2007 Stanley Cup Finals

Infobox Stanley Cup Final
team1=Anaheim Ducks
year=2007


team1_1=3
team1_2= 1
team1_3= 3
team1_4= 3
team1_5= 6
team1_tot=4
team2=Ottawa Senators
team2_1=2
team2_2=0
team2_3=5
team2_4=2
team2_5=2
team2_tot=1
location1=Anaheim (Honda Center) (1,2,5)
location2=Ottawa (Scotiabank Place) (3,4)
coaches=Anaheim: Randy Carlyle
Ottawa: Bryan Murray
captains=Anaheim: Scott Niedermayer
Ottawa: Daniel Alfredsson
referees=Paul Devorski, Dan O'Halloran, Bill McCreary, and Brad Watson [http://www.nhlofficials.com/display_news.asp?articleID=211]
dates= May 28-June 6, 2007
mvp=Scott Niedermayer
networks=NBC, CBC, Versus, RDS, NASN
net_announcers=(CBC) Bob Cole, Harry Neale
(Versus/NBC) Mike Emrick, Ed Olczyk
(NHL International) Dave Strader, Joe Micheletti
series_winner=Travis Moen (15:44, 2nd)The 2007 Stanley Cup Final was the 2007 edition of the final series of the National Hockey League's Stanley Cup playoffs.

The best-of-seven series featured the Western Conference champions Anaheim Ducks defeating the Eastern Conference champions Ottawa Senators in five games.

Paths to the Final

Prior to the season, the Ducks had been the pick of many in the media to make it to the Finals, and they did not disappoint. The second-seeded Anaheim Ducks defeated both the Minnesota Wild and Vancouver Canucks in five games before defeating the Detroit Red Wings in six games in the Western Conference Finals. The Ducks had the most penalties out of any team during the post-season and had one suspension going into the finals, but had a top penalty-kill percentage. They were led by two Norris Trophy candidates Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger, the scoring touches of Andy McDonald, Teemu Selanne, Ryan Getzlaf, and the goaltending of Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The Ducks were looking to shut down Ottawa's offense with the checking line of Rob Niedermayer, Samuel Pahlsson and Travis Moen, and overall team defence.

The fourth-seeded Ottawa Senators defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, and upset both the New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres, all in five games apiece, en route to their first Eastern Conference championship. Ottawa was led by the top line of captain Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, and Jason Spezza, who combined for 23 goals in the first three rounds, and the goaltending of Ray Emery. Other Senators who played pivotal roles were forwards Mike Fisher and Dean McAmmond and defensemen Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov. The Senators were looking to work past Anaheim's defense with their speed and higher-scoring offence, although both teams played a similar style of responsible team defence.

Anaheim had home ice advantage for the series, as they finished the regular season with 110 points to Ottawa's 105. The attention leading into the finals was Ottawa being "Canada's Team" despite Anaheim having five more Canadian skaters than the Senators. Many fans were saying that the Stanley Cup needed to be brought back to Canada after a 14 year drought (up to that point, the last time a Canadian team hoisted the Stanley Cup was done by the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, who ironically defeated a Southern California team, the Los Angeles Kings).

The series

This was the Ducks' second appearance in the Final, having lost in 2003 to the New Jersey Devils. Only four players remained on the Ducks roster from 2003, including the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The 2003 club's general manager was now the Ottawa head coach.

It was the first final for the Senators. Two Ottawa-area players were in the finals, playing for the Ducks.

The Senators and Ducks had never met in the playoffs before, and had not played each other since January 19 2006, when the Ducks (then known as the Mighty Ducks) won 4–3 in a shootout in Ottawa.

Historical facts

This was the first time since the 1925 Victoria Cougars that a team from the west coast of North America won the Stanley Cup, and the first time an NHL team from the west coast had done so. The Ducks are the fourth west coast team to win the Cup, and the first from California.

Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, from Sweden, was the first European-born and raised captain to lead his team to the finals. Previously, only Canadians or an American had captained teams in the Finals. The Ducks were captained by a Canadian (Scott Niedermayer) and had more Canadian players than the Senators.

The 2007 Final marked the third straight in which a Canadian franchise lost against a franchise based in the U.S. sunbelt (previous Canadian teams in the last few Stanley Cup Finals were the 2004 Calgary Flames and the 2006 Edmonton Oilers, and not counting the 2004–05 NHL season lockout).

The series marked the first time that two teams from the early-'90s expansion era faced each other in the Final. (Anaheim had started play in 1993, Ottawa in 1992)

It was the first Final since 1999 where neither finalist had won the Stanley Cup previously.

As well, this was the third season in a row that the Cup was won by a team winning its first Cup after Tampa in 2004 and Carolina in 2006.

The third game, in Ottawa on June 2, was attended by 91-year old Russell Williams as a guest of the Senators. He had attended the last Finals game in Ottawa (April 13, 1927) versus the Boston Bruins in the old Ottawa Auditorium. His presence was a good-luck charm; as Ottawa won the game he attended.

ens Mile

Much like the Red Mile in Calgary during the Flames' 2004 cup run and the Blue Mile in Edmonton during the Oilers' 2006 cup run, Ottawa Senators fans took to the streets to celebrate their team's success. The idea to have a Sens Mile began as a grassroots campaign on Facebook by Ottawa residents before game four of the Ottawa-Buffalo Eastern Conference Finals series. [ [http://www.canada.com/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=5f37beb9-e64b-4762-a467-cef15d0eb37c&k=89106 'Sens mile' ] ] Their idea was to use Elgin Street as a gathering place for Sens fans to celebrate after games won. Since Scotiabank place is located in suburban Ottawa, spontaneous celebration did not occur during the Senators' cup run until that point, like it did in Calgary and Edmonton where the arenas are located more centrally.

When the Senators beat the Sabres in game five, people flocked to Elgin Street in celebration.

For the Stanley Cup finals, large videoscreens were installed at Ottawa City Hall for fans to view. After the Senators won game three of the Final, fans celebrated on Elgin Street once again, and Ottawa Police closed the street down.

Game one

NHLPlayoffs
team1 = Anaheim Ducks
team2 = Ottawa Senators
stadium1 = Honda Center
date1 = May 28
score1 = 3 – 2
won1 = 1

The scene was festive at Honda Center in Anaheim with several Hollywood celebrities on hand, including former movie star, now California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who dropped the puck for the ceremonial face-off.

As in their previous series, the Senators struck first. Mike Fisher started off the scoring in the series with a powerplay goal 1:38 into the first period that traveled high in the air, landed behind Giguere and trickled over the line. Although Ottawa scored first, Anaheim took over play during the course of the period. The Ducks replied nine minutes later with a goal from Andy McDonald at even strength. Ottawa was unable to get even one shot on goal in the last eleven minutes of the first, and the period ended with the score tied 1–1. The shots were 8–3 for Anaheim.

Early into the second, Wade Redden scored the only goal of the period, another power play goal for Ottawa from the blue line, putting the Senators up 2–1. Play was even for the most part, as indicated by the 10–10 shot total of the period.

The Ducks dominated most of the play in the third, tying the game 2–2 at five minutes into the third on a goal from Ryan Getzlaf, (making amends, it had been his penalty that Redden scored on ) followed by a dramatic game-winning goal by Travis Moen with three minutes left in the third. The shots ended 32–20 in Anaheim's favour.

ummary

First period

Scoring: (1) Ottawa: Mike Fisher (Andrej Meszaros, Mike Comrie) PP 1:38. (2) Anaheim: Andy McDonald (Teemu Selanne) 10:55.

Penalties: Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim (high-sticking) 0:53; Dany Heatley, Ottawa (tripping) 2:34; Ric Jackman, Anaheim (roughing) 14:14

Second period

Scoring: (3) Ottawa: Wade Redden (Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza) PP 4:36.

Penalties: Wade Redden, Ottawa (hooking) 0:59; Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim (cross-checking) 3:52; Francois Beauchemin, Anaheim (tripping) 6:34; Samuel Pahlsson, Anaheim (slashing) 6:59.

Third period

Scoring: (4) Anaheim: Ryan Getzlaf (Corey Perry, Ric Jackman) 5:44. (5) Anaheim: Travis Moen (Rob Niedermayer, Scott Niedermayer) 17:09

Penalties: Christoph Schubert, Ottawa (slashing) 6:37; Andrej Meszaros, Ottawa (interference) 10:03; Scott Niedermayer, Anaheim (hooking) 13:08; Chris Pronger, Anaheim (holding the stick) 19:16.

Shots

Game four

NHLPlayoffs
team1 = Ottawa Senators
team2 = Anaheim Ducks
stadium1 = Scotiabank Place
date1 = June 4
score1 = 2 – 3
won1 = 2Anaheim Ducks defenceman Chris Pronger was suspended for game four because of an elbow he delivered to the head of Senator Dean McAmmond in game three. Once again, the Ducks had to deal with the loss of Pronger while the Senators were itching to win both home games and tie the series.

After nearly a full period of scoreless play, Daniel Alfredsson scored at 19:59 (0.3 seconds remained) of the first to give the Senators a 1–0 lead on a powerplay goal. The momentum seemed to continue shifting from game three in Ottawa's favor as Anaheim could only get two shots the entire period. However, the NBC broadcasters noticed Ottawa embellishing some diving moves, such as Ray Emery falling down after being lightly grazed by a speeding Ryan Getzlaf, which resulted in the penalty and thus the power play goal.

In the second, the Ducks replied with two goals by Andy McDonald midway through the period to put them up 2–1. Ottawa came back with two minutes left in the period to tie the game 2–2 on a goal from Dany Heatley, his only goal of the series.

The game's most controversial moment came in the final five seconds of the second period. With the puck at center ice, Alfredsson shot the puck, which hit Scott Niedermayer. The incident appeared intentional, although Alfredsson claimed after the game that it was not. Niedermayer was not injured, but the Ducks were furious, sparking a post-buzzer scrum next to the Anaheim bench before the teams left the ice for the intermission. To the surprise of NBC's broadcasters, Alfredsson was not penalized for his actions, but Mike Fisher and Samuel Pahlsson were each handed matching minors for roughing.

The Ducks responded to the incident on the score board as Dustin Penner scored at 4:07 of the third to provide the winning 3–2 Anaheim margin, putting them up 3–1 in the series and provided an opportunity for the Ducks to clinch the Cup in game five.

ummary

First period

Scoring: (1) Ottawa: Daniel Alfredsson (Peter Schaefer, Mike Fisher) PP 19:59.

Penalties: Francois Beauchemin, Anaheim (slashing) - 0:58; Corey Perry, Anaheim (cross-checking) 3:54; Chris Neil, Ottawa (interference) 6:13; Corey Perry, Anaheim (roughing) 17:11; Patrick Eaves, Ottawa (holding) 17:11; Ryan Getzlaf, Anaheim (goaltender interference) 18:16

Second period

Scoring: (1) Anaheim: Andy McDonald (Todd Marchant, Corey Perry) 10:06; (2) Anaheim: Andy McDonald (Rob Niedermayer, Sean O'Donnell) 11:06; (2) Ottawa: Dany Heatley (Patrick Eaves, Jason Spezza 1:02

Penalties: Chris Neil, Ottawa (interference) 4:29; Chris Phillips Ottawa (hooking) 8:02; Samuel Pahlsson, Anaheim (roughing) 20:00; Mike Fisher Ottawa (roughing) 20:00

Third period

Scoring: (3) Anaheim: Dustin Penner (Teemu Selanne, Andy McDonald) 4:07

Penalties: Francois Beauchemin, Anaheim (holding)

Shots

Anaheim Ducks 2007 Stanley Cup champions

Stanley Cup champion
defence=*27 Scott Niedermayer (Captain)
*5 Ric Jackman
*21 Sean O'Donnell
*23 Francois Beauchemin
*25 Chris Pronger (A. Capt.)
*33 Joe Dipenta
*40 Kent Huskins
*34 Aaron Rome† (played 1 playoff game)
wingers=*8 Teemu Selanne
*10 Cory Perry
*14 Chris Kunitz
*16 George Parros
*18 Drew Miller
*24 Brad May
*32 Travis Moen
*38 Ryan Shannon
*46 Joe Motzko
*44 Rob Niedermayer (A. Capt.)
*45 Shawn Thornton
centers=*15 Ryan Getzlaf
*17 Dustin Penner
*19 Andy McDonald
*22 Todd Marchant
*26 Samuel Pahlsson
*52 Ryan Carter
*13 Mark Hartigan†(played 1 playoff game)
goaltenders=
*35 Jean-Sebastien Giguere
*30 Ilja Bryzgalov
*29 Sebastien Caron †(Subitution goalie)
player-notes=† Did not qualify to be on the Stanley Cup, but included on the team picture.
non-players=
*Henry Samueli (Governor/Owner), Susan Samueli (Owner),
* Michael Schulman (Chief Executive Officer/President)
*Brian Burke (Vice President/General Manager),
*Tim Ryan (Vice President/Chief Operating Officer), Bob Wagner (Vice President),
*Bob Murray (Vice President-Hockey Operations),
*David McNab (Assistant General Manager), Al Coates (Sr. Advisor to General Manager),
*Randy Carlyle (Head Coach), Dave Farrish (Ass't Coach), Newell Brown (Ass't Coach),
*Francois Allaire (Goaltending Consultant), Sean Skahan (Strength-Conditioning Coach),
*Joe Trotta (Video Coordinator), Tim Clark (Trainer),
*Mark O’Neil (Equipment Manager), John Allaway (Assistant Equipment Manager),
*James Partida (Massage Therapist),
*Rick Paterson (Director of Pro Scouting), Allan Chainey (Director of Amateur Scouting)

Only four players were left from the Ducks 2003 team that lost in finals to the New Jersey Devils - Jean-Sebastien Giguere, Rob Niedermayer, Samuel Pahlsson, Andy McDonald (Did not play in the playoffs in 2003).

Television ratings

The 2007 Stanley Cup Finals were also notable for their below-average television ratings. While coverage in Canada on CBC pulled in 2,608,000, 2,378,000, and 2,553,000 (for Games 1, 2, and 3 respectively), slightly higher than their numbers for equivalent games last year, viewership in the United States was dismal. game three's coverage on NBC garnered a mere 1.1 rating [http://www.cbc.ca/cp/entertainment/070605/e060581A.html] (approximately 1,205,600 households), making it the lowest rated prime-time broadcast in the network's history. For comparison, game six of the NBA Eastern Conference Finals, broadcast opposite game three on cable-channel TNT, achieved a 5.3 rating, approximately 5,808,800.

Games one and two were carried in the United States on cable channel Versus, with 523,000 and 446,000 households for game 1 and 2, respectively. [http://www.cbc.ca/cp/media/070604/X060419AU.html]

Game four on NBC in the United States achieved a 1.9 rating (approximately 2,082,400 households), down 5% from game four of last year's series [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/playoffs2007/news/story?id=2894490 ESPN - Game three equals NBC's lowest rating ever for prime-time program - NHL ] ] . game five received slightly less, 1.8 (approximately 1,972,800) [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2897126 ESPN - Ratings for Stanley Cup finals down 20 percent - NHL ] ] . As a whole, the United States rankings on NBC were down 20% from last year's series, making it the least-watched (in the United States) finals.

ee also

*2006–07 NHL season
*2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs
*2007 in ice hockey
*List of Stanley Cup champions

Notes and references