GAME RECAPS

 

ANA WINS 4-1 GAME 1  |  GAME 2  |  GAME 3  |  GAME 4  |  GAME 5

GAME 1: ANA 3 OTT 2
The Stanley Cup Finals returned to Anaheim for the second time Monday night.

Ottawa's Mike Fisher started the scoring off at 1:38 of the first on the power play with his fourth goal of the postseason, on a puck that fluttered over the head of Jean-Sebastian Giguere.

The Ducks tied it up at 10:55 with a goal by Andy McDonald with his sixth goal of the postseason. Drew Miller created the scoring chance when he made a hit that set the puck free for Teemu Selanne to feed Andy McDonald on the first Ducks goal. Miller, making only his second appearance in an NHL game (both postseason), is the brother of Buffalo Sabre goaltender Ryan Miller.

The first half of the first period was dominated by Ottawa, but the Ducks ruled the second half of the first period with a couple of scoring chances by the Ducks fourth line of Shawn Thornton, Todd Marchant, and Brad May. May and crew kept the puck in the Senators zone for a full minute at one point, with an array of hits and crushing checks courtesy the Ducks.

The second period was controlled by the Sens, who managed ten shots after shooting only three times in the first period. They scored an early power play goal by Wade Redden at 4:36, a huge blast from the slot that also took a strange aerial pattern and beat Giguere over his right shoulder. The third period was ruled by the Ducks, who outshot the Senators 14-7. Corey Perry started off the action with a backhanded feed to linemate Ryan Getzlaf, who backhanded the puck past Ray Emery at 5:44 of the third period. Getzlaf has had success on at least three occasions with the backhand this postseason.

The game winning goal came from Travis Moen, one of the members of the Ducks shutdown line, at 17:09 of the third period to win the game for the Ducks. The Ducks shutdown line of Sammy Pahlsson, Travis Moen, and Rob Niedermayer dominated Ottawa’s first line of Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza, and Dany Heatley, allowing them to take only five shots in the whole game, while registering twelve of their own. Ducks: 32 shots; Senators, 20.

GAME 2: ANA 1 OTT 0
Sammy Pahlsson scored with 5:42 remaining to lift the Ducks to victory at Honda Center Wednesday night.  On the play, an unassisted, even-strength tally, Pahlsson stole the puck from Dany Heatley and wristed an impeccable shot through Joe Corvo's legs and over Ray Emery's stick side for the winner. 

It marked the second time in as many games that the Ducks' checking line dominated the Spezza/Heatley/Alfredsson line, Ottawa's best.  In game two, the Ducks' shutdown line of Travis Moen, Rob Niedermayer and Pahlsson registered eight shots on net to the Sens' top line's six. 

The Ducks successfully killed a 5-on-3 power play which proved pivotal.  The Ducks outshot the Sens 31-16 on the night, raising the total for the series to 63-36 in favor of Anaheim.  Jean-Sebastian Giguere made some key stops, including during the last couple of minutes.  In the final two minutes, Travis Moen and Sean O'Donnell blocked and deflected, repectively, what could have been game tying goals.  

Ray Emery made some tremendous saves but his club couldn't get the puck past Giguere in support of his efforts.  Both clubs were 0-4 with the man advantage.  Mike Fisher of the Senators proved to be a force for the Sens with tenacious play.  The Senators came out early and began looking for big hits, trying to even the physical aspect of the battle.  In the end, it was as in game one, the Senators scratching their heads about their now-absent offense. 

Teemu Selanne hit a post, Mike Comrie missed an open net; both clubs had chances to take command, but it wasn't until Pahlsson's tally late that the goal line was breached. 

GAME 3 OTT 5 ANA 3

The Ottawa Senators came out strong in Scotiabank Place Saturday night.

The Ducks opened the scoring on a power play goal by Andy McDonald at 5:39 on the power play. The next goal came from Chris Neil even strength at 16:10. The Ducks sophomore Corey Perry scored the next goal at 5:20 of the second period. Mike Fisher of Ottawa tied it up 2-2 only 27 seconds later when the Ducks had only four players out on the ice out while it was 5-5 hockey.

Ryan Getzlaf gave the Ducks the lead once again at 7:38, banging home a Dustin Penner feed after a great play by Perry. The controversy started at 16:14 when Daniel Alfredsson used his foot to score on the power play. After minutes of reviewing the play, the referees signaled that the goal was not a distinctive kicking motion, despite the fact that the referee had clearly waived off the goal at the moment the shot went in off of Alfredsson’s skate.

Dean Mcammond scored at 18:34 even strength on a shot that went off defenseman Chris Pronger’s stick. Anton Volchenkov scored at 8:22 of the third, sealing the game for Ottawa. The Ducks were 1-4 and the Senators were 1-7 on the power play. Ottawa out shot the Ducks 29 to 22. The Ducks took too many penalties in the third period, thus killing their chances of winning (the club ended up with 12; Ottawa, 8).

At 2:55 of the third, Corey Perry, Dustin Penner, and Ryan Getzlaf got into a melee with Chris Neil, Mike Fisher and Peter Schaefer; all six players hrowing punches.

Chris Kunitz returned to the lineup tonight after a hand injury put him on the shelf for weeks, but but left in the third period due to a “lower body” injury. Ottawa and Anaheim will play again on Monday in Ottawa.

The hockey world awaits word from the NHL as to whether Ducks’ defenseman Chris Pronger will face any disciplinary action as a result of his unpenalized hit to McAmmond early in the third period.

GAME 4: ANA 3 OTT 2

At 4:07 of the third period, Dustin Penner scored on a brilliant feed from a streaking Teemu Selanne and the Ducks took a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series Monday night in Ottawa.

The Ottawa Senators and the Anaheim Ducks faced each other in Ottawa in game 4 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Ottawa dominated the first period with tallying 13 shots, but they were able to score only one goal; this was thanks to great goaltending from J. S. Giguere as the Ducks were outshot, 13-2 in the first period.

The first goal came from the Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson on the power play at 19:59 of the first period when Alfredsson fit a quick missile between Giguere's stick side and the post.  Ryan Getzlaf had been penalized on a questionable goaltender interference call, that most observers saw as a dive on Ray Emery's part. But the Senators deservedly led by one after one.

Andy McDonald's speed and savvy came to the fore as he scored two even strength goals in the span of one minute, first tying the score at 10:06 of the second period. Again even strength exactly one minute later.  On the second goal, he traversed the goal crease, beat Andrej Meszaros and patiently waited for the right moment to shoot before lifting the puck into a gaping net, turning the game at 2-1 Ducks. 

With Chris Pronger suspended, Francois Beauchemin saw 31:40 and Scott Niedermayer hauled 29:23 of ice time.  Sean O'Donnell played a responsible game, as did Kent Huskins.  Joe DiPenta, who saw a great deal of action in the regular season and little in the post, saw 11:10 on the night, with Ric Jackman just over six minutes. 

Dany Heatley put Ottawa back in the game at 18:00 of the second.

At the end of the second, Ottawa captain Alfredsson, on a puck clear, chose to change direction and launch a clearing shot deliberately at Duck captain Scott Niedermayer.  Alfredsson was not penalized on the play, nor was he when he threw a punch at Travis Moen during the ensuing melee.   Niedermayer challenged Alfredsson, but no fight materialized. 

The game winning goal came from the Ducks rookie winger Dustin Penner with a beautiful feed from the Finnish Flash Teemu Selanne at 4:07. The Ducks took some unnecessary penalties in the first, but thanks to a stellar performance from J. S. Giguere the Ducks stayed in the game. Ryan Carter and Joe Motzko played limited minutes.

Shots: Senators 23, Ducks 21.  The Ducks outshot the Senators, 19-10 through the last two periods.

--Gaby Martinez, J.B.

FINALLY, TO CAP OFF THE SEASON, GABY HAS THE LAST WORD...

GAME 5: ANA 6 OTT 2
The Ducks won game 5 6-2 and are now the 2006-2007 Stanley Cup Champions. They are the first team in California win the Stanley Cup. Andy McDonald scored the first goal at 3:41 on the power play. Rob Niedermayer scored the second goal at 17:41. Daniel Alfredsson score twice at 11:27 and 17:38 of the second. Travis Moen scored at 15:44 of the second and once again at 4:01 of the third. Francois Beauchemin scored at 18:28 of the second on the power play. The last goal came from the stellar sophomore Corey Perry at 17:00 of the third.

Ottawa was 0-3 and Anaheim was 2-6 on the power play. Corey Perry, Ryan Getzlaf, Sammy Pahlsson, Scott Niedermayer, and Chris Pronger each had 1 assist. Scott Niedermayer, 4-time Stanley Cup Champion, was the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, THE DUCKS ARE THE STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS!!!

PREVIOUS ROUNDS:

Round One                 Round Two              Round Three

MORE CUP FINALS STUFF:

NEW DUCK CALLS GAME 4 POSTGAME
GUEST PHIL ESPOSITO

LISTEN TO THE ARCHIVE ONLINE!
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by Josh Brewster

PLUS!
STANLEY CUP FINALS
AUDIO CLIPS
RECORDED LIVE MAY 27:

Click to listen!

Interviews:

Eric Duhatschek, Globe & Mail

Harry Neale, Hockey Night in Canada

Press Conferences:

ANA: Giguere, Getzlaf, Selanne

ANA: Pronger, Niedermayer Bros.

ANA: Burke, Carlyle

OTT: Heatley, Spezza, Alfredsson

OTT: Murray, Muckler

Press: Please be sure to credit "Hockeytalk.biz" when using any quotes from these clips, or the clips themselves.  Posted as a service to our listeners.

Also: Read what they're saying...

Cup Final Quotes- Excerpted from NHL PR Dept Releases

Note from a SoCal Hockey Fan:

Remembering back, the Kings had Gretzky and had just gone to the Finals when the Ducks were born. With their silly name, logo, team colors...all kinds of non-hockey-tough stuff, the Ducks were almost a joke; I was an original season ticket holder and was very passionate about them from day 1. You can't imagine the amount of crap I've taken over over the years for being a Ducks fan. The Kings fans made fun of the "quakers", either at the games or at the ice rinks when my kids would skate. When I'd travel for hockey, in places like Detroit, Boston, Dallas, or to many places in Canada with my son's team and people found out I was a Ducks fan, I'd get smirks, sneers, eyerolls, and just plain "goofball" looks. The worst were Kings fans. A true Kings fan would NEVER, EVER root for the Ducks. The Kings were LA, Gretzky, celebrities, Hollywood, and the Ducks were a Disney cartoon, not a real hockey team.

Well, hockey WORLD, the big, shiny thing resides in OC baby and the DUCKS are Stanley Cup Champions!

--Rik Wahlrab Laguna Niguel, Orange County (home of the Stanley Cup), California

vs

OTT WINS 4-1

WESTERN CONFERENCE

vs

ANA WINS 4-2

GAME 2: OTT 4 BUF 3 (2OT)
Referee Don VanMassenhoven's questionable calls marred an otherwise tremendous hockey game Saturday night in Buffalo.  In the second period, two consecutive penalties to the Sabres' Brian Campbell and Dainus Zubrus led to a Wade Redden score on an Ottawa 5-3 opportunity which broke a 2-2 tie late in the second.  Campbell's call was a phantom call; the call to Zubrus was marginal.  In heroic fashion, Daniel Briere scored into a gaping net left by Ray Emery to tie the game for Buffalo at three with just 5.8 seconds remaining.  In double overtime, Ottawa got a goal off a huge blast that beat Miller on the stick side from Joe Corvo, who made a name for himself in Los Angeles as a trigger-happy defenseman, which was just what the doctor ordered for the Senators.  Buffalo got the early jump, with Thomas Vanek scoring at 3:41 and Jochen Hecht at 6:13.  Daniel Alfredsson scored at 14:22 of the first to close the gap at 2-1.  Mike Fisher evened the score at 6:08 of the second.  Ray Emery allowed three goals on 37 shots; Ryan Miller, four on 32 shots.  Buffalo's power play sank to 0-12 on the series; Ottawa's special teams was again the difference, with the Sens converting two opportunities on four attempts.  Jason Spezza of the Senators managed three assists.  Buffalo's Thomas Vanek had a goal disallowed early in the game when it was ruled the puck bounced off his glove from a Derek Roy shot.

GAME 3: OTT 1 BUF 0
The Senators handed the Sabres a demoralizing 1-0 victory, and limited the Sabres to just 15 shots on net, while firing 32 of their own.  Goalie Ray Emery pitched the shutout for the Sens.  With stifling defense, the Senators denied Chris Drury, Thomas Vanek, power play quarterback Brian Campbell and Derek Roy of any shots on net.  The Senators look to eliminate the Sabres at home on Wednesday.  Daniel Alfredsson scored the only and game winning goal at 13:40 of the second period when a rebound got away from Miller off the back boards, trickled across the crease, which Alfredsson slammed home with no challenge from the Buffalo defense.  Buffalo was 0-6 on the power play, bringing their series total to 0-18.  The Senators failed to score on seven power play opportunities, and Buffalo squandered a brilliant 31 save performance by Miller, offering no goal support.  Only seven Sabres had a shot on net; in contrast, Senators featured all players with at least one shot. Only the 1942 Leafs and 1975 Islanders have rebounded from a 3-0 deficit in an NHL playoff series.

GAME 4: BUF 3 OTT 2
Derek Roy lifted up his club nine seconds into the game as the Sabres rattled off a 3-0 lead to start game four.  It turned out to be all they would need for a return trip home to Buffalo for game five Saturday.  Buffalo's atrocious power play got a momentary lift when Maxim Afinogenov scored at 4:32.  Chris Drury, who assisted on Roy's opening goal, put Buffalo up for good with his 15th career playoff game-winning goal.  At 14:55 Dean McAmmond scored for Ottawa, followed just 106 seconds later courtesy a Peter Schaefer marker.  Ryan Miller was excellent for a second consecutive night, stopping 31 of 33 shots.  Ray Emery stopped 19 of 22.  The Senators found their stride, albeit late, but kept the game razor-close through the third.  A late high-sticking penalty to  Dany Heatley at 17:28 of the third sank Ottawa's chance to eliminate the Sabres.  Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff shortened his bench and tried some new line combinations, including Derek Roy, Chris Drury and Tim Connolly seeing action together.  Some notable Sabres rode the bench more than usual as a result: Jaroslav Spacek, Adam Mair, Dmitri Kalinin and Max Afinogenov all saw their ice time reduced to anywhere from four to nine minutes.  Mike Fisher and Peter Schaefer led the Sens with four and five shots on goal, respectively.  Buffalo's Jochen Hecht led his club with four.  Buffalo, 18 blocked shots; Ottawa, 8.

GAME 5: OTT 3 BUF 2 (1OT)
The Ottawa Senators got a goal on a quick shot from Daniel Alfredsson at 9:32 of the first overtime, eliminating the Buffalo Sabres in five tough games and advancing to the first time in the history of the franchise since its 1992 rebirth.  The Sabres had scored a five-on-three goal courtesy Maxim Afinogenov, his fifth of the postseason at 10:58 to draw the Sabres even.  Jochen Hecht opened the scoring at 4:30 of the second period after batting home a shot from a feed by Daniel Briere at the back of the net that glanced off Jason Pomiville.  Later in the second, Dany Heatley scored from Jason Spezza and Wade Redden at 15:41 and Spezza followed that up with a goal of his own at 19:21, sweeping home an Alfredsson shot (Heatley drew the other assist).  The line of Heatley, Spezza and Alfredsson was barely contained by Chris Drury, but when Daniel Briere found himself opposite that line, the Senators scored twice.  Against Drury, once. The match against the top Sens line was one that Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff couldn't solve.  Then again, neither did the Devils or Penguins.  Alfredsson: 10 goals/7 assists; Spezza: 7 goals/13 assists; Heatley: 6 goals/15 assists.  Line total: 58 points, including 23 goals.  It will be interesting to see what Detroit or Anaheim will do about this Sens offense, especially since the Ducks and Wings have two more games at least, while the Sens rest.  Ryan Miller of the Sabres rose to an elite level in this series. The sophomore All-Star made a series-saving stop against the Sens top line in overtime that exemplified his efforts.  Diving across a gaping net, Miller got a glove on the shot, preserving Buffalo's chances, however slim, as he had in games three and four.  Shots: Buffalo, 29; Ottawa, 25.  Ray Emery of the Senators also elevated his status.  Ottawa's strong physical play mixed with speed and better shot production from their defensive corps proved to be the difference in this series.  The Senators were simply more balanced a club, but Buffalo's speed and offensive ability proved that they are, and will be for a while, a major force in the Eastern Conference. While again losing in the conference final, the Sabres have enough young talent in Buffalo and also in AHL's Rochester to reload.  Meanwhile, the Ottawa Senators are very fast, very tough to play against.  The Wings and Ducks will be hard-pressed to find an answer for this club.  A great final is at hand. -- JB

GAME 2: ANA 4 DET 3 (1OT)
At 14:17 of the first overtime session, Scott Niedermayer scored the game winning goal on a pass from brother Rob.  On a night when the Ducks had to shift players around due to an upper body injury to Chris Kunitz, the Ducks adapted well.  Dustin Penner moved to the first line with Teemu Selanne and Andy McDonald, while Brad May moved up to the second line along with Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf.  The fourth line consisted of Todd Marchant, who returned Friday after suffering a sports hernia, Ryan Shannon, and Shawn Thornton. As for Detroit, the club saw a tremendous and unexpected physical effort from Pavel Datsyuk, who scored on a 5-on-3 opportunity at 1:03 of the third period, snapping a 2-2 tie and giving the Wings their first lead, until Travis Moen tied it at 5:06 of the third period, which sent the game to overtime.  The Ducks opened the scoring on an even-strength goal at 17:04 of the first by Rob Niedermayer (who later saw action on the power play in the absence of Kunitz).  A pivotal moment in the game came when Kirk Maltby intercepted a Duck clearing pass and banged home his own rebound, shorthanded, at 10:34 of the second, tying the game at one.  Just 66 seconds later, Andy McDonald would respond by sneaking a puck past Dominik Hasek, and after video review, the Ducks led, 2-1.  Moen's goal was also upheld by review.  J-S Giguere stopped 24 of 27 shots; Hasek stopped 29 of 33.  Corey Perry and Sammy Pahlsson managed two assists each.

SERIES NEWS:

5/14: ANAHEIM'S KUNITZ OUT
The Anaheim Ducks announced today that left wing Chris Kunitz will undergo surgery tomorrow morning to repair a broken bone in his right hand. Kunitz is doubtful to return this post-season. He suffered the injury late in the third period of Game 1 vs. Detroit.

Kunitz has appeared in 11 playoff games this season, scoring 1-5=6 points after scoring 25-35=60 points in 81 regular season games.
 

GAME 2: BUF 3 NYR 2
Despite building two leads, 1-0 on a goal by Martin Straka at 10:08 of the first, and 2-1 at 18:40 of the second on a Paul Mara goal (both with the man advantage), the Rangers couldn't contain a third period resurgence by Buffalo.  The Sabres had their backs to the wall at the top of the third.  Then, just 24 seconds into the final frame, Chris Drury redirected a shot by Toni Lydman high into the net behind Henrik Lundqvist and drew the Sabres even.  Later, Thomas Vanek slammed home a nifty, short pass in front of New York's net for his fifth of the playoffs.  It came on a blind transmittal from rookie Drew Stafford.  The Rangers converted two man advantage opportunities (of five on the night). The Sabres scored once on the power play (of four opp's), when Brian Campbell's blast found its way through traffic just 50 seconds after Straka's opening marker, at 10:58 of the first.  Ryan Miller saved the day for Buffalo, stopping 31 of 33 shots; the Sabres managed only nine shots through the first two periods, matching that total in their productive third period.  The Rangers played a very good game, but couldn't close the deal.

GAME 3: NYR 2 BUF 1 (2OT)
Michal Roszival's big shot from the point at 16:43 of double overtime gave the Rangers a dramatic victory Sunday in New York.  Earlier, the Rangers had a goal disallowed when Karel Rachunek was ruled to have kicked the puck in past Ryan Miller shortly after Jaromir Jagr opened the scoring just 33 seconds into the second frame.  New York led 1-0 until Daniel Briere's power play goal at 12:14 of the third period drew the Sabres even.  Buffalo had held strong despite being outplayed throughout the first 40 minutes, and goalie Ryan Miller was tremendous in Buffalo's nets, stopping 44 of 46 shots.  An exciting game on national television featured Derek Roy's hitting a post at the end of the first overtime, and Teppo Numminen saving a goal just short of the goal line, behind Miller. Jagr's ten shots led all shooters and he played one of his most impressive games of the last decade. 

GAME 4: NYR 2 BUF 1
After benefiting from a close call in Game 3, the Sabres had a close one go against them in the dying moments of Game 4 in New York Tuesday. The Rangers opened the scoring on Jaromir Jagr's fourth of the playoffs, on the power play at :45 of the second frame. The Blueshirts held that lead until Brendan Shanahan potted the Rangers' second power play goal at 8:31 of the third. Curiously, in the last two games, both Buffalo losses, the club managed to turn its "A" game on very late--too late--in the game. Ales Kotalik banged home a puck just 33 seconds after Shanahan scored, to make it 2-1. Daniel Briere's shot with 17 seconds remaining and Ryan Miller pulled from the Buffalo net was ruled no goal after a lengthy review. The Rangers were 2-4 with the man advantage on the night. The Sabres' power play was again ineffective, 0-4. Henrik Lundqvist stopped 29 shots; Miller, 26.

GAME 5: BUF 2 NYR 1 (OT)
The Sabres provided high drama rescuing victory from the clutches of defeat Friday night in Buffalo.  Martin Straka broke a scoreless deadlock on a tricky shot late in the third. With the Sabres out-chancing and outshooting the Rangers throughout the night, the Rangers tenacious defense and solid positional play on the forward lines kept the game scoreless.  At 16:41 of the third period, Straka launched a three or four foot high shot that snuck in behind Ryan Miller, and after review, was determined to have hit the camera inside the net. Miller was excellent in Buffalo's nets, stopping 22 of 23 on the night. The Rangers appeared to be walking away with the series lead. With the net empty and a faceoff in New York's end, Chris Drury took the puck after the faceoff, went behind Lundqvist, passed to Tim Connolly who shot the puck, and Drury reappeared in front of the net to bang it home, tying the game with just 7.7 seconds remaining. In overtime, Blair Betts was called for tripping at 4:28 (Buffalo had previously killed a Drury overtime penalty of their own), and just eleven seconds later, Maxim Afinogenov, who was back after a one game benching, took a feed from Jason Pominville and Dmitri Kalinin and blasted a shot that beat Henrik Lundqvist (38 saves) between the pads on a drooping shot.  Brilliant play by both netminders and both clubs in general.  Amazing turn of events, amazing NHL playoff game.

GAME 6: BUF 5 NYR 4
A classic series with another cliffhanger ending as the Rangers availed themselves well Sunday at home against Buffalo, but in the end, the better club won, and the Buffalo Sabres will meet the tough Ottawa Senators in the Eastern Conference Final.  Jochen Hecht led the Sabres with two goals, and some key defensive play, clearing the puck out of the Buffalo end as the Rangers threatened to tie the game late.  The Rangers scored first despite the fact that they were outplayed again in game six.  Mikael Nylander put the Rangers up 1-0 at 17:10 of the first.  The Sabres exploded for four goals in the second period.  Buffalo rallied to a 2-1 lead on goals by Dmitri Kalinin at 1:29 and Jason Pominville at 2:53.  Paul Mara responded with Daniel Briere off for tripping at 4:40.  Jochen Hecht broke the tie with a whiz of a shot over Henrik Lundqvist's glove side at 7:41 to make it 3-2, and Chris Drury got his team-leading seventh of the post, banging in a shot on a pass from the back of the net from Daniel Briere.  Jaromir Jagr, playing his best hockey in years, made it 4-3 at 5:08 of the third period.  Jochen Hecht then added the game winner at 14:50 of the third period.  Mikael Nylander, whose contract expires at the end of the season, but was one of the most important of all the Rangers in this series, made it close on the power play at 17:09.  The Sabres staved off the rest of the Rangers' threats, and won a very tough series against a very tough Ranger club.  Both goalies excellent throughout: Ryan Miller stopped 32 of 36 shots; Henrik Lundqvist, 24 of 29.  Rangers: 3-4 on the power play; Buffalo: 1-4.

GAME 2: NJD 3 OTT 2 (2OT)
At 1:55 of the second overtime period, New Jersey's Jamie Langenbrunner took a neutral zone pass from Zach Parise, and brokeaway from Senator defenders to score the game winner, evening the series at one apiece.  With the Devils leading 2-1 and trying to fend off a late Sens challenge, Martin Brodeur stopped Daniel Alfredsson point blank with 7:05 left.  But with just 26 seconds remaining on the clock, Dany Heatley took a Jason Spezza pass after it slipped through Alfredsson's legs and rammed home the game-tying goal.  The Devils led throughout the contest, after Brian Gionta and Sergei Brylin put the Devils up 2-0 in the first. Brylin's shot eluded Ray Emery with just two tenths of a second on the clock.  Daniel Alfredsson tied the score for Ottawa at 4:23 of the second.  Brodeur, sporting a new catching glove supposedly after surrendering too many on that side.  Whatever the reason, it worked.  Ray Emery stopped 30 of 33 shots.  New Jersey was 2-7 with the man advantage; Ottawa, 1-6.

GAME 3: OTT 2 NJD 0
Monday night in Ottawa, Tom Preissing scored at 4:46 of the third period on a pass from Mike Comrie as the Senators finally solved Martin Brodeur after two scoreless periods.  Preissing's shot beat the New Jersey ace on the glove side.  Brodeur stopped 32 of 33 shots.  Brodeur's skate was clipped by Ottawa's Mike Fisher as he went past the crease.  Ray Emery of the Sens recorded the shutout, stopping all 25 Devil shots.  Ottawa was 0-4 with the man advantage, New Jersey, 0-5. Zach Parise of the Devils had a few very good chances, to no avail. 

GAME 4: OTT 3 NJD 2
A late New Jersey push, including a goal drawing the Devils within one at 9:36 of the third by Jay Pandolfo was not enough as the Senators took a commanding lead in their second round series. Daniel Alfredsson got his fifth of the postseason at 4:34 of the first period. With Anton Volchenkov off for slashing in the second, Brian Gionta scored his eigth of the postseason at 4:17. Dany Heatley responded with his fifth later in the second to put Ottawa up, 2-1. At 3:58 of the third, Mike Fisher potted his first. Martin Brodeur stopped 33 shots; Ray Emery, 29. The only power play goal belonged to Gionta of the Devils, who scored once on five opp's; Ottawa was 0-4. The Devils face elimination Saturday at home.

GAME 5: OTT 3 NJD 2
With a three-goal second period, the Ottawa Senators eliminated the New Jersey Devils Saturday at Continental Airlines Arena.  After Scott Gomez got the Devils going at 6:59 of the first, Antoine Vermette got the Senators going in the second at even strength from Tom Priessing at 5:19.  Jason Spezza potted a power play marker at 12:06 and Daniel Alfredsson scored his sixth of the playoffs at 17:28.  In the third, Scott Gomez scored with 40 seconds remaining, but it was too little, too late.  Martin Brodeur stopped 21 of 24; Ray Emery outdueled Brodeur throughout the series and was 27 of 29 Saturday.  The game was relatively penalty-free, with only two infractions on each side.  The only power play goal of the night was Spezza's.  Ottawa 1-2; New Jersey 0-2.  The Sens blockedd 25 shots, the Devils 11. The Senators will take a rest and await the winner of Buffalo and New York. 

GAME 2: DET 3 SJS 2
Pavel Datsyuk took a feed from Mikael Samuelsson and Henrik Zetterberg, streaked across the slot and lifted a nifty shot over Evgeni Nabokov's glove side at 18:36 of the third period to complete a Detroit comeback Saturday in Detroit.  The Sharks hopped out in front quickly during the first period, as they did in game one, getting goals from Jon Cheechoo at 0:36 and Joe Thornton at 4:17.  It was the first goal of the postseason for each.  Detroit came back, first on a goal by Zetterberg at 17:30 of the first, then a huge shorthanded marker by Dan Cleary at 1:23 of the third frame after a scoreless second.  The Sharks took only 19 shots; Detroit managed 25.  The Sharks were 0-6 with the man advantage (including two third period opportunities); the Wings, 0-3.  

GAME 3: SJS 2 DET 1
Joe Thornton's effort on Monday night was best exemplified by his thwarting Pavel Datsyuk's rush toward Evgeni Nabokov late in the game.  Thornton also led his team in hits with seven.  Detroit's Nick Lidstrom opened the scoring on the power play at 11:13 of the first period.  The Sharks' Ryane Clowe evened the score for San Jose at 12:43 of the second, on a backhand shot.  Jon Cheechoo put the Sharks ahead for good with his game winner, also on a backhand, with 6:41 remaining in the game.  Detroit was 1-4 on the power play; San Jose, 1-5.  Dominik Hasek stopped 25 of 27 shots; Evgeni Nabokov bested Hasek on Monday by stopping 29 of 30.  Sharks coach Ron Wilson shuffled all four of his lines at roughly the game's midpoint to create offense. 

GAME 4: DET 3 SJS 2 (OT)
Tomas Holmstrom of the Red Wings has made a tidy sum by sacrificing his personal safety in front of the opposition's net. Wednesday night in San Jose, he showed just how valuable his earnings are, not to him, but to his team. On the power play late in the second frame, Holmstrom swatted a puck out of midair at 19:55 of the second period, with his team trailing, 2-0. As the puck fluttered to the ice, he swatted it again, this time beating Sharks goalie Evgeni Nabokov. The Wings were uplifted, came out in the third period and put twelve shots on Nabokov, with Robert Lang proving the hero with just 34 second left in the game at even strength, tying the Sharks to send the game to overtime. At 16:04 of OT, Mathieu Schneider looked Pronger-esque, slipping a shot through heavy traffic, beating Nabokov for the game winner, tying the series at two apiece. Jon Cheechoo and Marcel Goc scored even strength goals in the first and second periods, respectively, for San Jose. Dominik Hasek stopped 25 shots; Nabokov, who was excellent in the loss, made 46 saves on a whopping 49 Detroit shots.

GAME 5: DET 4 SJS 1
Tomas Homstrom took advantage of a blast from Nick Lidstrom and instead of taking the rebound shot, dumped it to Henrik Zetterberg at 3:10 of the second period and the Detroit Red Wings, despite the Sharks' having scored first in four games in this series, crushed the Sharks in Detroit Saturday afternoon.  At 16:13 of the second, Pavel Datsyuk took advantage of an Evgeni Nabokov mistake.  Nabokov missed a poke check as Datsyuk broke in, and Datsyuk's shot went into the gaping net.  Datsyuk's fifth postseason goal leads the Wings. At 3:46 of the third, Mikael Samuelsson made it 3-1 and at 6:14 Holmstrom scored to make it 4-1.  Dominik Hasek made 23 saves; Evgeni Nabokov was 29 of 33.  Marcel Goc opened the scoring for San Jose at 4:53 of the first. The line of Holmstrom / Zetterberg / Datsyuk combined for eight points in this game while Joe Thornton, Jon Cheechoo and Milan Michalek went pointless for San Jose.
Power play: DET 2-6 / SJS 0-6

GAME 6: DET 2 SJS 0
Mikael Samuelsson scored two goals in the first period, more than enough to beat the Sharks with help from Dominik Hasek, who recorded his 13th career playoff shutout (28 saves). Chris Chelios (TOI - 26:15) and Nick Lidstrom (29:05) had to step up their already excellent play with defenseman Mathieu Schneider out for the rest of the season, and Nick Kronwall also lost to injury. Samuelsson beat Evgeni Nabokov at 15:26 of the first on a looping pass that landed on the streaking Swede's stick. He lifted it past Nabokov and the first goal proved to be the game winner. At 19:52 of the first, Samuelsson again scored, converting a pass from Pavel Datsyuk. Chelios assisted on both goals; both goals came at even strength. The Wings took ten shots in the first, then only twelve through the remaining 40 minutes. Both clubs were 0-4 on the power play. The Sharks are left scratching their heads, now top holders of the NHL's "Underachiever" status.

GAME 2: VAN 2 ANA 1 (2OT)
Canuck Jeff Cowan scored at 7:49 of the second overtime as Vancouver rallied Friday after being beaten in all aspects of the game Wednesday.  Cowan, a Los Angeles/Atlanta castoff, has now scored two of his team's three goals in this series.  At the post near J-S Giguere's stick side, he slammed home a Trevor Linden feed.  Vancouver's Markus Naslund broke a scoreless tie at 6:40 of the second after the Canucks carried the momentum to the Ducks through the first 1 1/2 periods Friday in Anaheim.  Sammy Pahlsson threaded a pass through Vancouver's defense to Teemu Selanne, who fell then recovered as he broke in on Roberto Luongo.  Selanne was stumped by the Canuck netminder, but Duck Travis Moen kept skating toward the net and tipped the rebound home at 11:01 of the second to tie the game 1-1.  Roberto Luongo stopped 43 of 44 shots; J-S Giguere was equally good, surrendering two goals on 49 shots faced.  All goals even strength: VAN 0-5, ANA 0-7 with the man advantage.

GAME 3: ANA 3 VAN 2
Corey Perry blasted a shot through Chris Kunitz's screen of Roberto Luongo, and the Anaheim Ducks got the best of the very game Vancouver Canucks Sunday night at GM Place.  The Canucks came into the game 3 of 50 on the power play, but managed a power play goal by Marcus Naslund with 48 seconds remaining in the first period to tie the score at one.  The Ducks' Dustin Penner took a feed from Perry early in the game (at 3:08 of the first) after a rare Luongo turnover gave Perry the puck behind Vancouver's net.  Penner pounced and the Ducks led.  At 9:45 of the second, with Anaheim on the power play, Chris Pronger's booming shot was scraped up by Francois Beauchemin, who beat Luongo for the 2-1 lead.  The Canucks tied it at 14:31 of the second on a Daniel Sedin marker at even strength.  Perry's goal at 7:51 of the third took the life out of the GM Place crowd and the Ducks battened down the hatches for the win.  J-S Giguere was steady again in the nets for Anaheim, stopping 24 of 26 shots.  Luongo stopped 21 of 24. 

GAME 4: ANA 3 VAN 2 (OT)
Duck checking line wing Travis Moen, a little-known but important part of the Anaheim Ducks' remarkable regular season--the best in franchise history--is the sort of player you love: He doesn't hesitate when the puck is on his stick. Moen senses a shot, he takes it. On Tuesday night in Vancouver, Moen banged home the game winner in overtime on a Sammy Pahlsson feed, from directly in front of Canuck goalie Roberto Luongo, at 2:07. After trailing 2-0 at the start of the third period, Teemu Selanne, whose face has been hacked by various pucks and sticks this postseason and was again on Tuesday night, brought the Ducks even at 14:18 of the third period. Earlier in the third, Chris Pronger scored his third of the postseason on a nifty wrist shot that snaked through tough Canuck traffic. The Canucks again ruled the early-going, Markus Naslund opening the scoring in the first; Brendan Morrison putting the club up by two with 2:29 left in the second. All goals were even strength for both clubs; no special teams goals. J-S Giguere stopped 28 shots; Roberto Luongo, 24. Vancouver will seek to avoid elimination Thursday at 6pm at Honda Center in Anaheim. from

GAME 5: ANA 2 VAN 1 (2OT)
The Ducks came into the game 3-1 in the series. The first goal came from Sammy Pahlsson at 14 seconds into the second period. The assists came to Rob Niedermayer and Travis Moen. The third line of Sammy Pahlsson, Rob Niedermayer, and Travis Moen have combined for 15 points in the postseason. The Canucks first goal came from Alexandre Burrows and the assists went to fellow line mates Josh Green and Brandon Reid. The game went to double overtime and Scott Niedermayer scored the deciding goal at 4:30. The Canucks had 27 shots on goal and the Ducks had 63 shots on goal. Roberto Luongo played a great game having saved 57 shots. Dany Sabourin started the first overtime session because Luongo had an equipment issue. The Vancouver Canucks were 0-7 on the power play and the Anaheim Ducks were 0-6 on the power play. Both of these teams had outstanding penalty killing. The Anaheim Ducks will advance to the Western Conference Finals and will either play Detroit or San Jose.
--Gaby Martinez
 

EASTERN CONFERENCE

GAME 2: NYI 3 BUF 2
The Islanders played a much better game Saturday than they did Thursday, playing a better physical game.  With the return of goaltender Rick DiPietro, the Islanders were able to even the series at 1.  Marc-Andre Bergeron scored the game winner midway through the third during a power play on a questionable call against Maxim Afinogenov.  Throughout the game, the Isles were able to get shots from the point.  Bruno Gervais and Trent Hunter also scored.  For the Sabres, both goals came from defensemen, Toni Lydman and Dmitri Kalinin, who tied the score at two in the third. 

GAME 3: BUF 3 NYI 2
Daniel Briere's goal at 12:56 of the second period proved to be the winner as the middle frame featured all five goals scored in the game.  Buffalo stung the Islanders first on a goal by Adam Mair at 5:17.  Thomas Vanek made it 2-0 at 8:38 on a goal awarded after a lengthy video review, which clearly showed the puck over the line.  The the Islanders' Jason Blake made it 2-1.  Ryan Smyth stung Buffalo goalie Ryan Miller with :08 left in the middle frame.  Miller made 20 saves.  Rick DiPietro allowed three goals on 35 shots.  The Sabres threw the house at DiPietro but the Isles' goalie held firm.  The Sabres were a markedly better club than in game two. 

GAME 4: BUF 4 NYI 2
Chris Drury scored two goals including the game winner as the Islanders failed to score after the first period.  Buffalo's defense swarmed, beat the Isles to most loose pucks, and its possession game was excellent.  Jason Pominville added an insurance marker with 1:12 remaining in the third.  Jason Blake opened the scoring for New York, and Mike Sillinger scored a power play goal to even it at two apiece with just 16 seconds remaining in the first period.  But Ryan Miller shut the door (24 saves) as Rick DiPietro smashed his stick to pieces after the Pominville goal.

GAME 5: BUF 4 NYI 3
The Sabres survived a late scare.  After Miro Satan made the score 3-1 at the start of the third, Max Afinogenov responded to make it 4-1 at 6:38 of the third.  Chris Campoli and Trent Hunter scored quickly to make it 4-3, then Buffalo's Ryan Miller made a sprawling save with just 10.4 seconds left, sliding across his crease, the puck out of his view, next to the post.  Henrik Tallinder jumped behind Miller for insurance, and the Sabres advanced after clearing the zone on the next faceoff.  Derek Roy, Jason Pominville and Drew Stafford scored for Buffalo, who built a 3-0 lead after two periods.  New York's Rick Dipietro allowid 4 goals on 27 shots; Miller, 3 on 33. 

SABRES WIN 4-1

GAME 2: TBL 3 NJD 2
Coach John Tortorella thought that the 'Ning had done a pretty good job in the game 1 loss to the Devils, so he stayed with Johan Holmqvist.  Holmqvist made 34 saves.  Filip Kuba, Martin St. Louis and Vincent Lecavalier scored for the Lightning.  Lecavalier's was the game winner.  For the Devils, who looked tired and frustrated at the end, got goals from Zach Parise and Jamie Langenbrunner.

GAME 3: TBL 3 NJD 2
The Devils evened the score twice on goals by John Madden and Zach Parise, but Tampa's Vaclav Prospal would get the winner at 13:31 of the third.  Martin Brodeur has been average in this series, allowing three goals on 24 shots Monday. The Lightning would get their other two goals from Vinny Lecavalier (4th of playoffs) and Brad Richards (his first of the postseason).  Johan Holmqvist made 30 saves.  The Lightning was 1-5 on the power play, the Devils 0-4.

GAME 4: NJD 4 TBL 3 (1OT)
Scott Gomez scored his first goal of the playoffs at 12:54 of overtime.  New Jersey led, 2-1 after one period on goals by Brian Gionta and Zach Parise.  The Lightning countered with goals from Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin.  Parise would go on to score another in the second period. 

GAME 5: NJD 3 TBL 0
Martin Brodeur stopped all 31 shots as the Devils were tough at home Friday night.  All goals were scored even strength, and in the Devils' tidy fashion, one per period.  Andy Greene got the Devils going, then Brian Gionta's third of the post made it 2-0, with Scott Gomez potting his second of the playoffs at 18:13 of the third into an empty net.  The Devils managed only 14 shots on net.

GAME 6: NJD 3 TBL 2
The Devils built a two-goal lead and never looked back, with Brian Gionta leading the way by potting two goals.  Brian Rafalski added another.  Brad Richards had both Tampa goals.  Johan Hedberg made a tremendous save late, but the typical New Jersey clampdown set in and the Devils held their one-goal lead throughout the third period.  What Tampa will do about its goaltending situation is the question again. 

DEVILS WIN 4-2

GAME 2: NYR 2 ATL 0
Brendan Shanahan scored the game-winning goal and Sean Avery opened the scoring as the Rangers dumped the Thrashers, disappointing the southern club during its first trip to the playoffs. Atlanta goalie Johan Hedberg stopped 37 shots, but the Thrashers could only muster one goal, by Ilya Kovalchuk.  Hedberg replaced Kari Lehtonen, who didn't play well enough in game one.

GAME 3: NYR 7 ATL 0
Mikael Nylander scored a hat trick and an assist for four points and Henrik Lundqvist stopped all 21 shots as the Rangers embarrassed the Thrashers, 7-0 in New York. Marian Hossa failed to get a point, as did fellow regular-season Atlanta hero Slava Kozlov. Marik Malik and Brendan Shanahan scored, and rookie Ryan Callahan had two goals.

GAME 4: NYR 4 ATL 2
Keith Tkachuk got the Thrashers going, but the Rangers stormed back on a Michael Roszival goal.  Greg DeVries put the Thrashers up, 2-1, but Brendan Shanahan answered with his third playoff goal, followed by the game winner from Matt Cullen and an empty netter by Jaromir Jagr.  Johan Hedberg made 27 saves; the Rangers' Henrik Lundqvist, 24.  The Rangers eliminate the Thrashers, who paid a heavy price for forward Keith Tkachuk at the trade deadline.  Deadly reality: Marian Hossa, Slava Kozlov failed to find the net in the series (Hossa 1 assist, Kozlov 0 points). 

RANGERS WIN 4-0

 

GAME 2: PIT 4 OTT 3
Sidney Crosby scored late in the third period to vault the Pens to a comeback victory over the Ottawa Senators. The Pens had to tie the game twice in the final period.  Jordan Staal, Ryan Whitney and Gary Roberts also potted goals for the Pens.  The Senators' Chris Kelly, Daniel Alfredsson and Jason Spezza scored.  Ray Emery was not great: 17 saves on 21 shots.  Marc-Andre Fleury made a game-saving save for the Pens on Mike Fisher with 13 seconds left to preserve the win.

GAME 3: OTT 4 PIT 2
After a first period goal by Gary Roberts at :52 of the first, the Pittsburgh Penguins were looking to seize control of this series.  But after four unanswered goals (including three in the second period)  by Dean McAmmond, two by Daniel Alfredsson and one by Mike Comrie, the Senators have the edge. Pittsburgh failed to convert on the power play, the Sens converted once.  Ray Emery outduels Marc-Andre Fleury, at least for the moment. What helped Emery Sunday was a dearth of shots by the Pens, who were held to just 19. Fleury faced just 25.  The Pens scored once more at 14:40 of the third, which amounts to a goal drought within this game of 43:48 between the two Pitt goals.

GAME 4: OTT 2 PIT 1
Evgeni Malkin failed to pot a goal for the Penguins for the fourth consecutive game, and Pittsburgh’s power play was nonexistent in five attempts as the Senators got a game-winning goal from defenseman Anton Volchenkov, who led the NHL in blocked shots this season. Jordan Staal scored his third of the playoffs for the Penguins in the second frame, and Jason Spezza opened the scoring for Ottawa at 3:25 of the first period.
 

GAME 5: OTT 3 PIT 0
In a productive second period, Antoine Vermette had a goal and an assist as the Ottawa Senators eliminated the Pittsburgh Penguins. Dany Heatley potted his second of the playoffs to open the scoring, and Chris Kelly proved Ottawa's depth, adding his third postseason goal at 17:55. The Penguins managed just 20 shots, all of which were stopped by Ray Emery, who outdueled Pittsburgh's Marc-Andre Fleury throughout the series.

SENATORS WIN 4-1

GAME 2: DET 3 CGY 1
Pavel Datsyuk and Nick Lidstrom scored 4 minutes apart in the first period as the Wings took a commanding 2-0 lead in the series Sunday.  Calgary, who won 30 games at home but just 13 on the road this season, slink back to Canada embarrassed after being outshot 97-35 in the series to this point.  Calgary had five penalties in the first 8:13 of the game. Deon Phaneuf scored for Calgary.  Valteri Filppula scored a third period goal for the Wings.  Mikka Kiprusoff has allowed seven goals, but has played well in Calgary's net, considering Detroit's astronomical shot totals, including 51 Sunday.

GAME 3: CGY 3 DET 2
Jarome Iginla got off the schneid Tuesday after failing to score in the first two games of this series.  Iginla's was the game winner at 9:21 when he ripped a shot past Dominik Hasek.  The Wings outshot the Flames 30-28, but that was a marked improvement from the first two of the series, when Detroit outshot the Flames 97-35.  Matt Lombardi and Mark Giordano scored for the Flames, while Kris Draper potted two goals for the Wings.  Calgary's Mikka Kiprusoff made 26 saves.  Calgary was 2-6 on the power play, while Detroit was 0-4.

GAME 4: CGY 3 DET 2
The Flames, who looked downright awful at times during their two losses in Detroit, have evened the series at two wins apiece. Calgary won 30 games at home during the regular season, and are now perfect at home in the post. During a wild first period, Daymond Langkow opened the scoring with the man advantage after Dominik Hasek took a swipe at Jarome Iginla with his stick. Detroit evened the score on a goal by Todd Bertuzzi, then Craig Conroy potted Calgary's second marker at 13:33. Johan Franzen evened the score just 2:04 later. Langkow then scored the game winner for Calgary at 8:19 of the second. Detroit outshot Calgary 35-21. Mikka Kiprusoff made 33 saves for the Flames. Calgary was 2-6 on the power play, Detroit 0-6.

GAME 5: DET 5 CGY 1
Chris Chelios' shorthanded goal proved to be the game winner as Henrik Zetterberg added two more and the Wings beat the Flames badly at Joe Louis Arena Saturday.  Calgary, unable to win on the road this postseason, resorted to goon tactics such as Jarome Iginla's butt end on Mathieu Schneider and backup goalie Jamie McLennan's spear of Johan Franzen.  All of the goals came during special teams play.  Dan Cleary scored on a shorthanded penalty shot, while the Flames got a goal from Andrei Zyuzin shorthanded.  Pavel Datsyuk also scored for Detroit.  Bad blood was the theme as the teams move to Calgary for what promises to be a dramatic game six.

GAME 6: DET 2 CGY 1 (2OT)
Johan Franzen delivered poetic justice in Calgary, scoring 4:23 into the second overtime to eliminate the Flames in Calgary Sunday.  Franzen was on the receiving end of a Jamie McLennan spear Saturday in game five, which resulted in a five game suspension for the Flames goaltender and a $25,000 fine  for Coach Jim Playfair.  The organization was also fined $100,000.  In the game, Robert Lang and Jarome Iginla traded second period goals, and the score remained 1-1 throughout the third period and first overtime frame.  Mikka Kiprusoff stopped 53 shots in the losing effort, in which the Flames could only muster 21 shots on Dominik Hasek. 

RED WINGS WIN 4-2

 

GAME 2: ANA 3 MNW 2
Ryan Getzlaf took Martin Skoula to school (pun intended) on a nifty backhand in the third period with his game winning goal, a shorthanded effort.  Travis Moen gave Getzlaf a beautiful pass and Getzlaf faked out Backstrom and scored it in the top shelf. In this game, the sophomores played a huge role in the victory. Getzlaf earned a goal and an assist, Corey Perry played an unusual 3 minutes and 33 seconds short handed, Francois Beauchemin scored two goals, and Ilya Bryzgalov was in net again and saved 22 shots. The Ducks penalty killing unit was outstanding in the second period. It was great to be at the game. Ducks fans were at the edge of their seats in the third period after Marion Gaborik cut the Ducks' lead to one goal. The game was full of strong checks and a few fights in the second period. Chris Kunitz fought Brent Burns. Every fan was standing up yelling and cheering. The Wild got goals from Marian Gaborik and Mikko Koivu. The Ducks, now up 2-0 will play next in Minnesota on Sunday.  --G.M., J.B.

GAME 3: ANA 2 MNW 1
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The Ducks won 2-1 in their third game versus the wild. They now lead the series 3-0. The first goal came from Andy McDonald on a deflection of Chris Pronger’s great point shot at 16:05 on the power play in the first period. The Ducks remained ahead of the Wild 1-0 until 9:43 in the third when Rob Niedermayer scored an even strength on the breakaway from a pass by Chris Pronger. At 19:31 of the third period, Petteri Nummelin scored a power play goal and gave the Wild a chance of tying it up and sending the Ducks to overtime. I was really impressed with Chris Pronger, the first star of the night, because he contributed offensively with two assists and played 30:51 of ice time. The Ducks need someone on the 4th line to start contributing offensively. The Ducks play on Tuesday at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul and the hope to finish this round there. -- G.M.

Also notable, from Josh Brewster: The Wild managed just 20 shots on net, offering evidence that the Ducks defense, led by Chris Pronger and Scott Niedermayer of Norris Trophy fame, and Francois Beauchemin and Sean O'Donnell in the third and fourth slots, is the NHL's finest.  Marian Gaborik, Brian Rolston, Mark Parrish and Pavol Demitra have been held to just 2-2-4 points amongst them, with Roston and Parrish shut out completely, zero points in three games. 

GAME 4: MNW 4 ANA 1
On Tuesday, the Ducks challenged Minnesota at the Xcel Energy Center in game four. If the Ducks had won on Tuesday they would have swept the Wild. But that didn’t happen. The final was 4-1 in favor of the Wild. The first goal came from Chris Pronger on the power play with assists to Ryan Getzlaf and Scott Niedermayer in the second period. Pierre-Marc Bouchard answered that goal with one of his own at even strength in the second period. In the third period, the Wild scored three more unanswered goals from Marian Gaborik, Brian Rolston and Mark Parrish. The Ducks, who played without Francois Beauchmin due to facial injuries, used rookie Aaron Rome in his place. There were a few brawls in the third period involving Kent Huskins, Shawn Thornton, and Brad May. The Ducks will be at home on Thursday looking to wrap up the series. --G.M.

GAME 5: ANA 4 MNW 1
George Parros and Derek Boogard threw punches and swiped at each other during a pre-game melee during warmups Thursday. Officials, who were not present during the melee, visited both benches to deliver a message, presumably from league brass. Commissioner Gary Bettman in attendance. Bettman was meeting with the press at the time. As for the game, Chris Pronger's blast off a perfect Sammy Pahlsson faceoff win opened the scoring at 1:02 of the first. Marian Gaborik evened the score with a shorthanded goal at 15:42 of the second frame on a 2-on-1 break. Just 47 seconds later, Anaheim got the game winner courtesy Ryan Getzlaf, who scored his second of the playoffs. Both goals were scored on the back hand. In the third, Corey Perry banged home a Dustin Penner rebound and Travis Moen sent the Wild packing with an empty net goal in the last minute.

DUCKS WIN 4-1
 

GAME 2: DAL 2 VAN 0
Marty Turco, trying to silence critics who have pointed to the Dallas goaltender for playoff exits in recent seasons, shut out Vancouver Friday, stopping all 35 Canuck shots. Jeff Halpern got the scoring going early, at 24 seconds of the first period.  Joel Lundqvist followed suit just 45 seconds into the second frame.  Roberto Luongo made 25 saves for Vancouver.

GAME 3: VAN 2 DAL 1 (1OT)
Another OT classic for this extra-tight series.  Taylor Pyatt took a feed from Bryan Smolinski after Trevor Linden won a battle along the boards in the first overtime.  Six of the seven games between these two clubs have ended 2-1.  Stu Barnes scored midway through the second to give Dallas the lead.  Jan Bulis potted a goal from in close to tie the score at 5:18 of the third period.  The goaltending duel continues...Roberto Luongo: 1 goal allowed on 30 shots; Marty Turco: 2 goals on 37 shots.

GAME 4: VAN 2 DAL 1
Trevor Linden scored the game winning goal with 5:31 to play and Roberto Luongo stopped 26 shots as the Canucks edged the Stars, 2-1. The Stars’ stars were nowhere to be found as the club couldn’t get goaltender Marty Turco any help, scoring just once on a goal by Darryl Sydor. Mattais Ohlund scored his second of the series to open the scoring. All goals, even-strength.

GAME 5: DAL 1 VAN 0 (1OT)
In easily the tightest series of the first round, the Stars and Canucks saw action in their third overtime game of this postseason series. Brendan Morrow scored the OT winner on the power play from Sergei Zubov and Mike Ribiero at 6:22. The Canucks managed only 21 shots on Marty Turco, while Roberto Luongo stopped 29 of 30 shots. The Stars, on the brink of elimination, return home for game six.

GAME 6: DAL 2 VAN 0
With Trevor Linden off for boarding early in the first, Mike Modano scored his first goal of the postseason at 3:05.  The score remained 1-0 until 7:22 of the third period when Jeff Halpern sealed the deal for the Stars, unassisted.  Vancouver failed to score on three power play opportunities, but in the end it was Marty Turco whose shutout made the difference.  Turco stopped 21 shots.  The Dallas netminder, subject of much scrutiny and blame for recent Dallas playoff failures, has surrendered only nine goals in six games.  His counterpart,  Roberto Luongo got no goal support in a 28 save effort.  Luongo has been as effective in net, but neither goalie is enjoying much offensive cushion.  Game seven in Vancouver looms.

*Interesting note from the Dallas Stars' media guys:
Dallas’ penalty kill went three-for-three tonight against the Canucks and have now killed off 52 of their past 53 opponents’ power plays (98.1%), including both the regular season and playoffs.

GAME 7: VAN 4 DAL 1
At the 7:00 mark of the third period, Trevor Linden watched from behind Marty Turco's net as his game winning goal slithered across the goal line.  Henrik Sedin scored first for the Canucks in the second period, after Joel Lundqvist gave the Stars a 1-0 lead at 16:32 of the first.  Empty-net goals by Taylor Pyatt and Brian Smolinski sealed Dallas' fate.  Marty Turco and Roberto Luongo were brilliant throughout for their respective clubs. 

CANUCKS WIN 4-3

GAME 2: NSH 5 SJS 2
Steve Bernier, sophomore forward for the Sharks, was hit from behind by Nashville Rookie Alex Radulov, and was knocked from the game after Radulov's boarding major. Radulov faces a disciplinary hearing with Colin Campbell, and may be suspended.  The Sharks' Jon Cheechoo was injured by a knee-to-knee collision in game one.  Radulov managed a goal in the game.  J.P. Dumont of the Predators potted his third and fourth goals of the playoffs, and Peter Forsberg had two of his own.  Ryan Clowe and Craig Rivet scored for the Sharks.

GAME 3: SJS 3 NSH 1
A Patrick Marleau shot at 15:36 of the third period salted away a Sharks victory at home at the HP Pavilion.  Bill Guerin appeared to tip the shot, but it was awarded to Marleau. Ryan Clowe and Milan Michalek scored second period goals for the Sharks after Nashville defenseman Ryan Suter scored to put the Predators up 1-0 in the first.  Goalie Tomas Vokoun of Nashville faced 41 shots, saving 38, while Evgeni Nabokov of the Sharks had en easier night, facing only 20 shots, saving 19.   All of the four goals on the night were even strength markers.

GAME 4: SJS 3 NSH 2
Milan Michalek scored two goals, Joe Pavelski, one as the Sharks put the Predators on the ropes.  Scott Hartnell scored with 2:52 remaining in the third (Jason Arnott also scored for Nashville) but it was too little, too late.  The Sharks gave up only three power play opportunities, with the Preds converting on just one.  San Jose's puck possession game was the difference. 

GAME 5: SJS 3 NSH 2
With his team ahead, 2-1 and about to go on the power play, Nashville's Scott Nichol took a five minute spearing penalty and a game misconduct at 14:58 of the second period.  Patrick Marleau responded for San Jose with his second of the  postseason with the man advantage after Nichol's penalty.  Marleau added the game winner with 4:21 left in the game.  Nashville Jason Arnott and Vernon Fiddler had scored 39 seconds apart earlier in the second to put the Predators ahead.  The Predators were plagued by penalties and suspensions throughout the series, including a game off for Alex Radulov.  Tomas Vokoun of Nashville stopped 34 of 37 shots; San Jose's Evgeni Nabokov made 22 saves for the win. 

SHARKS WIN 4-1