leaffan (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} leaffan) wrote,@ 2007-06-07 10:54:00 |
|
Anaheim Stanley Cup articles
The Toronto Star
(2007-06-07)
Sports
Victorious Ducks carve NHL history
Graphic: Paul Chiasson cp The Ducks' Chris Pronger takes a beating from Ottawa forwards Antoine Vermette and Chris Neil during first-period action last
night in Anaheim. Paul Chiasson cp The Ducks' Chris Pronger takes a beating from Ottawa forwards Antoine Vermette and Chris Neil during first-period action
last night in Anaheim. ;
In years to come, they'll remember the 2007 Stanley Cup final almost exclusively for its significant place in the NHL history books.
Forty years after the NHL planted two franchises in California hoping to one day strike gold, the Anaheim Ducks finally delivered hockey's silver chalice
to the West Coast.
In doing may, they have signaled a third important era for the sport far from its birthplace.
Expanding to Los Angeles and Oakland was the first era. The arrival of Wayne Gretzky to the Kings 21 years later ushered in the second.
And now, with a champion to cheer for, enthusiastic fans that seem to truly embrace the game and thousands of children playing the sport, the NHL can hope
the game will thrive in a way that seemed unlikely just a few years ago when Disney decided to get out of the business.
Ducks general manager Brian Burke did a brilliant job of building this team, which destroyed the Ottawa Senators in five games with a convincing combination
of talent and muscle while rolling over three other opponents this spring.
But while the Ducks were deserving champions and it was wonderful to see Teemu Selanne win it all in his 1,127th game, the one-sided Cup final was a dud
from both an artistic and competitive standpoint. It was symbolic, really, of a disappointing playoff that featured low-scoring games and only one Game
7 in the 15 series played.
The blocked shot was the dominating element, the excitement-killing trap is back stronger than ever and NBC dealt the NHL a public humiliation by ducking
out of an important overtime game to cover a horse race.
Last night's deciding game, a 6-2 Anaheim win, thrilled the screaming locals but was a barely average contest. By the time the Ducks pulled ahead 5-2 in
the third, they'd managed 13 shots while the Senators had only eight.
The Sens never got going in the final but saved their worst for last.
Sens coach Bryan Murray's team couldn't shake off a nine-day, pre-series rest and for the most part played mediocre or terrible hockey afterward. By the
end, Daniel Alfredsson was the only one of Ottawa's stars that delivered anything close to quality. Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza were mere rumours and
goalie Ray Emery played worse and worse as the series progressed.
Chris Phillips' embarrassing own goal in the second period, eerily reminiscent of Steve Smith's infamous moment for the Oilers in the 1986 playoffs, ended
up as the winner and turned out to be representative of his team's overall performance, as was Antoine Vermette's fanned attempt to score on a third period
penalty shot.
It will be difficult for the Senators to live this down, to reflect happily upon all that was achieved this spring after their final performances against
the Ducks.
Anaheim is a big strong team that has stars in Selanne and Conn Smythe winner Scott Niedermayer and also a horde of affordable young talent, but they may
also be steering the game in a troubling direction. They joyfully led the league in penalties and fighting during the regular season and were rewarded
richly for that approach. It must be noted they won the Cup after winning two series in which Chris Pronger and Brad May were suspended for using vicious
cheapshots to sideline opposing players with concussions.
That said, for years it seemed that not only was hockey a difficult sell in California, it was impossible to stay out of the sun long enough to put together
a winner.
Once Mighty yet mocked, the Ducks have now put that theory to rest forever. For that, they will go down in history.
Damien Cox
- End of Article -
Return to newspaper list |
Return to The Toronto Star index |
Return to section: Sports
The (Mighty) Ducks rule; Dominate Sens from start to finish in first Stanley Cup victory for a California team
Graphic: DANNY MOLOSHOK REUTERS Ducks' Rob Niedermayer admires his handiwork after easily beating Senators goalie Ray Emery in first period of last night's
decisive Stanley Cup game. Chris Carlson Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, right, has to fend off some heavy crease traffic in the form of Sens' Chris
Neil and teammate Joe DiPenta last night. ;
Inspired by a cheesy Disney movie and introduced to the hockey world with the help of duck calls, a team that was once mocked has its fairytale ending.
The Ducks, no longer called Mighty but dominant just the same, last night hoisted the Stanley Cup, bringing the trophy to California for the first time
since the NHL was introduced to LaLa Land in 1967, a date that will surely ring significantly for Leafs fans.
In a typically powerful performance, aided by embarrassing Ottawa mistakes and questionable goaltending, the Ducks rolled over the Senators 6-2 last night.
That gave Anaheim a four games to one victory in the final in a series that simply wasn't as competitive as anticipated.
Ottawa, a team that impressed in upending Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Buffalo en route to its first appearance in a Cup final, was not up to the task. Its
top three players, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, simply couldn't match the depth and determination of the Ducks, although Alfredsson
did pot both Ottawa goals.
Nor did the Sens get the goaltending that Jean-Sebastien Giguere provided the Ducks. Ray Emery was shaky last night and he and defenceman Chris Phillips
combined on a disastrous own goal - Emery dragged the puck into the Ottawa net with his right skate after Phillips carried it out from behind his own net
- that made it 3-1 and choked off thoughts of a comeback.
Ottawa become the third consecutive team based in Canada to reach the Stanley Cup final but come away empty. Edmonton was taken out in seven games by Carolina
last season; Calgary was dismissed in seven by Tampa Bay, the season before the lockout. The last Canadian team to win a Cup was Montreal in 1993.
The victory was well-deserved by the Ducks and it came with several heart- warming stories, worthy of the Hollywood crowd that has been showing up to watch
then in the playoffs.
There was Teemu Selanne, one of the game's class acts, finally getting a Cup after 15 years of delighting fans in the league.
There were the Niedermayer brothers, united here, winning a Cup together after playing against each other in the 2003 final. Captain Scott Niedermayer was
voted MVP, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy.
And there was Giguere, who missed the start of the post-season because his newborn child had a damaged eye that required serious medical attention. Plus,
the emergence of the kids, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Dustin Penner, who helped give the team admirable depth.
Some of the stories, perhaps just as cheesy, are better than the original Mighty Ducks movies.
It was a typical Ducks effort right from the start with key contributions from different parts of the lineup without reliance on any one player to carry
the team.
In the first period, Anaheim got goals from Andy McDonald and Rob Niedermayer, but the most important play was provided by Francois Beauchemin, the solid
but overshadowed defenceman.
About five minutes into the game with the Ducks already leading 1-0, it appeared Spezza was about to tie the game and give Ottawa some much-needed momentum,
but he was robbed by Beauchemin. With Gigueure down at one side of the net, Ottawa's Antoine Vermette sent a perfect pass across the goalmouth to Spezza
who was staring at a wide-open net.
Just as Spezza shot, Beauchemin reached across with his stick to deflect away what looked like a sure goal. Later, he would get a stick on a Chris Neil
chance.
While Ottawa was coming close at one end, Emery was struggling at the other.
Paul Hunter
- End of Article -
Return to newspaper list |
Return to The Toronto Star index |
Return to section: Sports
Niedermayer takes MVP; Ducks defender adds Conn Smythe Trophy to collection of honours; hands Cup to brother
One of the most decorated players in hockey has added a new piece of impressive hardware to his trophy case.
Defenceman Scott Niedermayer, the only player to have won a Memorial Cup, world junior gold, men's world championship gold, Olympic gold, World Cup and,
of course, four Stanley Cups now has a Conn Smythe Trophy.
Niedermayer, 33, was selected as the most valuable player in the NHL playoffs but that's not what made this Stanley Cup special. It was, instead, the moment
after he was presented with the Cup as captain of the Anaheim Ducks.
He turned and passed the trophy to his brother Rob, a winger on the team who also had a terrific post-season and was a big part of the Ducks' success.
"It's special," said Scott Niedermayer. "You can only dream of passing it to your brother. To be able to do that is definitely a highlight of my career."
The Niedermayers are the first set of brothers to win the Stanley Cup together since Brent and Duane Sutter won a championship with the 1983 Islanders.
The two faced each other in the 2003 Cup final and Scott, then with New Jersey, emerged victorious. Their mother, Carol, famously said she was cheering
for Rob because he'd yet to win.
The two brothers, separated every winter since they were teens, began talking about trying to play on the same NHL team when they played together for Canada
at the 2005 world championship. They made it happen when Rob re-signed with the Ducks in 2005. Then Scott jumped on board as a free agent.
Despite the touching family moment, Scott said the Stanley Cup exhange with his brother wasn't choreographed ahead of time.
"I didn't know what I was going to do. You try and concentrate on the game. I wasn't drawing up plans," he said.
"But I guess he's one of the assistant captains. Maybe (he didn't have) the seniority, but I figured I could use my rank as captain to make that decision.
I thought it would be pretty special."
The younger Niedermayer then handed the Cup to Chris Pronger who, in turn, passed it to Teemu Selanne. Even though Scott brought the Cup home to Cranbrook,
B.C., on three previous occasions, it was the first time Rob had touched it.
Scott, 16 months older than Rob, said he was surprised to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
"I was out there trying to do my thing ... not really thinking about an award like this."
Paul Hunter
- End of Article -
Return to newspaper list |
Return to The Toronto Star index |
Return to section: Sports
The Toronto Star
(2007-06-07)
Sports
Victorious Ducks carve NHL history
Graphic: Paul Chiasson cp The Ducks' Chris Pronger takes a beating from Ottawa forwards Antoine Vermette and Chris Neil during first-period action last
night in Anaheim. Paul Chiasson cp The Ducks' Chris Pronger takes a beating from Ottawa forwards Antoine Vermette and Chris Neil during first-period action
last night in Anaheim. ;
In years to come, they'll remember the 2007 Stanley Cup final almost exclusively for its significant place in the NHL history books.
Forty years after the NHL planted two franchises in California hoping to one day strike gold, the Anaheim Ducks finally delivered hockey's silver chalice
to the West Coast.
In doing may, they have signaled a third important era for the sport far from its birthplace.
Expanding to Los Angeles and Oakland was the first era. The arrival of Wayne Gretzky to the Kings 21 years later ushered in the second.
And now, with a champion to cheer for, enthusiastic fans that seem to truly embrace the game and thousands of children playing the sport, the NHL can hope
the game will thrive in a way that seemed unlikely just a few years ago when Disney decided to get out of the business.
Ducks general manager Brian Burke did a brilliant job of building this team, which destroyed the Ottawa Senators in five games with a convincing combination
of talent and muscle while rolling over three other opponents this spring.
But while the Ducks were deserving champions and it was wonderful to see Teemu Selanne win it all in his 1,127th game, the one-sided Cup final was a dud
from both an artistic and competitive standpoint. It was symbolic, really, of a disappointing playoff that featured low-scoring games and only one Game
7 in the 15 series played.
The blocked shot was the dominating element, the excitement-killing trap is back stronger than ever and NBC dealt the NHL a public humiliation by ducking
out of an important overtime game to cover a horse race.
Last night's deciding game, a 6-2 Anaheim win, thrilled the screaming locals but was a barely average contest. By the time the Ducks pulled ahead 5-2 in
the third, they'd managed 13 shots while the Senators had only eight.
The Sens never got going in the final but saved their worst for last.
Sens coach Bryan Murray's team couldn't shake off a nine-day, pre-series rest and for the most part played mediocre or terrible hockey afterward. By the
end, Daniel Alfredsson was the only one of Ottawa's stars that delivered anything close to quality. Dany Heatley and Jason Spezza were mere rumours and
goalie Ray Emery played worse and worse as the series progressed.
Chris Phillips' embarrassing own goal in the second period, eerily reminiscent of Steve Smith's infamous moment for the Oilers in the 1986 playoffs, ended
up as the winner and turned out to be representative of his team's overall performance, as was Antoine Vermette's fanned attempt to score on a third period
penalty shot.
It will be difficult for the Senators to live this down, to reflect happily upon all that was achieved this spring after their final performances against
the Ducks.
Anaheim is a big strong team that has stars in Selanne and Conn Smythe winner Scott Niedermayer and also a horde of affordable young talent, but they may
also be steering the game in a troubling direction. They joyfully led the league in penalties and fighting during the regular season and were rewarded
richly for that approach. It must be noted they won the Cup after winning two series in which Chris Pronger and Brad May were suspended for using vicious
cheapshots to sideline opposing players with concussions.
That said, for years it seemed that not only was hockey a difficult sell in California, it was impossible to stay out of the sun long enough to put together
a winner.
Once Mighty yet mocked, the Ducks have now put that theory to rest forever. For that, they will go down in history.
Damien Cox
- End of Article -
Return to newspaper list |
Return to The Toronto Star index |
Return to section: Sports
The (Mighty) Ducks rule; Dominate Sens from start to finish in first Stanley Cup victory for a California team
Graphic: DANNY MOLOSHOK REUTERS Ducks' Rob Niedermayer admires his handiwork after easily beating Senators goalie Ray Emery in first period of last night's
decisive Stanley Cup game. Chris Carlson Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere, right, has to fend off some heavy crease traffic in the form of Sens' Chris
Neil and teammate Joe DiPenta last night. ;
Inspired by a cheesy Disney movie and introduced to the hockey world with the help of duck calls, a team that was once mocked has its fairytale ending.
The Ducks, no longer called Mighty but dominant just the same, last night hoisted the Stanley Cup, bringing the trophy to California for the first time
since the NHL was introduced to LaLa Land in 1967, a date that will surely ring significantly for Leafs fans.
In a typically powerful performance, aided by embarrassing Ottawa mistakes and questionable goaltending, the Ducks rolled over the Senators 6-2 last night.
That gave Anaheim a four games to one victory in the final in a series that simply wasn't as competitive as anticipated.
Ottawa, a team that impressed in upending Pittsburgh, New Jersey and Buffalo en route to its first appearance in a Cup final, was not up to the task. Its
top three players, Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley, simply couldn't match the depth and determination of the Ducks, although Alfredsson
did pot both Ottawa goals.
Nor did the Sens get the goaltending that Jean-Sebastien Giguere provided the Ducks. Ray Emery was shaky last night and he and defenceman Chris Phillips
combined on a disastrous own goal - Emery dragged the puck into the Ottawa net with his right skate after Phillips carried it out from behind his own net
- that made it 3-1 and choked off thoughts of a comeback.
Ottawa become the third consecutive team based in Canada to reach the Stanley Cup final but come away empty. Edmonton was taken out in seven games by Carolina
last season; Calgary was dismissed in seven by Tampa Bay, the season before the lockout. The last Canadian team to win a Cup was Montreal in 1993.
The victory was well-deserved by the Ducks and it came with several heart- warming stories, worthy of the Hollywood crowd that has been showing up to watch
then in the playoffs.
There was Teemu Selanne, one of the game's class acts, finally getting a Cup after 15 years of delighting fans in the league.
There were the Niedermayer brothers, united here, winning a Cup together after playing against each other in the 2003 final. Captain Scott Niedermayer was
voted MVP, winning the Conn Smythe Trophy.
And there was Giguere, who missed the start of the post-season because his newborn child had a damaged eye that required serious medical attention. Plus,
the emergence of the kids, Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Dustin Penner, who helped give the team admirable depth.
Some of the stories, perhaps just as cheesy, are better than the original Mighty Ducks movies.
It was a typical Ducks effort right from the start with key contributions from different parts of the lineup without reliance on any one player to carry
the team.
In the first period, Anaheim got goals from Andy McDonald and Rob Niedermayer, but the most important play was provided by Francois Beauchemin, the solid
but overshadowed defenceman.
About five minutes into the game with the Ducks already leading 1-0, it appeared Spezza was about to tie the game and give Ottawa some much-needed momentum,
but he was robbed by Beauchemin. With Gigueure down at one side of the net, Ottawa's Antoine Vermette sent a perfect pass across the goalmouth to Spezza
who was staring at a wide-open net.
Just as Spezza shot, Beauchemin reached across with his stick to deflect away what looked like a sure goal. Later, he would get a stick on a Chris Neil
chance.
While Ottawa was coming close at one end, Emery was struggling at the other.
Paul Hunter
- End of Article -
Return to newspaper list |
Return to The Toronto Star index |
Return to section: Sports
Niedermayer takes MVP; Ducks defender adds Conn Smythe Trophy to collection of honours; hands Cup to brother
One of the most decorated players in hockey has added a new piece of impressive hardware to his trophy case.
Defenceman Scott Niedermayer, the only player to have won a Memorial Cup, world junior gold, men's world championship gold, Olympic gold, World Cup and,
of course, four Stanley Cups now has a Conn Smythe Trophy.
Niedermayer, 33, was selected as the most valuable player in the NHL playoffs but that's not what made this Stanley Cup special. It was, instead, the moment
after he was presented with the Cup as captain of the Anaheim Ducks.
He turned and passed the trophy to his brother Rob, a winger on the team who also had a terrific post-season and was a big part of the Ducks' success.
"It's special," said Scott Niedermayer. "You can only dream of passing it to your brother. To be able to do that is definitely a highlight of my career."
The Niedermayers are the first set of brothers to win the Stanley Cup together since Brent and Duane Sutter won a championship with the 1983 Islanders.
The two faced each other in the 2003 Cup final and Scott, then with New Jersey, emerged victorious. Their mother, Carol, famously said she was cheering
for Rob because he'd yet to win.
The two brothers, separated every winter since they were teens, began talking about trying to play on the same NHL team when they played together for Canada
at the 2005 world championship. They made it happen when Rob re-signed with the Ducks in 2005. Then Scott jumped on board as a free agent.
Despite the touching family moment, Scott said the Stanley Cup exhange with his brother wasn't choreographed ahead of time.
"I didn't know what I was going to do. You try and concentrate on the game. I wasn't drawing up plans," he said.
"But I guess he's one of the assistant captains. Maybe (he didn't have) the seniority, but I figured I could use my rank as captain to make that decision.
I thought it would be pretty special."
The younger Niedermayer then handed the Cup to Chris Pronger who, in turn, passed it to Teemu Selanne. Even though Scott brought the Cup home to Cranbrook,
B.C., on three previous occasions, it was the first time Rob had touched it.
Scott, 16 months older than Rob, said he was surprised to win the Conn Smythe Trophy.
"I was out there trying to do my thing ... not really thinking about an award like this."
Paul Hunter
- End of Article -
Return to newspaper list |
Return to The Toronto Star index |
Return to section: Sports
