1. Detroit 2 - 1 Anaheim
2. Detroit 3 - 4 Anaheim OT
3. Detroit 5 - 0 Anaheim
4. Detroit 3 - 5 Anaheim
5. Detroit 1 - 2 Anaheim OT
6. Detroit 3 - 4 Anaheim
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) -- Postseason underachievers no more, Daniel Alfredsson and the Ottawa Senators are in the Stanley Cup finals for the first time.
The Senators captain scored 9:32 into overtime to seal a 3-2 win over the top-seeded Buffalo Sabres, sealing the Eastern Conference finals in five games on Saturday.
The Senators rallied from a 1-0 deficit and rebounded after Maxim Afinogenov forced overtime with a power-play goal with 9 minutes left in regulation.
Dany Heatley had a goal and two assists, and Jason Spezza also scored for the new and very improved Senators that had known only frustration in nine previous postseason appearances.
Leave it to Alfredsson, the player who has appeared in all of the franchise's 94 playoff games to finally push them through. Accepting Heatley's pass on the fly, Alfredsson broke over the blue line. He used Sabres defender Brian Campbell as a screen, and had his shot sneak inside the right post.
Ottawa will now wait to face Anaheim or Detroit, and will start that series on the road. The Western final series is tied at 2, with Game 5 at Detroit on Sunday.
The Presidents' Trophy-winning Sabres were knocked out in the semifinals for the second straight year.
Jochen Hecht also scored for Buffalo and Daniel Briere had two assists as the Sabres squandered a 1-0 lead and lost their third straight home game, falling well short of their championship objective.
The Senators, improved to 12-3 this postseason, by rallying to win for the second time this series, and bounced back from a 3-2 loss at Ottawa on Wednesday. The Senators won their fourth consecutive road game, including Game 2 at Buffalo in which they overcame a 2-0 hole to pull out a 4-3 double-overtime victory.
Ottawa appeared to take control when Heatley and Spezza scored 4:20 apart late in the second period, with Spezza's goal coming with 39 seconds remaining. But the Sabres found renewed life when Afinogenov tapped in a rebound.
The Senators, however, took over again and had the better chances down the stretch.
Antoine Vermette, on a short-handed breakaway, had Ryan Miller beat, but his shot hit the right post.
Miller then made a remarkable save 3 minutes into overtime, diving across and just getting the paddle of his stick on a shot by Spezza, set up by Alfredsson at the left post. Spezza was already raising his arms in celebration before realizing Miller made the save.
The Sabres failed to get a lift after co-captain Chris Drury returned 2 minutes into overtime after being struck in the jaw and bloodied by teammate Tim Connolly's point shot midway through the third period.
Drury returned 2 minutes into overtime, wearing a plastic guard across his chin.
After a scoreless first period, the Sabres struck first when Hecht scored from in close, after goalie Ray Emery misplayed the puck behind his own net.
The Senators are the third straight Canadian team to reach the finals, after nine years without one, and are attempting to bring the Cup back north of the border for the first time since Montreal won it in 1993.
It also marked a special win for Ottawa coach Bryan Murray. After becoming only the fifth to win 600 games earlier this season, Murray will coach in the Cup finals for the first time.
Buffalo lost Game 7 of the East finals to eventual champion Carolina last year. This defeat was more disappointing considering the team returned mostly intact, proudly announced its Stanley Cup objective in September, and further raised expectations after leading the NHL with 53 wins and 308 goals.
The Sabres also face an uncertain summer with Drury and Briere eligible to become unrestricted free agents.
Notes
Sabres RW Dainius Zubrus didn't play because of a lower body injury, which limited him to 4 minutes in Game 4. Drew Stafford replaced Zubrus, returning after being a healthy scratch for 6 games. ... Senators RW Patrick Eaves returned after missing 11 games with a head injury. He replaced Oleg Saprykin, who scored the winner in Game 1 of the series. ... Sabres D Campbell played 10:07 during the first period as the Sabres went mostly with four defenseman for the second straight game. ... Murray has reached the Cup finals twice as a general manager, with Anaheim in 2003 and Florida in 1996.
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Jiggy and the Anaheim Ducks held off the Detroit Red Wings to earn a second trip to the Stanley Cup finals.
Jean-Sebastien 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 Detroit goalie Dominik 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, meet in Game 1 Monday night in Anaheim.
Giguere finished with 26 saves. Hasek had 25.
The Red Wings outshot the Ducks 16-3 in the third period and got one goal from Henrik Zetterberg and two -- both on power plays -- from Pavel Datsyuk, the last with 3:04 remaining.
The Ducks played for the Stanley Cup in 2003, when New Jersey defeated them in Game 7. 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. 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. The coach in 2003, Mike Babcock, is now the Detroit coach, and Randy Carlyle is the Ducks' coach.
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.
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 teams split the opening two games in Detroit and the next two in Anaheim. The Ducks took a 2-1 victory in Game 5 in Detroit after Scott Niedermayer tied it with a goal with 48 seconds left in regulation, and Teemu Selanne won it with his goal in overtime.
The Red Wings last played in the Stanley Cup finals in 2002, when they defeated Carolina. The following season, the Ducks swept the Red Wings in the opening round of the playoffs.
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. ... Anaheim's 36 playoff wins since the start of the 2003 postseason are the most of any team.
OTTAWA (AP) -- Daniel Alfredsson and the Ottawa Senators jumped back into the Stanley Cup finals with a little luck and a lot of anger.
Anaheim Ducks defenseman Chris Pronger supplied both.
Alfredsson broke out of a scoring slump with the help of the replay booth, and Pronger deflected the go-ahead goal into his own net during Ottawa's three-goal second period, giving the Senators a 5-3 victory Saturday night.
That was enough to cut Anaheim's series lead to 2-1 and ensure the Senators another trip to Southern California. They can get even with the Ducks in Game 4 on Monday.
Whether Pronger will play is also under review. He leveled Dean McAmmond with a forearm shot to the head early in the third period, that left McAmmond flat on his back, and could face his second suspension of the playoffs.
"Hopefully they call something on it," forward Chris Neil said. "We had to go out and play hard for Dino. We did that and showed them we're a competitive team."
The Senators got scoring from all lines and looked more like the team that lost only three times in three playoff rounds instead of the club that appeared overmatched in dropping two straight one-goal decisions in Anaheim.
Alfredsson had been searching for a break during a frustrating two-plus games against the Ducks' checking line of Samuel Pahlsson, Travis Moen and Rob Niedermayer. He got it when Wade Redden's shot from the left point hit the Senators captain in the left skate as he charged the net, and slid past goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere to tie it 3-3 with 3:46 left in the second.
Referee Dan O'Halloran immediately waved off the power-play goal before going to the phone at the scorer's table. The news that Alfredsson didn't use a distinict kicking motion on the puck got to the Senators bench before the ruling was announced, and coach Bryan Murray happily shook his fist.
"I was confident it was going to be a goal. At the same time, you never know," said Alfredsson, who leads the NHL with 11 playoff goals and has appeared in all 97 postseason games the Senators have played since being reborn 1992.
The Ducks had won five straight since falling behind 2-1 to Detroit in the Western Conference finals. They are 0-5 in road Cup finals games in two appearances, 5-0 at home.
"Amazingly enough, as poorly as I thought we played in the game, we still had a chance," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said.
Anaheim Ducks right wing Corey Perry scores past Ottawa Senators goalie Ray Emery, right, during the second period in Game 3 of the NHL Stanley Cup final hockey game in Ottawa, Canada, Saturday, June 2, 2007. The Ottawa Senators won, 5-3. The Ducks leading the best-of-seven games series, 2-1.
Anaheim slipped back into its undisciplined mode and gave Ottawa seven power-play chances, including four in the third period when the Ducks were trying to catch up.
"You take four straight penalties and allow them to continue to press forward and get chance after chance," Pronger said. "We've got to come and re-evaluate and make sure we're disciplined in Game 4."
Ottawa, which managed only two power-play goals in the first two games, took its first lead since the opener on Pronger's gaffe. That was enough to give this Senators franchise its first win in the finals.
The boisterous crowd of red-clad fans was still buzzing about Alfredsson's goal when McAmmond blindly slung the puck behind his back toward the crease. Pronger hit it and couldn't sweep it away before it found the open right side at 18:34.
"I'm in the right spot and it just bounced off me," Pronger said. "It's not the first time it's happened. It certainly won't be the last. But it certainly wasn't a good situation."
Giguere angrily kicked the puck away in his worst performance of the playoffs. He hadn't allowed more than three goals in 15 previous appearances and finished with 24 saves.
Neil and Mike Fisher also scored for the Senators, who erased three one-goal deficits in the first Stanley Cup finals contest in Canada's capital in 80 years. Anton Volchenkov made it 5-3 at 8:22 of the third.
Ottawa's Ray Emery wasn't as sharp as in Anaheim, but protected the one-goal lead just over four minutes into the third when he stopped Todd Marchant's shot, then smacked the rebound away with his stick before it could bound into the net.
He finished with 19 saves.
For at least one night, Ottawa's top line of Alfredsson, Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza, avoided repeated questions about their lack of goal-scoring. Taking advantage of the last line change at home, Murray worked to get the trio away from Anaheim's checkers, who scored the winning goal in the first two games.
"Every line played real well," Alfredsson said. "As a team we needed to have a good effort. Every line had a goal ... if you do that you'll be successful."
Although these teams didn't meet during the regular season, they've found animosity. Tempers really rose in the third period when Pronger dropped McAmmond.
McAmmond fell backward and struck his head. He was attended to by the Senators medical staff before being helped to the dressing room. He was diagnosed with a head injury and didn't return, leaving him questionable for Game 5.
"I was just stepping up and finishing my check and I don't really know what happened after that," Pronger said.
The 6-foot-6 defenseman, who wasn't penalized, received a one-game ban for a hit on Detroit's Tomas Holmstrom in Game 3 -- Anaheim's previous loss. He could get another.
"It's not for me to decide what happens, but it was an elbow to the head," Murray said.
When Neil was drilled in front of the benches soon after, a full-force scrum broke out. Fisher sat on top of Ryan Getzlaf, while Anaheim's Dustin Penner held down Peter Schaefer. Anaheim's entire kid line of Penner, Getzlaf and Corey Perry went to the penalty box for roughing.
They also supplied the bulk of the Ducks' offense.
Perry gave Anaheim a 2-1 lead in the second period with his fifth of the playoffs at 5:20, but Fisher tied it 27 seconds later.
Andy McDonald staked the Ducks to their first advantage off a pretty power-play setup by Teemu Selanne 5:39 into the game. Ottawa wiped that out with 3:50 left in the first period on Neil's second of the playoffs.
It was the Senators' first even-strength goal of the series and snapped a scoring drought of 111 minutes, 34 seconds -- dating to the second period of Game 1.
Notes
Spezza briefly wore the jersey of scratched teammate Patrick Eaves in the penalty box. He switched to his own upon returning to the bench. ... Neil became a father of a girl Friday.
isshhhhh..akughi ni.... oobi kat sini sebenarnya sibuk dengan kerja, rasanya 24 jam tak cukup untuk satu hari...tidur pun tak cukup sekarang ni. memang sekarang jarang lepak kat mana-mana thread borak. masuk forum reply and komen mana yang patut, hantar news, that's it. nak sambung hantar news...
OTTAWA (AP) -- Chris Pronger didn't want to talk about his check that knocked out Ottawa's Dean McAmmond. And the Anaheim Ducks' stalwart defenseman wasn't in the mood to discuss the pass that glanced off his skate and into his own net.
All in all, the Ducks' 5-3 loss Saturday in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup finals was not Pronger's finest moment.
"They took a page out of our book from the last couple of games and continued to bang away," said Pronger, the 2000 Norris Trophy winner and perennial All-Star. "We've got to come and re-evaluate and make sure we're disciplined in Game 4."
The loss snapped the Ducks five-game playoff win streak and gave the Senators life, cutting Anaheim's lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series that resumes at Ottawa on Monday.
What's doubly worrisome is Pronger's hit -- he elbowed McAmmond across the side of the head two minutes into the third period -- might have not only charged up the Senators in a game that became extremely chippy, but could also lead to a potential suspension from the NHL.
"I don't know," Pronger said, when asked if he might face disciplinary action, even though he wasn't penalized for the hit. "I was just stepping up and finishing my check and I don't really know what happened after that."
It happened in front of the Ducks net and just after McAmmond got off a shot from slot. As McAmmond skated past Pronger, the defenseman got his elbow up and smacked the Senators player across the face.
McAmmond was sent flying to the ice and slid head first into the corner, where he lay unconscious for several minutes. McAmmond was helped off the ice and did not return.
Senators coach Bryan Murray said McAmmond "came around" after the game, but his status is uncertain for Game 4.
The Ducks suddenly find themselves in a position to have to rebound after a sloppy and undisciplined performance.
Besides squandering three one-goal leads, the Ducks committed 17 turnovers, took 12 penalties to Ottawa's eight, and allowed the Senators 29 shots -- seven fewer than they managed in the first two games of the series.
"They outworked us, simple as that," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said. "We have to take responsibility for our actions. And we played nowhere near to our capabilities."
Didn't help that a couple of bounces also went against Anaheim.
Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson tied the game at 3 with 3:46 left in the second period when a bouncing puck caromed in off his skate at the right post. Referee Dan O'Halloran immediately waved off the goal, but his ruling was overturned following a video review.
Two minutes later, Pronger could only stand helplessly in front of the net and watch McAmmond's centering pass glance in off his skate and in for the go-ahead goal.
"Yeah, I can't worry about that. Those are positional things," Pronger said. "I'm in the right spot and it just bounced off me. It's not the first time it's happened. It certainly won't be the last. But it certainly wasn't a good situation."
The Ducks blamed themselves in failing to build off two one-goal wins at Anaheim, while also squandering an opportunity to inch within a win of claiming their first Stanley Cup.
"Yeah, we're responsible," captain Scott Niedermayer said. "I think there's things we can correct, we could be better at. That has to be our focus now going into Game 4."
The Ducks lost top-line forward Chris Kunitz, who hurt his left leg in his first game back since missing three weeks with a broken bone in his right hand. Kunitz was hurt after an open-ice check on McAmmond early in the second period and did not return.
Carlyle declined to provide an update on Kunitz's status.
OTTAWA, ON - JUNE 02: Scott Niedermayer #27 of the Anaheim Ducks gets tripped up by Dany Heatley #15 of the Ottawa Senators during Game Three of the 2007 Stanley Cup finals on June 2, 2007 at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Canada. The Senators won the game 5-3. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
OTTAWA, ON - JUNE 02: Tom Preissing #42 of the Ottawa Senators collides into the boards next to Corey Perry #10 of the Anaheim Ducks during Game Three of the 2007 Stanley Cup finals on June 2, 2007 at Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Canada. The Senators won the game 5-3. (Photo by Jeff Gross/Getty Images)
sakit hatiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii sens kalah tadi!!!!!!
main camdoh je after the 1st period
and a few time i felt like KILLING emery
pastu passing pon ntah hape2
asyik miss
and alfredsson shouldnt've shot the puck at niedermayer time 2nd period tu.just plain stupid
geram...and i dont feel like they're gonna win the 5th game in anaheim
kesimpulannya they're pretty much goners....
but well anything can happen
i'm just hoping for the best
kalau kalah pon,at least they made it to the finals la.....
*when was the last time sens won the cup anyway....?*
haihh...masih sakit hati nih....very disappointed....
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The Anaheim Ducks aren't called mighty anymore. Now they can simply answer to Stanley Cup champions.
The 14-year-old Ducks captured their first 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 resides in California and at the expense of Canada, which hasn't boasted a winner since Montreal in 1993. Calgary, Edmonton and now Ottawa -- in its first trip since the Senators were reborn in 1992 -- each had a chance the past three seasons only to be done in by a U.S. club from the sun belt.
Tampa Bay, Carolina and Anaheim aren't exactly 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 with their second trip to the finals.
No longer Disney's darlings, the Mighty Ducks' movie days are gone. A victory rally awaits them Saturday night.
Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer won the Cup for the fourth time, and brought his brother Rob and teammates Teemu Selanne and Chris Pronger along for the ride for their first. Rob Niedermayer is one of three Ducks left from the losing side in 2003 when Scott Niedermayer and the New Jersey Devils captured their third title in Game 7.
Only Anaheim goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere had something to smile about that year when he was given the Conn Smythe Trophy, awarded to the playoffs MVP. This win 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 penalty shot in the third.
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, one of the reasons he left New Jersey for Anaheim before last season.
"That was something I'll never forget," Scott said. "You can't even dream that stuff. It doesn't get any better."
The 36-year-old Selanne waited 14 seasons to become a champion. After leading the Ducks in scoring this season, he capped off the year with a title. 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."
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.
"What an unbelievable feeling. I've been waiting a long time," Selanne said. "What an ending. ... There were some times when I never thought this would happen."
Asked if this was the end of his career, Selanne said, "I don't know."
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 in the frame. 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 that sat in a crate offstage.
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 when they dropped the mighty from their name but not from their game. In the building formerly known as the Pond, Anaheim is 6-0 during the finals.
In the middle of the third period, 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 leading the NHL in playoff scoring.
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.
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 by Moen, 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 against Calgary.
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 slap 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, showing some of the nerves he displayed in the series-opening loss. He allowed all six goals on 18 shots.
Notes
The Niedermayers are the first brothers since Brent and Duane Sutter of the Islanders in 1983 to win the Cup as teammates. ... Scott Niedermayer was the only Anaheim player to have won the Cup previously. ... Ottawa C Dean McAmmond missed his second straight game because of a concussion caused by Pronger's elbow to the head that led to his suspension in Game 4.
still frust sens kalah.......dahla main pon mcm ta*k
:@
vermette camne leh missed the penalty shot...haiyer.........takpe he's still my sweetheart hehehe
emery....halfway through mcm hilang akal,tak reti jaga goal
yg lain2 tu....defend still tah pape...IMO....
ugh....
papepon ducks mmg deserve to win....tp mcm siot jek takyah le nak godam sampai 6-2...haiya...
Originally posted by sharingan86 at 7-6-2007 07:46 PM
papepon ducks mmg deserve to win....tp mcm siot jek takyah le nak godam sampai 6-2...haiya......
they have to be sure that sens won't come back. sens came back in game 3 by scoring 5 goals. so, by scoring six, at least the ducks have a goal advantage if sens got to 5.
yea but still the 6th goal tu pon dekat nak abis time dah..lek2 ah.....cis.....time bebudak sens ni balik sini semua muka down gile jek...except for neil sbb happy he's coming back to his newborn baby kot hehe..so cute...
papepon...ottawa sens skills and accuracy competition,somewhere end of this year,kena pegi best siot