The Anaheim Ducks win the Stanley Cup, bringing it to California for
the first time.

Anaheim 6, Ottawa 2


By IRA PODELL, AP Sports Writer
June 7, 2007





ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- 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."

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.


Updated on Thursday, Jun 7, 2007 12:47 am EDT





Gaffe by Phillips costly to Senators

By JOHN NADEL, AP Sports Writer
June 6, 2007




ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Chris Phillips wore a pained expression as he
removed his pads, then sighed as he slowly took off his socks.

It's tough losing, especially when you commit the most egregious
error of the Stanley Cup finals.

"Now I know how Steve Smith feels," Phillips said, referring to the
former Edmonton Oilers defenseman who inadvertently shot the puck
into his own goal in Game 7 of the 1986 quarterfinals against Calgary
to snap a tie.

A pass by Phillips went off the skates of Ottawa goalie Ray Emery and
into his own net to give Anaheim a two-goal lead late in the second
period, and the Ducks went on to beat the Senators 6-2 on Wednesday
night to win the best-of-seven series in five games.

The 29-year-old Phillips, a member of the Senators since 1997,
brought the puck out from behind the left side of the net, but Emery
was slow getting back in the crease and Phillips' pass went in off
the goalie's skates.


A few minutes earlier, Phillips barely missed getting his first point
of the postseason when his potential tying shot deflected off a
teammate before hitting the right post.

"It has happened 100 times," Phillips said. "I pulled the puck out to
go the other way, it just got caught in his feet."

Emery never saw the puck, apparently thinking it was on Phillips'
stick. Visibly shaken, Phillips skated back to the Ottawa bench with
the Honda Center crowd roaring. Travis Moen got credit for a goal he
had nothing to do with and the Ducks led 3-1.

"I felt bad, obviously a mistake, not something I was trying to do,
that's for sure," Phillips said. "We had a great 10 minutes or so in
the second period until my screwup seemed to take a lot of the
momentum away."

Emery defended his teammate, saying: "It's not his fault. We lost 6-
2. It's not just that play. I saw Philly looking at my feet, I
assumed the puck was at my feet. The crowd roared."

And with that, Emery realized exactly where the puck was.

"We were capable of winning against that team. We didn't play our
game," Emery said. "I didn't play as well as I wanted to, or could
have."

Anaheim stretched the lead to 5-2 early in the third before Ottawa's
Antoine Vermette missed a penalty shot. That sort of summed things up
for the Senators, and assured the Ducks of their first NHL
championship.

Thus, the Senators' quest for their first Stanley Cup in 80 years
came to a decisive end with their most lopsided loss of the
postseason. Each of their previous six losses in the postseason was
by one goal including three to Anaheim.




Ottawa lost only one game in each of its three series against Eastern
Conference opponents, but the Senators were no match for the bigger,
more physical Ducks.

The Senators won 11 Stanley Cups between 1890 and 1934. They returned
to the NHL as an expansion team before the 1992-93 season, and
reached the finals this year for the first time since their return.

The Senators hoped to become just the second of 29 teams to come back
from a 3-1 deficit in the finals, joining the 1942 Toronto Maple
Leafs, who trailed 3-0 before beating the Detroit Red Wings.

The first bit of bad news for Ottawa came with the announcement that
center Dean McAmmond was scratched following the pregame skate.
McAmmond, who had five goals and three assists in 18 postseason
games, didn't play after being elbowed in the head by Anaheim
defenseman Chris Pronger in the third period of Game 3.

Pronger was suspended for Game 4 by the NHL, but returned Wednesday
night.

Then, the Senators were penalized twice in the first 3 1/2 minutes,
and paid the price when Andy McDonald's goal just as Ottawa's first
penalty expired put the Ducks ahead for good.

The line of Dany Heatley (50), Jason Spezza (34) and Daniel
Alfredsson (29) combined for 113 goals during the regular season and
23 in the first three playoff series. Alfredsson had four goals
against the Ducks. including both scores Wednesday night, but Heatley
had only one and Spezza none.

"Right now, it's pretty disappointing," Heatley said. "They played
well. I don't think we played the way we can play. They did a really
good job, especially with their checking line and their defense. I
think we're better than that offensively."

The Senators beat the Ducks 5-3 in Game 3, but scored six goals in
the four losses.



Updated on Wednesday, Jun 6, 2007 11:51 pm EDT