GAME THREAD: GAME THREAD: NHL: ANAHEIM (14-4) at OTTAWA (12-5)

NHL: ANAHEIM at OTTAWA

<div class="pre">STANLEY CUP FINALS

-----------------------------------------
ANAHEIM 1 2 0 --3
OTTAWA 1 3 1 --5
-----------------------------------------

FIRST PERIOD -- Scoring: 1, Anaheim, Andy Mcdonald 7 (power play)
(Teemu Selanne), 5:39. 2, Ottawa, Chris Neil 2 (Chris Kelly, Andrej
Meszaros), 16:10. Penalties: W Redden, Ott (interference), 3:51; B
May, Ana (interference), 6:01; T Moen, Ana (diving), 11:29; M Fisher,
Ott (roughing), 11:29.

SECOND PERIOD -- Scoring: 3, Anaheim, Corey Perry 5 (Dustin Penner, Ryan
Getzlaf), 5:20. 4, Ottawa, Mike Fisher 5 (Anton Volchenkov), 5:47. 5,
Anaheim, Ryan Getzlaf 7 (Dustin Penner, Corey Perry), 7:38. 6, Ottawa,
Daniel Alfredsson 11 (power play) (Wade Redden, Joe Corvo), 16:14. 7,
Ottawa, Dean Mcammond 5 (Oleg Saprykin, Christoph Schubert), 18:34.
Penalties: J Spezza, Ott (holding served by M Comrie), 2:04; S
Pahlsson, Ana (roughing), 2:04; S Niedermayer, Ana (hooking), 13:44; S
O'Donnell, Ana (cross checking), 15:39.

THIRD PERIOD -- Scoring: 8, Ottawa, Anton Volchenkov 2 (Antoine
Vermette, Chris Kelly), 8:22. Penalties: D Penner, Ana (roughing),
2:55; C Neil, Ott (roughing), 2:55; M Fisher, Ott (roughing), 2:55; P
Schaefer, Ott (roughing), 2:55; C Perry, Ana (double minor roughing),
2:55; R Getzlaf, Ana (roughing), 2:55; B May, Ana (tripping), 5:43; P
Schaefer, Ott (interference), 10:41; R Getzlaf, Ana (holding), 11:05;
A Mcdonald, Ana (goalie interference), 15:29; C Phillips, Ott
(roughing), 19:49.

Shots on goal:
----------------------------------------
ANAHEIM 8 11 3 --22
OTTAWA 10 12 7 --29
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Power-play Conversions: ANA - 1 of 3, OTT - 1 of 7. Goalies : Anaheim,
Jean-Sebastien Giguere (29 shots, 24 saves; record: 11-4-0). Ottawa,
Ray Emery (22 shots, 19 saves; record: 13-5-0). A: 20,500. Referees:
Dan O'Halloran, Paul Devorski. Linesmen: Jean Morin, Shane Heyer.

INDIVIDUAL PLAYER STATISTICS

ANAHEIM OTTAWA
G A +/- Shots G A +/- Shots
C Perry 1 1 +1 1 D Alfredsson 1 0 even 3
C Kunitz 0 0 -1 0 M Fisher 1 0 even 3
R Getzlaf 1 1 even 2 A Meszaros 0 1 +1 0
D Penner 0 2 +1 3 D Heatley 0 0 even 0
A McDonald 1 0 -2 1 J Spezza 0 0 +1 0
S O'Donnell 0 0 +1 1 A Vermette 0 1 even 1
T Marchant 0 0 -1 5 C Kelly 0 2 +1 1
F Beauchemin 0 0 -3 3 A Volchenkov 1 1 even 5
B May 0 0 even 0 C Neil 1 0 +1 2
C Pronger 0 0 even 2 P Schaefer 0 0 even 2
S Pahlsson 0 0 -1 0 D McAmmond 1 0 +1 3
S Niedermayer 0 0 -1 0 C Phillips 0 0 even 2
T Moen 0 0 even 2 T Preissing 0 0 +1 2
K Huskins 0 0 -1 0 C Schubert 0 1 +1 1
R Niedermayer 0 0 -1 1 W Redden 0 1 +1 1
S Thornton 0 0 even 0 O Saprykin 0 1 +1 1
R Jackman 0 0 even 0 J Corvo 0 1 +1 2
T Selanne 0 1 -2 1 M Comrie 0 0 even 0
J DiPenta HEALTHY B McGrattan HEALTHY
M Hartigan HEALTHY L Nycholat HEALTHY
G Parros HEALTHY P Eaves HEALTHY
R Shannon HEALTHY
A Miller HEALTHY</div>

 

NHL: ANAHEIM at OTTAWA

<div class="pre">STANLEY CUP FINALS


** CONFIRMED **
NHL STANLEY CUP FINALS
ANAHEIM 3
OTTAWA 5</div>

 

OTTAWA (Ticker) -- What a difference playing on home ice makes.Getting some fortunate bounces also tends to help.

Dean McAmmond snapped a tie with a fluke goal late in the secondperiod and defenseman Anton Volchenkov added insurance 8 1/2minutes into the third as the Ottawa Senators found theiroffensive touch and posted a 5-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducksin Game Three of the Stanley Cup Finals on Saturday.

After finishing second in the league in goals during the regularseason, Ottawa entered the Finals tied with Detroit for firstin tallies in the playoffs. But the Senators managed just twogoals in the first two games in Anaheim, with both coming inGame One on the power play.

But with a raucous crowd at Scotiabank Place behind them, theSenators broke through in a big way to get back in the seriesand have a chance to even it at two wins apiece when they hostGame Four on Monday.

"We knew we'd get a boost being back home, in front of ourfans," Senators center Mike Fisher said. "Before the game, wecould hear them going nuts. We were confident. We knew wecould put out a good effort and beat this team. ... We know howwe can beat this team now."

"The crowd helped us out, no question," Ottawa captain DanielAlfredsson added. "Every line played real well today. I thinkas a team, we needed to have a good effort, and we got some bigshifts from Fisher's line, (Chris) Kelly's line with (Chris)Neil and those guys. ... It was was nice to see."

The teams traded tallies over the first 36 1/2 minutes beforeMcAmmond put Ottawa ahead for good with 86 seconds left in themiddle period. Oleg Saprykin gained control in the left cornerand dished to McAmmond, who attempted a pass from behind thenet.

Instead of reaching its target in Christoph Schubert, the puckcaromed off defenseman Chris Pronger and past goaltenderJean-Sebastien Giguere, giving McAmmond his fifth goal of thepostseason and the Senators a 4-3 edge.

"It was great work by us in their zone by passing the puck,"Saprykin said. "Schubert got good speed and was able to chip itby Getzlaf. He passed it back to me and I passed it to Dean,and Dean made a great shot."

"They outworked us, simple as that," Anaheim coach Randy Carlylesaid. "When you're playing in the Stanley Cup Finals, there'sa lot of emotions and a lot of energy that gets expended. Andtonight, some of their foot soldiers. ... Some of their otherplayers stepped up for them, and you have to give them credit."

Early in the third, McAmmond was elbowed in the head by Prongerand remained on the ice in the corner for several minutes beforebeing helped to the locker room. He did not return.

"He's OK now," Senators coach Bryan Murray said. "He's comearound now. I don't know what the state will be going forwardfor a little bit of time."

Goalless since scoring the winner against Pittsburgh in GameFour of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals, Volchenkov doubledOttawa's advantage at 8:22 of the third. Antoine Vermette dugthe puck out of a crowd in the left corner and skated behind thenet before passing to Volchenkov, who ripped a shot from theright faceoff circle that beat Giguere to the glove side for hissecond of the playoffs.

"It was a really good play by Antoine Vermette," Volchenkovsaid. "He skated behind the net and made a great pass to me. Imade a one-timer and scored."

The two-goal lead was the first by either team in the series.

Despite returning home with a 2-0 series deficit, the Senatorswere welcomed to a thunderous ovation when they hit the ice. Butafter goaltender Ray Emery - who turned aside 19 shots - made aspectacular glove save on Dustin Penner from alone in the rightcircle just two minutes into the game, the crowd was silencedat 5:39.

Just 1-for-25 on the power play in its previous four roadcontests, Anaheim converted its first chance in this one to takethe lead.

From behind his net, Emery fire the puck up the right wingboards. But Fisher could not control it, and Teemu Selannegained possession in the right corner.

After skating behind the net, the "Finnish Flash" dished to AndyMcDonald, who fired a wrist shot from the slot that beat astickless Emery to the short side. The netminder had droppedhis stick while attempting to prevent Selanne from tucking inthe puck at the left goalpost.

Ottawa drew even with 3:50 remaining after buzzing for severalminutes. Kelly got the puck from defenseman Andrej Meszaros andcarried through the left circle to below the end line.

Tough guy Neil, whose wife gave birth to the couple's firstchild Friday night, received a pass from Kelly and put a shotfrom in front past Giguere for his second goal of thepostseason.

"He really rewarded us with effort, great attitude, and gettingthe goal was a big bonus for us," Murray said.

"We knew we weren't going to win this game 1-0," Anaheim's RyanGetzlaf said. "Not with the team they have over there. Theybattled the way they wanted to at home and we didn't. ... Wecan't blame anybody else, we're the ones out on the ice. We hadsome lapses tonight and it cost us."

Neil's tally was Ottawa's first at even strength in the Finalsand ended its scoreless streak at 111 minutes, 34 seconds.

The hero of Game One by scoring the winning goal late in thethird period, Travis Moen nearly put the Ducks ahead 85 secondsinto the middle session of this one. But his shot from alone onthe doorstep rang off the right post.

Corey Perry did restore Anaheim's lead at 5:20 with his fifth ofthe playoffs. Dustin Penner chipped a pass from along the leftwing boards to the 2003 first-round pick, who walked to the netfrom the left corner and slipped the puck between the pads ofEmery for a 2-1 edge.

But the Senators answered just 27 seconds later. After winninga faceoff in the right circle, Fisher deflected Volchenkov'sshot from the point over the left shoulder of a screened Giguerefor his fifth postseason goal.

"For whatever reason, we didn't move, weren't able to getphysical," Ducks center Todd Marchant said. "We weren't big onthe forecheck, we had to take penalties and they controlled thepace of the game. We have to get back to the hard work thatwe've become accustomed to all year."

It took the Ducks less than two minutes to take their third leadof the game as, from the slot, Getzlaf buried the rebound ofPenner's shot, beating Emery to the stick side at 7:38 for hisseventh tally and a 3-2 advantage.

Giguere made a blocker save on Alfredsson during a short 2-on-1rush midway through the second, the Ottawa captain's soccerskills helped produce the equalizer.

"He's so good with his feet," Senators defenseman Wade Reddensaid. "He has quick eye-foot coordination, like it's a soccerball out there. We all know how good he is with the speed ofhis feet. It came down to a skilled guy like that making agreat play. It was a huge goal for us."

Redden unleashed a slap shot from the left point that hit Ducksdefenseman Scott Niedermayer on its way to the net. The pucksailed to the right side, where Alfredsson - who had his sticktied up by Getzlaf - redirected it past Giguere with his leftskate with 3:46 remaining.

The goal was waved off by referee Dan O'Halloran, but after theplay was reviewed by video replay officials, Alfredsson wasawarded a power-play goal, his 11th tally of the postseason andfirst in the Finals.

"I felt it was a goal all along," Alfredsson said. "I don'tthink it was kicked. To me, it felt I never kicked the puck,never lifted my foot. I was confident it was going to be agoal."

"Obviously, the league felt it wasn't kicked in," Carlyle said."Sometimes those things go for you. Tonight, it went againstus. We felt that there was a kicking motion from our point ofview, but I haven't really reviewed the replay from a bunch ofdifferent angles. But that's the way it is. They make the calland you have to live with it."

Peter Schaefer had an opportunity to give Ottawa a 5-3 bulge butnever got off a shot during his breakaway, instead allowing thepuck to roll right into Giguere's pads just 36 seconds into thethird.

With just over four minutes gone by, Marchant's attempt to forgea 4-4 tie was thwarted when Emery denied his shot on ashorthanded partial break.

Giguere made 24 saves for Anaheim, which lost for the first timethis postseason when it scored at least two goals.

The Ducks again were unable to contain their composure,committing 12 penalties that resulted in seven power plays forthe Senators. Seven of the infractions took place in the thirdperiod.

"The frustration level showed in our group in the third period,"Carlyle said. "But we have to take responsibility for ouractions, and we played nowhere near to our capabilities. Anddiscipline was an issue."

Pronger agreed that the penalties hurt Anaheim.

"Especially when you're trying to mount a comeback and you takefour straight penalties and allow them to continue to pressforward and get chance after chance," he said. "They did afantastic job of keeping us in forced defense for most of thethird period. We did a great job in Game Two. We've got tocome back and re-evaluate and make sure we're disciplined forGame Four."

Chris Kunitz returned to the lineup for the Ducks aftersuffering a broken hand in Game One of the Western Conferencefinals against Detroit. But the left wing suffered a "lowerbody" injury early in the second period and never returned.