Ducks Have a Chance to Sink Sens at Home

 

Justin Dahan (HV)

 

In game 4 the Senators came out buzzing with a great effort in the first period. They recorded 13 shots and held the high flying Ducks to only 2 shots. And Daniel Alfredsson scored with 0.3 seconds left on the clock. Usually a play like that would be a backbreaker, but the Ducks managed to use that as a source of inspiration.

“I think we were pretty down. We gave up the goal late in the period there, and obviously we took the penalties and that makes things pretty frustrating, especially the amount of times we talk about being disciplined, and the message was that we have to be a lot smarter in the second and get in on the forecheck and get our game going and gain some momentum. I think the message worked. I think we had a stronger second.” Ducks forward Andy McDonald commented about the atmosphere in the dressing room coming out of the first period.

Out of all the players to elevate their level of play for the second McDonald managed to step up his game the most. McDonald managed to score both the tying goal and the go ahead goal in the second. Nothing out of the ordinary for McDonald, according to Scott Niedermayer, “I mean, (McDonald) been doing it for us all year.”

Despite a horrendous second period for the Senators, Dany Heatley managed to tie up the game, on a feed from Patrick Eaves, with two minutes left in the period. Another goal that would normally be a back breaker, another goal that the Ducks bounced back from unscathed.

In the third, youngster Dustin Penner scored the winner after Brad May left the ice. “It was at the end of their shift and our line; me, Getzlaf, and Perry were out next. May was the first one to change. So he was my winger and I took him.” Because of May’s early change Penner had a chance to play with Teemu Selanne who fed Penner the puck for his goal.

With the win the Ducks are one game away from winning the Stanley Cup. They have a chance to end the series on Wednesday at their home arena.

Prior to the game one of the major side stories was the suspension of Anaheim defenseman Chris Pronger for his elbow to the head of Dean McAmmond. Pronger is the only player to be suspended twice in the same playoff year since 2004 when Ville Nieminen received the “honor” of sitting out twice.

The two games that Pronger has been out of the lineup were both wins for the Ducks. Not that the Ducks want to get used to the idea of playing without Pronger. “I don't think we want to get used to playing without Chris. He's a great player and helps our team a lot,” said Anaheim captain Scott Niedermayer after the game.

Regardless of what the Ducks want they seem to step it up when they have to. Particularly impressive was Francois Beauchemin who logged the most ice time in the game with 31:40 minutes, slightly more than the 29:23 minutes that Niedermayer played. Beauchemin was also a +2 during the game, and all this on his birthday. The Anaheim defenseman turned 27 on game day.

The series play will resume on Wednesday at the Honda Center in Anaheim . An arena that hasn’t been kind to the Ottawa Senators in these playoffs.

 

 

Photo: Anaheim Ducks celebrate goal © Stephine Chavez (HV)