
In the end, it is what earned Niedermayer the undying respect and fealty of his teammates as he navigated this team -- without a single other Stanley Cup winner on it -- through the perilous journey up hockey’s highest, most difficult ascent.
He is, it appears, hockey’s version of E.F. Hutton.
“Every time he opens his mouth, there is silence,” said Selanne, who has some pretty good credentials of his own and carries a lot of weight in the Ducks’ dressing room. “Everybody respects him so much. He’s not the most vocal guy, but the way he leads by example and how he approaches things, it’s just unbelievable.”
So, the defenseman’s character is impeachable. Character, however, does not score goals or stop them from being scored. Skill does that. And Niedermayer has that in spades, too.
He made some huge contributions on the ice this postseason, too. The Conn Smythe was not deeded to him on reputation alone.
Two of his three goals this postseason were game-winners. The other marker sent a game against Detroit last round into overtime, eventually leading to a key Anaheim win. He also had eight assists.
In the two playoff games this year in which all-star defenseman Chris Pronger was suspended -- one against Detroit in the Western Conference Finals, as well as Game 4 against Ottawa -- Niedermayer was at his absolute best.
He averaged almost five minutes of shorthanded time per game in the postseason.
It should be noted, as well, that Niedermayer accomplished all of this while playing with a painful, but undisclosed, foot injury; a fact that he tried to downplay when the tournament was over.
”I haven't had an X-ray on it in a few months,” Niedermayer said. “It actually has felt fine. So, I feel fine. I feel like I can say that now is probably the best I felt through a playoff series in a long time.”
With a team featuring young guys in so many key positions and with a lack of significant championship pedigree, Niedermayer’s calming influence, more than his vast on-ice contributions, proved invaluable, according to Carlyle.
“He's not volatile in any way, shape or form,” said the coach, who noted that Niedermayer’s calm handling of the Daniel Alfredsson situation in Game 4 -- when the Ottawa captain nailed Niedermayer with a slap shot, in what appeared to be a premeditated move, at the end of the second period -- may have been the key to the series.
“He's more monotone, lays it on the line and says how he feels,” the coach continued. “For our group, as I stated before, he has that ability of being not only the voice of calm, but his play has demonstrated that he can take pressure situations and diffuse them with his skating ability.”
In the end, Niedermayer’s makeup, and skating ability, proved to be an ideal combination in delivering this Ducks’ squad the 2007 Stanley Cup and putting a Conn Smythe Trophy on the legendary defenseman’s already crowded mantle.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=318088

Ducks Stanley Cup Win: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=31068...ge&service=page

Anaheim Ducks Page: http://sports.excite.com/nhl/teams/anh/index.html

ANAHEIM DUCKS SIGN JEAN-SEBASTIEN GIGUERE
TO MULTI-YEAR CONTRACT EXTENSION:
Anaheim, Calif. –The Anaheim Ducks announced today that the National Hockey League (NHL) club has signed goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere to a multi-year contract extension. Per club policy, financial terms were not disclosed.
“J.S. Giguere has been an instrumental part of this franchise for the last six years,” said Ducks Executive Vice President/General Manager Brian Burke. “We view him as one of the top goaltenders in the NHL today, one with tremendous character and competitive fire, traits we value greatly in this organization.”
Giguere, 30 (5/16/77), led the Ducks to the 2007 Stanley Cup Championship, posting a 13-4 record in the playoffs. He appeared in 18 post-season games overall during the championship run, recording a 1.97 goals-against average (GAA) and .922 save percentage (SV%).
“I’m very excited to be staying with the Ducks,” said Giguere. “Orange County has been a great place for my family over the last six years, and we are grateful to the entire organization for the opportunity to stay here.”
A native of Montreal, Quebec, Giguere played in 56 regular season games in 2006-2007, posting a 36-10-8 record, 2.26 GAA and .918 SV%. His 36 wins set a new franchise record and career high, while his 10 regulation losses were the fewest of any NHL goaltender to play in 50+ games.
Giguere was acquired by Anaheim from Calgary in exchange for a second round pick in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft on June 10, 2000. He played in his first 21 playoff games in 2003, leading the Ducks to within one victory of the Stanley Cup title and winning the Conn Smythe Trophy (playoff MVP). He has the longest playoff overtime streak in NHL history, going the first 170:03 of his career without giving up a goal. The streak began on April 10, 2003 @ Detroit (Game 1 of Conference Quarterfinals) before finally being snapped on April 27, 2006 vs. Vancouver (Game 2 of Conference Semifinals).
http://www.anaheimducks.com/press/release/...=200604&id=1757


THE DUCKS WIN THE STANLEY CUP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Road woes for Ducks -- Throw out Anaheim’s 4-1 win over the Kings in London — a game in which the Ducks were considered the home team — and the defending Stanley Cup champs become a team that has not yet won a road game this season. Anaheim is 0-4-1 thus far in official road contests.
The Ducks’ next opportunity to walk away from an opposing rink with two points comes Tuesday in St. Louis. At 4-5-1 overall, the Ducks have looked like a shadow of the team that went 16-5 during last spring’s playoffs to win the Stanley Cup.
Anaheim is scoring just 2.30 times per game, 24th in the League. A year ago, the Ducks scored 3.10 times per game (ninth in the League).
Still, things are not so bleak in Anaheim, as the Ducks are just one point behind the division leading Stars. With Teemu Selanne and Scott Niedermayer waiting in the wings, all the Ducks need to do, it seems, is stay close.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=340939

Anaheim Ducks Article: http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=341630

Ducks' duo is so happy together
Shawn P. Roarke | NHL.com Senior Writer
Nov 27, 2007, 8:55 AM EST
No one ever will accuse Corey Perry or Ryan Getzlaf of being the touchy-feely type, so there should be no expectations of spontaneous “You complete me!” outbursts from either player.
But after more than three years, it has become abundantly clear that each Anaheim Duck forward is made more complete by the presence of the other.
“Obviously, when you find someone that plays a similar style as you do and plays the same roles as you do, you’re going to click a little bit,” Getzlaf said. “Leaving us together for the amount of time they have, allowing us to develop as a pair and learn each other’s tendencies, has also helped. And we’ve become good friends off the ice and that’s only going to contribute to chemistry on the ice.”
Perry feels pretty much the same way, suggesting he has almost a telepathic relationship with his good buddy.
“Well, I’ve played with Getzlaf for three years now,” Perry says. “We know where each other are on the ice. It was nice getting back with him. Playing with ‘Getzy’ is nice. It’s getting back to where we were last year and we kind of know where each other is going to be on the ice.”
Ever since the two strapping power forwards were selected nine picks apart in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft, the pair has appeared to be physically joined at the hip and mentally ready to finish each other’s thoughts.
The pair – wide-eyed and unsure of themselves – played on the same line at rookie camp and then were together at their first training camp, developing the roots of the strong bond they share today.
They signed their first pro contracts on the same day, Sept. 15, 2004. They also joined forces in 2005 to lead Canada to another gold medal at the World Junior Championships.
Getzlaf and Perry made their NHL debuts on the same day, Oct. 5, 2005, in a 5-3 win against Chicago. They were demoted to the team’s American Hockey League affiliate in Portland at the same time and they returned triumphantly later in the season, helping Anaheim make a run to the Western Conference Final.
Last season, they were the foundation of Anaheim’s second line as the Ducks capped an unforgettable season with a Stanley Cup Final triumph against the Ottawa Senators. Getzlaf had 17 points in that 21-game run; Perry 15.
This season, they sit one-two in the team scoring race after two months (Getzlaf has 10 goals and 15 assists in 22 games and Perry 12 goals and seven assists in 24 games), despite the fact that they spent part of the first month auditioning candidates to permanently fill the third forward position left vacant by the departure of fellow young gun Dustin Penner. It appears Chris Kunitz has laid claim to that role.
In essence, the two 22-year-olds have formed one of the most effective symbiotic relationships in the hockey universe. Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle would be a fool to try to break them up – not that Carlyle hasn’t made a considerable effort to do just that in the past.
The Ducks opened the season with Getzlaf on a line with newcomer Todd Bertuzzi and rookie Bobby Ryan. Bertuzzi now is on the flank of Andy MacDonald and Ryan has been sent to the minors.
“Well, you know, I think that with the way that we've put things together, historically, we always have tried to formulate a pairing and Getzlaf and Perry became a pair with our group right from the training camp and first rookie camp three years ago in San Jose,” Carlyle said. “And we tried to wander away from that a little bit to try to share some minutes and share some offensive power-play time and what-not. And we weren't getting the necessary results. We had chances on it, but we just weren't getting the necessary results, even in the preseason games. So we decided that we were going to go back to the Getzlaf/Perry combination.”
Now the dynamic duo is back together as the Ducks move forward from a series of player personnel losses in the off-season and eight-time-zone, five-game road trip to open the season that netted the club just three of a potential 10 points.
But the strong play of Getzlaf and Perry has made that early stumble nothing more than a memory. The club has gone 10-6-3 in its last 19 games and now sits just two points behind division-leading Dallas and just six points removed from the top spot in the conference.
Getzlaf, who was just rewarded with a long-term deal from the club, has 25 points in 22 games. Perry, meanwhile, has a team-best 12 goals and also has 19 points. Along the way, the perfect pairing has cured Carlyle of some of his need to tinker.
“The thing was, I guess you have to take the approach at times, too, that when you have to look back and say if it isn't broken, why would you try and fix it?” Carlyle said. “And maybe that was the case here. We were trying to fix it when we really didn't have to in that situation.
“But, again, our group has changed somewhat. The dynamics of our group has changed. And as a coach, it's your responsibility to try to find those quality minutes and that quality time for your offensive players. You have to give them an opportunity to have success. You've got to create line combinations. You have to create power-play units. All those things are things that you have to do. That's part of our mandate.”
Well, it appears there is no better way to foster opportunities for success in Anaheim than by leaving well enough alone, which means Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf will remain indivisible on the ice far into the future.
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=344596

Pacific: Red Wings will test Ducks Wednesday
Doug Ward | NHL.com correspondent
Jan 22, 2008, 10:00 AM EST
Anaheim has been among the NHL’s hottest teams lately, going from a club on the cusp of missing the postseason completely to one with a legitimate shot at becoming the first California team to win consecutive Stanley Cups.
After dropping a showdown for the Pacific Division lead to the Stars Sunday at Dallas, the Ducks return home for a Wednesday for an even bigger game when they meet Detroit in a contest that could foreshadow the Western Conference Finals.
When the Stars beat the Ducks, 5-2, Sunday afternoon, they not only snapped Anaheim’s six-game winning streak, but also took over first place in the Pacific Division. Dallas began the week with 60 points compared to the Ducks’ 61. The victory improved the Stars’ record in the season series against the defending Stanley Cup champions to 4-1-0.
Dallas has been able to match up with the Ducks by playing a physical style, essentially beating the defending champs at their own game. But with this week’s the Detroit matchup looming large, Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle preferred his team not dwell on the defeat. “This is one you just throw away,” Carlyle said after the game.
Instead, the Ducks will gear up for their showdown with the League’s overall point leader Wednesday in Anaheim. At 16-6-4, the Ducks boast the League’s second-best home record, while Detroit’s 16-6-2 road record is the League’s third-best.
Both teams have been playing well. Anaheim has gone 8-1-1 in its last 10 contests; Detroit has posted a 6-3-1 record during that same span.
Offensive production represents the biggest difference between the two clubs. Detroit is tied for the NHL lead at 3.35 goals per contest, while Anaheim is scoring just 2.53 goals per game to rank 24th in the league.
Johnson won’t accept losing -- With Anze Kopitar, Dustin Brown, Mike Cammalleri, and Jack Johnson, the Kings have some of the brightest young talent in the NHL. At 19-28-2, they also have a league-worst 40 points.
Someday, perhaps, those young players will look back on this trying season and realize how much better they are for having gone through it.
Maybe, but if they do, Johnson won’t be among them.
“I think a lot of people try to justify losing,” Johnson said. “I don’t think you need to lose in order to win. I think losing stinks. Flat out, period. There’s no need for it. There’s nothing wrong with winning all the time. I don’t believe that you have to learn from losing before you can win. I think you need to have the mentality that winning is everything.”
The Niedermayer way -- Scott Niedermayer says he’s not particularly proud of missing the Ducks’ first 34 games while pondering retirement.
“I didn’t think it was right for me to do what I did,” Niedermayer said. “I thought I was done in the summer, but I just gradually changed my mind.”
Niedermayer’s way might turn out to be the right way. A little guilt seems a small price to pay for a rejuvenated body and reinvigorated psyche.
“That feeling I had just got stronger and stronger that I should be here,” the 34-year-old Niedermayer said.
It’s hard to blame Niedermayer, given that the veteran’s absence from training camp and the season’s first two-and-a-half months appears to have resulted in the best possible outcome for all involved. Besides, sometimes you don’t know the right decision until you know.
Since his slow epiphany, the Ducks have gone 12-3-2 and looked like they are capable of becoming the first team to win back-to-back Stanley Cups since Detroit in 1997 and 1998. A short off-season is typically one of the reasons for a Stanley Cup pratfall, and Niedermayer’s sojourn effectively removed that destructive element from the equation as he prepared to help the Ducks defend their title.
Teemu Selanne, operating on a similar plan, is believed to be close to make a decision on whether or not to rejoin his teammates on the ice.
In the NHL, where imitation has long been the sincerest from of flattery, you can’t help but wonder if the notion of veterans skipping out on early season games will be viewed as the elixir that cures the Stanley Cup hangover.
Young Star -- At 20, Anze Kopitar of the Kings will be the youngest player in the upcoming All-Star game. But after a year-and-a-half in the NHL, Kopitar is feeling like he’s not that young anymore. “I’m still 20-years-old,” he said, “but I’m not a rookie anymore. I don’t really feel like a young player.”
Rumor mill -- San Jose’s Patrick Marleau is rumored to be on the trading block, with Boston and the New York Rangers among the teams interested. … The second tour of duty in Los Angeles for Rob Blake could be winding down. Blake is in final season of a two-year contract, and Detroit or Ottawa are possible trade deadline destinations for the 38-year-old defenseman. The Kings also appear willing to part with Brad Stuart and Ladislav Nagy. … Anaheim’s Samuel Pahlsson, sidelined since before Christmas with an abdominal injury, does not expect to rejoin the Ducks until after the All-Star game.
Who’s hot -- Ryan Getzlaf has been instrumental in the Ducks’ recent surge, picking up eight points (2 goals, 6 assists) in his last four games. Getzlaf is in the midst of a career-best 14-game point-scoring streak that is also the NHL’s longest currently running such streak. Teammate Corey Perry has four points (1 goals, 3 assists) in his last two games. Defenseman Mathieu Schneider, meanwhile, has three assists in his last two games. Anaheim backup goaltender Jonas Hiller is 2-0 in his last two stars, posting a 1.50 goals-against average with a .938 save percentage. … Peter Mueller of the Coyotes has six points (2 goals, 4 assists) in his last three games.
Who’s not -- Rob Niedermayer’s scoreless streak has now reached 24 games. Anaheim teammate Brian Sutherby has not scored in 11 contests. … Phoenix defensemen Derek Morris and Keith Ballard are both scoreless in four games. … Jaroslav Modry of the Kings has not scored in 12 games. … Los Angeles goaltender Jean-Sebastien Aubin has struggled in his last three appearances, posting a 4.82 GAA and .795 save percentage.
The week ahead -- The Ducks are in the midst of playing 12-of-13 games away from Honda Center, and their one home contest during that period comes Wednesday, and it’s a big one. The defending Stanley Cup champs will host the NHL’s overall point leader when the Red Wings visit Anaheim. The Ducks then hit the road again for nine consecutive games away from home. Division-leading Dallas looks to extend its modest three-game winning streak by hosting Columbus (Tue.) and Buffalo (Thu.). The Kings’ quest to climb out of the NHL’s cellar won’t get any easier this week: they play host to Detroit, and defending Stanley Cup champion Anaheim. Phoenix wraps up a five-game homestand by hosting Nashville Thursday. The Sharks hope to snap a four-game losing streak — including two in a row at home — when they host Chicago Tuesday.
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Teemu has Ducks quacking in tune
Brian Compton | NHL.com Staff Writer
Feb 13, 2008, 9:13 AM EST
Teemu Gets No. 1 – He may not be the same player he was all those years ago in Winnipeg, but it can’t be mere coincidence that the Anaheim Ducks haven’t lost since Teemu Selanne returned, can it?
Selanne scored his first goal of the season on Tuesday night, as the defending champs won their fifth straight in a 2-1 victory over the Colorado Avalanche at the Pepsi Center.
Selanne’s goal came in the second period, as he jammed home a rebound in front on the power play to erase a 1-0 deficit.
''I'm not 100 percent,'' said Selanne, who signed a one-year deal with the team Jan. 28. ''I have to be patient. There's still a price to pay, but it's getting better. It's like training camp.''
After starting a nine-game road trip with an 0-3-1 record, Selanne and the Ducks finished the trip with five consecutive victories. They’ll play at the Honda Center for the first time since Jan. 23 on Friday night against the Dallas Stars, in the first of a seven-game homestand.
''Unbelievable road trip,'' Selanne said. ''You don't see that very often. We finished up very strong. We won the last five; that's a good sign.''
http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&p...rticleid=353309