Final score: 2 3

Anaheim leads series 1-0.

The Ducks cameback from a goal down after two periods to pull this one out and take a 1-0 series lead in the first game of the Stanley Cup Final.

Aside from a flat start which resulted in an early Mike Fisher power play goal only 1:38 into the action on a Scott Niedermayer penalty, Anaheim overall was much better at even strength. When they weren’t taking undisciplined penalties, the Ducks were the more effective team five-on-five and on the forecheck.

To Ottawa’s credit, they came out extremely aggressive and physical trying to set the tone. Maybe that caught Anaheim by surprise. But once Randy Carlyle’s club found their game, they started to carry the action taking it to the Sens and severely testing their D.

Rookie Drew Miller, who entered with barely two minutes of NHL experience had an impact. The younger brother of Buffalo netminder Ryan put together a great shift to get the Ducks even. Skating on the top line, it was Miller’s perfect take out of Wade Redden along the boards which forced a turnover and led directly to Teemu Selanne threading the needle to Andy McDonald for a rocket top shelf past Ray Emery which tied it at 10:55.

It was the beginning of an awful night for Redden who was on for all three goals against.

Not long after, Anaheim had an unbelievable shift where they just kept Ottawa pinned in their own end for what seemed like forever. It probably was about 90 seconds long. The only reasons they survived were some good saves by Emery and blocked shots by none other than blocked shot machine Anton Volchenkov. The Ottawa defenseman blocked a remarkable 10. The rest of his teammates finished with 12.

The Ducks aggressive forecheck and physical grinding game began to take control. The Sens struggled to do anything the rest of the period going the last 11 minutes without a shot. Anaheim outshot them 8-3.

If Ottawa wasn’t that effective at even strength, that wasn’t the case with their special teams. With Ryan Getzlaf in the box for a cross check, the dangerous Sens’ man-advantage made him pay by cashing in for their second PPG of the night when Redden blasted a one-timer past a stickless Jean-Sebastien Giguere. It didn’t help much that teammate Sammi Pahlsson tried to flip his loose stick to him while Redden was winding up. Especially with Dany Heatley screening him.

Giggy had a weird game. The two goals he allowed both could be classified as bad luck. Fisher’s was a one-timer in the slot which the Anaheim netminder got a glove on to make a quality save. The puck appeared to be going wide before defenseman Sean O’Donnell accidentally batted it in. Then there was the Redden goal with Pahlsson trying to help out but it just made the goalie’s job even tougher.

And so Ottawa led for the second time with 15:24 left in the stanza. They would get a golden opportunity to extend that lead a couple of minutes later when Pahlsson was sent to the box 25 seconds after Francois Beauchemin’s tripping minor. Given a pivotal two-man advantage for 1:35, the Senators couldn’t capitalize. Instead, there were a couple of near misses and maybe one good Giguere stop along with some solid penalty killing.

The Ducks definitely dodged a bullet. Still trailing only by one, they took the play to Ottawa in the final period. The Sens tried to sit back like they had against previous opponents. But Anaheim wasn’t the Devils or Sabres and the strategy backfired.

Getzlaf would atone for his costly penalty by taking a Corey Perry feed and flipping a backhand past Emery to tie it with 14:16 remaining.

The Senators took a couple of penalties giving Anaheim chances to go ahead but Emery was good as was his defense which blocked 22 shots.

When Anaheim team captain Niedermayer was whistled for a hook (second minor of night) with 6:52 left, it was a chance for Ottawa to go back ahead. However, the Ducks had a strong penalty kill keeping it tied.

The Sens finally came to life with a couple of strong shifts at even strength. In particular, enforcer Chris Neil was very effective and nearly produced the go-ahead tally. The Sens’ top line of Heatley, Jason Spezza and Daniel Alfredsson which was quiet most of the night also had a decent shift but couldn’t put them ahead.

Unfortunately for the trio, they were out on the ice when the Anaheim checking line of Pahlsson, Rob Niedermayer and rookie Travis Moen struck for the winner. It came with just 2:51 to go.

Taking a pass from his older brother, Rob circled around the net avoiding Andrej Meszaros’ hit to setup a wide open Moen in the slot for a one-timer which beat Emery for Anaheim’s first lead of the night. It was his fifth of the postseason.

It definitely was Meszaros’ responsibility. He didn’t take out Niedermayer behind the net. Once that happened, it left Moen all alone. His poor attempt at a hit proved costly.

All night, the Pahlsson line did an outstanding job of silencing the Spezza line. Though Alfredsson and Spezza registered assists on Redden’s PPG, they were kept in check. The trio combined for only five shots and finished minus-three.

Meanwhile, the Selke candidate who really deserves the award shined along with his linemates for the deciding goal while combining for 12 shots and 15 hits including a game high eight from Pahlsson. Oh btw…he also won 13 of 24 draws, which was by far the best on his team in 18:39.

The Sens would get one final chance to tie it when Chris Pronger was called for a bogus penalty which was essentially a make up call for a rough after a whistle. Giguere didn’t have to make many big saves but the 2003 Conn Smythe winner saved his best for the final seconds robbing Alfredsson from 12 feet out of a sure goal by getting his glove on a shot labeled for the corner.

For some inexplicable reason, it wasn’t even credited as a save. Go figure. Good old reliable NHL stats I tell ya.

Giguere finished with 18 saves to pickup the win.

A few quick hits:

1.You have to start with the Sens’ inability to get much going at even strength. They really couldn’t get their cycle going. Part of that was due to Anaheim’s defense. But also, Ottawa just wasn’t sharp. What else would you expect with such a long layoff? What was it anyway? Nine days since they last played. You have to figure they’ll be better Wednesday night.

2.We covered the top line’s struggles against Pahlsson’s line, who did a phenomenal job on them all night. But Spezza in particular struggled mightily making some uncharacteristic decisions with the puck leading to a team worst three giveaways. Ottawa as a team had 14 while Anaheim only had five. If there was a big difference, one would definitely point to that.

3.The game was very physical. And early on, it was the Sens who took it to the Ducks. But as it went on, it was Anaheim who was relentless and pounded away at Ottawa’s blueline. For the first time this Spring, you saw the Sens on their heels. They were outhit 30-21. Half the Ducks’ hits as covered already came from their checking line including a game high eight from Pahlsson. Ottawa was paced by Peter Schaefer’s four.

4.He might have taken a couple of bad penalties including an early questionable one which led to the Fisher goal but Scott Niedermayer was pretty solid in this game. He played physical (four hits) and broke up a few plays as well in 27:20. The Anaheim captain blocked three shots and also had two takeaways. He was better defensively in this one than in the last series.

5.The Ducks attempted a lot more shots than their opponents. Combined with the 32-20 shots edge they had, they also had 37 which didn’t get through:

Ott:  10 MS + 13 BS = 23
Ana: 15 MS + 22 BS = 37

If you add this up to each respective team’s shot total, Anaheim attempted 69 shots while Ottawa attempted only 43 or 26 less. Huge difference. 

6.The Ducks had to be extremely pleased with how rookie Miller played on the top line. Though he got only 17 shifts (9:26), the former Michigan State product who was drafted in the sixth round four years ago handled himself well. And good enough to help setup McDonald’s goal with some physical play. He didn’t look out of place with McDonald and Selanne and certainly wasn’t fazed by the big stage. If anything, it’s a huge boost for Carlyle for the rest of the series.

7.Entering this series, Anaheim looked to be at a disadvantage with its fourth line. But with not many whistles at one part in the second, Carlyle gave more time to Brad May (12 shifts, 6:20) and Shawn Thornton (10 shifts, 5:46). Both responded by providing energy and even a few scoring chances.

8.As has already been noted, the Sens held the edge on special teams.

Ott PP: 2-for-7

Ana PP: 0-for-4

9.There was a lot of choppy play in this one. A lot of icings and offsides especially in the second period. This might have had to do with the layoff for both teams. Ottawa had over a week off while Anaheim had six days to prepare. They might not have been as sharp because of it. Figure next game to be easier to watch.

10.Versus’ coverage was alright but could they please stop messing around with the damn camera angles! I don’t need to see Emery after he makes a big save while Anaheim is going the other way in transition with a potential three-on-two. Good god. This seems to be the trend in sports these days. Stay with the play instead of screwing around! It’s the viewers that matter.
Our three stars:

3rd star- Anton Volchenkov (game high 10 blocked shots in 24:57)
2nd star- Rob Niedermayer (assist, 6 SOG, 5 hits and plus-one in 18:46)
1st star-  Sammi Pahlsson (game high 8 hits, 4 SOG, 13-11 on draws in 28 shifts)