Ottawa/Anaheim 2007 Cup Final

[c9777666]

In the post Dead Puck era, 2007 Ducks/Sens is one of only two Cup Finals to not go 6-7 games

(The other one- Rangers/Kings 2014- is more well remembered given 3 games went to overtime, 2 of them double overtime, and how much time in that series the Rangers held a lead despite the outcome.)

Sandwiched between a stretch of 7 game Cup Final (2003-2004-2006) and the Pittsburgh/Detroit back to backs of 2008-2009, the wildly entertaining Chicago/Philly 2010 Cup Final and the hard to forget BOS/VAN series..... this one obviously is not mentioned amidst that stretch.

One reason perhaps is because it was one of only 5 Cup Finals since 2000 to not have any overtime games.

We hear how the Ducks dominated this series and their checking line and Pronger/Niedermayer tandem shut down Spezza and Heatley (Alfredsson was the one guy for Ott scoring this series), but it should be noted 3 of the Ducks' wins (games 1-2-4) were by one goal- not exactly 1995/1997 in terms of a lopsided Cup Final scoring wise.

Only game 5 was lopsided on the scoreboard- and that of course was the Chris Phillips own goal, but even that was a one goal game late in the 2nd period until ANA pulled away for 3 unanswered goals (the first by Francois Beauchemin, who just announced his retirement).

I know that Cup Final gets panned as one of the worst of the past few decades (Got lower ratings than Unhappily Ever After, this was when Versus/NBCSN was just starting out its run) and is viewed as perhaps the worst Cup Final in the 20 years since our last Cup Final sweep (ie 1999-present), but are we sure it was as one-sided as I have heard at times on HFBoards?

What are your recollections of this somewhat forgotten Cup Final, a rare short series in an era of long and drawn out Cup showdowns?

Click to read more...

 

[NyQuil]

Obviously I followed this series pretty closely as I did not miss a game in the stands during this run:

1. Not only were 3 of the 4 wins by one goal, but IIRC, they were all scored in the third period as well.

2. The Senators I believe had 12 days off in between the ECF and the Finals. It was worrisome at the time. Tough to maintain momentum.

3. The Game 4 loss was a pivotal one, in that Anaheim went back home up 3-1. Again, IIRC, the winning goal was scored when I believe Phillips broke a skate and was forced to leave the ice surface, with Redden having to jump on in his stead. With no skating momentum having just jumped on the ice, the Anaheim puck carrier easily went around him for the winning goal. Much was made of Alfredsson firing the puck at Niedermayer at the end of the 2nd as being the turning point of the game, but the 3rd period was evenly matched in terms of scoring chances.

4. Anaheim played a very physical series which Ottawa tried to match, having been the more physical team against the Pens, Devils and Sabres. But Senators fans were particularly frustrated with the blue line picks that appeared to be pretty standard for Western Conference hockey (preventing forecheckers from hitting the defencemen at the end boards or behind the net with speed). When Anaheim did take penalties, Ottawa did not capitalize, particularly on I believe 2 or 3 5 on 3s in the series. With such close games score wise, special teams were key.

5. Anaheim was very deep, with one of Niedermayer, Pronger and Beauchemin on at all times. It was difficult for Ottawa to maintain long periods of offensive zone time, which was their MO in previous series. By contrast, players like Redden struggled with the incoming forechecking pressure of the Anaheim forwards.

6. The series itself was not very close but the games were for the most part. Anaheim, however, made the most of their forward and defensive depth, and the Pizza Line which had won them the series against the Devils and Sabres in particular could not match the checking line as discussed. Alfredsson was moved to Fisher's line where he was more successful as Spezza and Heatley struggled.

7. Getzlaf, Perry and Penner were part of that Stanley Cup team, but the first line with Selanne on it had the often forgotten Andy McDonald and Chris Kunitz playing alongside him. With the third line of Moen-Niedermayer and Pahlsson, their top 9 outshone Ottawa's top 9 over the course of the series.

8. Alfredsson was a man possessed over the course of that playoff. He led the playoffs in goals and points, scored the OT winner that sent them to the finals, and scored a particularly memorable SH goal against Anaheim in Game 5 that tried to keep things close. It was a Conn Smythe worthy performance.

These are all top of head recollections and I may be off on a few details, but that's what I remember.

 

[c9777666]

The Senators I believe had 12 days off in between the ECF and the Finals. It was worrisome at the time. Tough to maintain momentum.

It was actually 9 days (OTT eliminated BUF on 5/19, Cup Finals started 5/28)

I'm surprised the wait was that long. Why not just start the series on Saturday the 26th (ANA clinched on 5/22)? We don't have waits that long anymore between conference finals and Cup Finals nowadays

 

[quoipourquoi]

We hear how the Ducks dominated this series and their checking line and Pronger/Niedermayer tandem shut down Spezza and Heatley (Alfredsson was the one guy for Ott scoring this series), but it should be noted 3 of the Ducks' wins (games 1-2-4) were by one goal- not exactly 1995/1997 in terms of a lopsided Cup Final scoring wise.

But the 2007 Ducks did that all playoff long - three 1-goal victories over each of their four opponents, going 16-5 overall. They drew three of the top-5 defensive teams in the league, so even though they would exchange blowouts in just about every round, most of the time they were playing tight games and coming out on top in 12/14 of those 1-goal games.

 

[Hockeyholic]

Probably one of the worst finals to watch in the past 15 years.

 

[tony d]

Decent final series, was glad to see Ottawa reach a Cup final but that Anaheim team was to strong and that led to them winning the series quickly.

 

[Terry Yake]

the ducks were just too deep for the sens to keep up with

kunitz-mcdonald-selanne
penner-getzlaf-perry
niedermayer-pahlsson-moen
may-marchant-thornton

niedermayer-beauchemin
pronger-o'donnell
dipenta-huskins

all 4 forward lines were able to contribute. even that 4th line was very solid throughout the regular season and playoffs. the sens had their chance to tie up the series with pronger suspended for game 4 but they couldn't take advantage of his absence

interesting that getzlaf led that team in playoff scoring.

 

[The Roy Of Ottawa]

Only 300,000 people in the U.S.watched the Stanley Cup winning game between Ottawa and Anaheim. The teams involved was the reason for it.

 

[Fire Benning]

It was a pretty mediocre finals, had the worst ratings in the US out of any Stanley Cup Final although the teams involved probably played a role in that. Ducks were just too deep, the checking line of Niedermayer, Sami Pahlsson, and Travis Moen like you mentioned was fantastic, one of the best non-top lines in recent history. Some of the Sens top guys like Spezza and Heatley who were over a PPG in thee playoffs prior to the finals were relatively quiet in the finals being held to 1 and 2 points over 5 games respectively. Sens were held to only 13 shots in the final game.

 

[Thenameless]

We hear how the Ducks dominated this series and their checking line and Pronger/Niedermayer tandem shut down Spezza and Heatley (Alfredsson was the one guy for Ott scoring this series), but it should be noted 3 of the Ducks' wins (games 1-2-4) were by one goal- not exactly 1995/1997 in terms of a lopsided Cup Final scoring wise.

I remember watching this series, and while the scores may not reflect it, Anaheim did dominate this series. Pretty badly in fact. I remember thinking that Ottawa really didn't have much of a chance at any time, culminating in that Game 5.

 

[c9777666]

I remember watching this series, and while the scores may not reflect it, Anaheim did dominate this series. Pretty badly in fact. I remember thinking that Ottawa really didn't have much of a chance at any time, culminating in that Game 5.

So basically Penguins/Sharks 2 years ago had SJS not forced a game 6

 

[Sentinel]

How do you think the Finals would turn out, had the Ducks lost to Detroit in the WCFs? Detroit was not nearly as physical as the Ducks, but overall I think series would be way more entertaining.

 

[Whaleafs]

One of my favorite finals. Hate Detroit and Ottawa so Anaheim took care of them in succession and Scott Niedermayer got his cup for Rob.

 

[Ivan13]

What I remember the most about that year is that when they announced Niedermayer as the Conn Smythe winner my first thought was "Good on Rob for winning it".

 

[quoipourquoi]

I mostly remember Scott passing the Stanley Cup to his brother and a giant oak tree skating into the camera shot and ruining everything. Learn your blocking, Pronger.

Even Doc undersold the moment, which makes me wonder if he had any siblings growing up.

 

[tarheelhockey]

Only 300,000 people in the U.S.watched the Stanley Cup winning game between Ottawa and Anaheim. The teams involved was the reason for it.

The teams involved were a big part of the reason, but there's also a lot less interest in a 3-1 series than there is in a 3-3 series. You're just not going to pull in as many casual/neutral fans when the outcome looks to be decided already.

 

[GordieHowsUrBreath]

I only watched the final 5 minutes of Anaheim clinching, I had no interest in this series and it's the only final I didn't watch since the 80's when I was a kid

 

[c9777666]

The teams involved were a big part of the reason, but there's also a lot less interest in a 3-1 series than there is in a 3-3 series. You're just not going to pull in as many casual/neutral fans when the outcome looks to be decided already.

Carolina/Edmonton the year before was a similar situation (3-1 series), yet that series had more interest by comparison

 

[Paul4587]

How do you think the Finals would turn out, had the Ducks lost to Detroit in the WCFs? Detroit was not nearly as physical as the Ducks, but overall I think series would be way more entertaining.

Detroit would have fairly easily handled the Sens. As a Ducks fan I can say that Detroit was the only team I was genuinely scared were going to take the series. They put up a hell of a fight and Jiggy stole us that one.

 

[Filatov2Kovalev2Bonk]

The Senators did have a long break but again, we barely practiced and if I recall, didn't fly in to Anaheim until a few days before. This was poor bench management by Murray.
Also forgotten is that Pronger absolutely ended Dean McAmmond in that series. I think he might have been suspended one game for that hit too. Overall we were pretty overmatched all over though. Alfie was in beast mode after having been threatened with a trade for Craig Conroy in December, e finally "got it" and our Pizza Line was probably near its peak (2006 was crazy as well).
From a personal standpoint it was fun. We had big screens in front of our City Hall in Ottawa and I think one of the games was pretty rainy here (was a while ago so might be wrong here) but we still watched.
I enjoyed it, but Murray should have blown up the team after that series, it was really over for that core at the time, but we didn't want to admit it to ourselves.

 

[EpochLink]

The Senators did have a long break but again, we barely practiced and if I recall, didn't fly in to Anaheim until a few days before. This was poor bench management by Murray.
Also forgotten is that Pronger absolutely ended Dean McAmmond in that series. I think he might have been suspended one game for that hit too. Overall we were pretty overmatched all over though. Alfie was in beast mode after having been threatened with a trade for Craig Conroy in December, e finally "got it" and our Pizza Line was probably near its peak (2006 was crazy as well).
From a personal standpoint it was fun. We had big screens in front of our City Hall in Ottawa and I think one of the games was pretty rainy here (was a while ago so might be wrong here) but we still watched.
I enjoyed it, but Murray should have blown up the team after that series, it was really over for that core at the time, but we didn't want to admit it to ourselves.

I remember the Sens Mile vividly, shame that was the peak of that Senators team. That team was on a steady peak from the early 2000's to end like that, it was an end of an era.

Hindsight it was 50/50 but losing Chara really hurt the Sens, Redden was thought as the long term guy but he burnt out rather quickly.

 

[Big Phil]

When you think of it, these two teams were actually the best teams to meet. It should have been a pretty close Cup final that even went the distance, but it didn't. However, I was pretty excited about this one going into it. Two excellent teams. But it didn't really live up to its billing. Yeah, it was a little boring, but that surprised me actually. Anaheim was one of those skill + toughness + intimidation teams that one. I guess the 2011 were similar that way but to me it was a bit like the Flyers of the 1970s. Anaheim fought a lot, and because of that there was a spike in fights the following year.

One thing I was impressed about was Alfredsson. As a Leaf fan we learned to dislike him but I gained respect for him because until then he really wasn't very good in the postseason.

 

[NyQuil]

Detroit would have fairly easily handled the Sens. As a Ducks fan I can say that Detroit was the only team I was genuinely scared were going to take the series. They put up a hell of a fight and Jiggy stole us that one.

I would have liked that series against the Red Wings.

 

[NyQuil]

One thing I was impressed about was Alfredsson. As a Leaf fan we learned to dislike him but I gained respect for him because until then he really wasn't very good in the postseason.

I'm still not sure where this comes from, although I suspect it had to do with the Toronto media and a little recency bias.

Over his first 6 playoffs:

1st Phase:
96-97 7 GP 5-2-7
97-98 11 GP 7-2-9
98-99 4 GP 1-2-3
99-00 6 GP 1-3-4
00-01 4 GP 1-0-1
01-02 12 GP 7-6-13

44 GP 22 G 15 A 37 PTS

Considering this was during the height of dead puck hockey, that stat line is very good.

It's worth noting that Alfredsson never had the benefit of Ottawa's #1 C while Hossa was with the team except from his position on the point on the PP.

Now I suspect that your opinion was framed because of these three years and how the 2006 playoffs ended on the Pominville play.

2nd Phase:
02-03 18 GP 4-4-8
03-04 7 GP 1-2-3
05-06 10 GP 2-8-10

35 GP 7 G 14 A 21 PTS

Not great, but not horrifying either.

Then you had his playoff leading results in 2007.

06-07 20 GP 14-8-22 PTS

 

[NyQuil]

Hindsight it was 50/50 but losing Chara really hurt the Sens, Redden was thought as the long term guy but he burnt out rather quickly.

The timing was terrible for that decision.

1. Chara had struggled in the 2006 playoffs with the post-lockout crackdown on obstruction. He was also playing with an injured wrist. And yet, people questioned whether he could adapt to the new "speedier" NHL.

2. Chara wanted the max salary over the max term at the time. 5 years at 7.5 million was the most money a player could earn.

3. Redden was willing to take fewer years at a smaller salary (3 years at 6.5 million) and was willing to drop to 6 million if Chara would.

4. Spezza and Heatley contracts were coming up on the horizon and the cap had just been put in place and was a measly 37 or 39 million at the time IIRC.

It was the kind of decision that left a bad feeling in the pit of everyone's stomach. I was never a strong Redden supporter, but he'd played better in those 2006 playoffs when the decision was made.

With hindsight, interviews and discussion has raised the issue of whether Chara ever really wanted to sign with the Senators.

1. He was not happy that his countryman and friend Marian Hossa was dealt for Heatley in a sign-and-trade situation. Marian was in tears and I believe it came out that it soured Zdeno on the organization somewhat.

2. He wanted a hand on the tiller of a team and that just wasn't going to happen with Alfredsson in the picture. He went to Boston to be the Captain.

If their contracts had come up a year earlier, who knows what would have happened?