Hockey Today - June 7
Thu, Jun 7, 2007
By Associated Press
STAR
Wednesday
-Travis Moen, Ducks, scored twice and Anaheim won its first Stanley Cup championship with a 6-2 victory over Ottawa in Game 5 of the finals.
ON TOP
Anaheim won its first Stanley Cup with a 6-2 win over Ottawa in Game 5 of the finals. The Ducks, which entered the league in 1993, gave the state of California its first NHL championship.
MVP
Anaheim defenseman Scott Niedermayer earned his first Conn Smythe Trophy as MVP of the NHL playoffs. Niedermayer earned the fourth Stanley Cup championship of his 16-season NHL career, the first three coming with New Jersey.
WOE, CANADA
Canada's Stanley Cup drought reached 14 years after Anaheim defeated Ottawa 6-2 to win its first championship on Wednesday night. Canada hasn't boasted a winner since Montreal in 1993. Calgary, Edmonton and now Ottawa - in its first trip since the Senators were reborn in 1992 - each had a chance the past three seasons only to be done in by a U.S. club from the sun belt.
OH, BROTHER
Rob and Scott Niedermayer of Anaheim are the first brothers to win a Stanley Cup championship since Brent and Duane Sutter won their second straight title with the New York Islanders in 1983. In 2003, Scott's New Jersey Devils defeated Rob's Mighty Ducks for the Cup.
STRONG IN DEFEAT
Daniel Alfredsson scored both Ottawa goals in a 6-2 loss at Anaheim in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals on Wednesday night. Alfredsson finished the postseason with an NHL-leading 14 goals.
HOME COOKING
Anaheim is 8-0 at home in series-clinching games, including Wednesday night's 6-2 victory over Ottawa that gave the Ducks their first Stanley Cup championship. Anaheim closed out each of its four series in this year's playoffs at home.
OFF THE ISLAND
The New York Islanders will buy out the remaining four years on captain Alexei Yashin's 10-year contract in the first step of an offseason overhaul they hope will include re-signing Jason Blake and Ryan Smyth. Yashin finished with 119 goals and 171 assists in 346 games with the Islanders, but struggled the past two seasons as captain after Michael Peca was traded to Edmonton in 2005 following the NHL lockout. He had 18 goals and 32 assists this season.
SIDELINED
Ottawa center Dean McAmmond missed his second straight game Wednesday night because of a concussion. McAmmond was still unable to play due to the concussion sustained when Anaheim's Chris Pronger elbowed him in the head four days earlier.
SIGNED
Toronto signed forward Nik Antropov to a two-year extension on Wednesday.
SPEAKING
''He's won so much, but he's never been a guy who's ever rubbed it in a guy's face. He's been rooting for me my whole career, and I'm just lucky to have him as a brother.'' - Anaheim's Rob Niedermayer on teammate and brother, Scott, after the Ducks won the Stanley Cup on Wednesday night. Scott won three championships with New Jersey, including in 2003 over Rob's Ducks.
Ducks capture first Stanley Cup
Wed, Jun 6, 2007
By Associated Press
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- The Anaheim Ducks aren't called mighty anymore. Now they can simply answer to Stanley Cup champions.
The 14-year-old Ducks captured their first NHL title with a 6-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday night ending the series in five games in front of the home folks yet again.
For the first time, the Stanley Cup resides in California and at the expense of Canada, which hasn't boasted a winner since Montreal in 1993. Calgary, Edmonton and now Ottawa - in its first trip since the Senators were reborn in 1992 - each had a chance the past three seasons only to be done in by a U.S. club from the sun belt.
Tampa Bay, Carolina and Anaheim aren't exactly traditional hockey hotbeds but they have been the Cup's warm weather homes since 2004. Wayne Gretzky made the game a happening in Southern California when he came to Los Angeles in 1988, the Ducks made it legit two decades later with their second trip to the finals.
Ducks captain Scott Niedermayer won it for the fourth time, and brought his brother Rob and teammates Teemu Selanne and Chris Pronger along for the ride for their first. Rob Niedermayer is one of three Ducks on the losing side of the finals in 2003 when Scott Niedermayer and the New Jersey Devils captured their third title in Game 7.