Kings Beat Ducks in '07-08 Season Opener

It was a historic day in the world of hockey today. Not only was the 2007-08 NHL season getting underway, but the 1st ever NHL game was being played in London, England, and 2 future stars took to the ice for the 1st time in their NHL careers.

It was packed at the O2 Arena in London with fans from all over the world in attendance. After a short delay due to the lighting, the game got underway. Mike Cammaleri got the 1st goal of the new season early in the period to give the Kings the surprising lead. It was then a full period and 2 minutes until the next goal was scored, and that was in part due to the Kings goaltender, Johnathon Bernier. Bernier played 2 games for Canada in the Super Series and looked superb, and he looked the same facing the games best. He saved shot after shot as the Ducks tried to tie the game up, but Bernier didn't flinch.

Then, in the middle of the 2nd period, the Kings were on a powerplay. Anze Kopitar fired a shot that didn't get through all the way. The puck laid in the crease and to the back of the unsuspecting Ilya Bryzgalov when Rob Blake tapped it in to give the Kings a 2-0 lead. Los Angeles didn't wait long to get goal number 3, as Cammaleri scored his 2nd goal of the game early in the 3rd to give the Kings a 3-0 lead. From then on, Bernier took over... again. He was a brick wall and seemed to have no jitters as he neared closer and closer to his 1st NHL win. His day would of been perfect if it hadn't been for another rising star.

While on the powerplay, Chris Pronger fired a shot from the blueline that was saved by Bernier. But a huge rebound came to the 2nd overall pick in 2005, Bobby Ryan. Ryan showed no hesitation, as he went quickly to his backhand and potted the puck in. But that goal was all for none, as Micheal Handzus scored a empty-net goal shortly after to clinch the game for the Kings. The final score was 4-1.

All the talk after the game was the stellar performance from 19 year-old Johnathon Bernier. "I don't think you could've expected a better game from a 19-year-old goaltender," Kings coach Marc Crawford said. "There was a lot of pressure tonight, and he looked like a really solid, solid goaltender. Not very many pucks bounced off of him, and he made a couple of great saves."

''It's pretty amazing,'' said Blake. ''At 19 years old, the way he plays is very calm. He just stands in there, he doesn't move too much, he seems to swallow those pucks. They got that goal and started coming at us pretty good and he smothered two or three pucks and you could see our bench calm down.''

They other key to the game was Anaheim's lack of discipline. 3 of the Kings 4 goals were scored on the powerplay, and the 4th goal as you might remember was just a empty-netter. ''Our inability to stay out of the box obviously killed us today,'' said Ducks captain Chris Pronger. ''You're going to lose a fair amount of games if you take that amount of penalties.''

The 2 clubs meet tomorrow at the O2 Arena for what promises to be a good re-match.

The NHL Opener

Sorry about not putting up an alert saying that I would be away for a week. I just forgot. But now that I'm back, it's time to do one of the biggest stories of the year.

The NHL season opener is today at 12:00pm with the Kings facing the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Anaheim Ducks. Don't think I made a mistake with the time. The game is being played in a special place. London, England! Yes the great city of London is hosting it's 1st ever NHL game. But right now, the teams aren't thinking about showing hockey off to English fans. They are just thinking about winning the opener. ''There's a subtle feeling that comes over a team,'' said Kings head coach Marc Crawford. ''And you can see it in the players, there's a little more focus in their eyes."

Although the Kings might be focused as Crawford said, I don' think they have a chance at winning this game. The Ducks did suffer some blows during the off-season, losing Maurice Richard Trophy candidate Teemu Selanne to free-agency, Dustin Penner to Edmonton, and maybe Scott Neidermayer to retirement. But they do have some young players ready to step up, like Corey Perry, and Ryan Getzlaf, how everyone is choosing to have a breakout year.

Because of this, I think the Ducks will beat the Kings in the season opener today. But be ready to see a re-match tomorrow, also at 12:00pm.

Ducks Decline Offer Sheet for Penner

Brian Burke and the Anaheim Ducks have decided not to match the Edmonton Oilers' offer sheet to Dustin Penner. The offer sheet was worth over $4 million dollars per year, which seems to much for the Ducks to pay.

This means that the Oilers will owe Anaheim their 1st, 2nd and 3rd round picks next year. Last season, Penner scored 29 goals and added 16 assists for 45 points in 82 games. In the Ducks run to the NHL Stanley Cup, he scored three goals and added five assists for eight points in 21 playoff games.

Earlier in the week, Brian Burke, Anaheim's GM lashed out at Kevin Lowe. "I have no problem with offer sheets, they are part of the CBA," Burke said on a conference call. "I think it's a tool certainly a team is entitled to use. My issue here is this is the second time this year in my opinion Edmonton have offered a grossly inflated salary for a player, and it impacts on all 30 teams and I think it's an act of desperation by a general manager who is fighting to keep his job."

"I have not (called him) and I don't plan on it," Lowe said on a conference call. "I have one responsibility and one responsibility only - and that's to the Edmonton Oilers fans and the Edmonton Oilers ownership.

"I'm not in the business of trying to make friends. Never have, never will be."

Edmonton is now gradually getting back to the level that took them to the Stanley Cup Final 2 years ago. They got Penner, and they also signed Sheldon Souray during the free-agent frenzy. People should be looking out for them next year.

Despite all of the this controversy about "a grossly inflated salary", the Oilers still got their man. He will play a big part next year for the Oilers.

Oilers Sign Penner To Offer Sheet

The Edmonton Oilers are back at it tendering another offer sheet to a restricted free-agent.

Edmonton signed Dustin Penner, a group 2 restricted free-agent tendering a five year, $21.25 million offer sheet to Penner. This is the 2nd time this year that the Oilers have gone after a restricted free-agent after failing to pick up Tomas Vanek from the Buffalo Sabres.

The Ducks have 7 days to match the Oilers offer, and if they don't, get a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick from the Oilers!

''We're going to wait and see what happens here in the next seven days before we make a comment,'' Penner's agent Gerry Johannson told The Canadian Press.

Penner had 29 goals and 16 assists in his 1st full NHL season last year.

Giguere Re-Signs With Ducks

After another great NHL playoffs, in which he led the Anaheim Ducks to a Stanley Cup, J.S Giguere is now getting rewarded.

Today, the Ducks announced that Giguere has been signed to a four year, $24 million contract extension. This comes on the eve of July, when teams can sign free agents, and all contract negotiations are finished.

"J.S. Giguere has been an instrumental part of this franchise for the last six years," said Ducks Executive Vice President/General Manager Brian Burke said in a statement. "We view him as one of the top goaltenders in the NHL today, one with tremendous character and competitive fire, traits we value greatly in this organization."

Giguere found a groove in the playoffs last year playing like he did in 2003, when he won the Conn Smythe Trophy, despite being on the losing end of the Finals.

"I'm very excited to be staying with the Ducks," said Giguere in a statement. "Orange County has been a great place for my family over the last six years, and we are grateful to the entire organization for the opportunity to stay here."

Giguere will now lead the Ducks into next season, and try to repeat as Cup Champions.

Neidermayer Ponders Retirement

Until today, everything was looking good for the future of the Anaheim Ducks. They had solid young players in Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perrey, a good goalie in either Iyla Bryzgalov or J.S Giguere, and solid veterans in Chris Pronger and Scott Neidermayer. But one of those veterans may not be coming back.

After winning his 1st Stanley Cup as a captain this year with the Ducks, all-star defenceman Scott Neidermayer is now contemplating retirement. This morning, he informed his GM of his the possibility of retirement. ''Scott has indicated that he's thinking about retirement,'' Ducks GM Brian Burke told The Canadian Press on Tuesday.

ESPN asked Neidermayer some questions about this today. 'I think every player, as they get older, begins to think about how much longer they're going to play,'' Niedermayer told the website. ''I know I think about it.''

Scott Stevens was also questioned about this topic. He captained the New Jersey Devils to 3 Cups with Neidermayer. 'When I was playing with him, he never seemed, in my opinion, like he was planning on playing that long, or as long as I did,'' Stevens, who played 22 NHL seasons, told CP on Tuesday. ''I kept saying to him, `You'll have no trouble surpassing my amount of games and this and that.' And he'd say, 'Oh no, you won't see me doing that.' But there's no question the guy can play as long as he wants.''

Although he only turns 34 on August 31st, he still may call it quits. ''He's earned the right to walk if that's what he wants to do,'' said Burke. ''We told him we'll support him.

Scott Niedermayer

Throughout Scott Niedermayer's career, he has learned to play from the best in Scott Stevens. Neidermayer played 12 seasons with Stevens winning 3 cups, but never raising one as the captain. But after leaving New Jersey for Anaheim, he has taken over and is now the best defenceman in the game of hockey.

This year, Neidermayer added to his already amazing resume capturing his 1st Stanley Cup as a captain. In '06-07 he set a career high in points and got a Norris Trophy nomination. Like a true leader would, he spent less than 10 seconds with the cup as he handed it to his brother, Rob. With the amazing year he had, he is now up in legendary status. He is better than such greats like Scott Stevens, Dit Clapper and Hap Day. And if he can have another season like he just did, than he will be as great a Paul Coffey, and Ray Bourque.

Scott also has a World Championship, and a Olympic Gold Medal.

Neideramyer is the best defencman in the game today and deserves the Conn Smythe Trophy he won and the Norris Trophy.

Duck Season

The Anaheim Ducks have taken the Mighty out of their name, but yesterday, they were definitely, Mighty Ducks

The game started out great for the Ducks as they had 3 early power plays, and they scored on 1 to get a lead. Rob Neidermayer then scored on a beautiful rush to give the Ducks a 2-goal lead. After a period of the teams exchanging goals, the Ducks put the nail in the coffin scoring 2 goals to get a 4-goal lead. The Ducks held on for the rest of the game. The Anaheim Mighty Ducks are the 2007 Stanley Cup Champions.

For the first time, the Stanley Cup can enjoy an NHL western home, and the Ducks' victory came at the expense of Canada. The cherished trophy was born in Ottawa, but no team north of the border has won it since Montreal in 1993.

"Canada loves their hockey, and from what I heard out there, we have quite a few fans who love their hockey out here, too," said captain Scott Niedermayer, a four-time champion from British Columbia and this year's Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

When Scott Neidermayer raised the cup in front of the home crowd, the 1st person he gave it to was his brother, Rob. In 2003, it was much different, as the only things the brothers exchanged were handshakes, as Scott prevailed with the Ducks.

"I don't think I'll ever have a better feeling than that in my career," Rob said. "When he came here, I know he turned down a lot from New Jersey and he had a lot of fond memories there.

"I never touched it when he won. He's won so much, but he's never been a guy whose 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."

Teemu Selanne, who started his NHL career 15 years ago finally raised the cup over his head. "I was just like, 'I couldn't believe it, it's going to happen,"' Selanne said. "So much hard work, so many years to dream about that moment.

Possibly the player who has gone through the most adversity this year to win the cup was Chris Pronger. Even in this game, he played with a separated shoulder. "I just kind of got hit awkwardly there and went into the boards funny and separated it," Pronger told TSN.

He played the rest of the game, following a brief absence, before returning.

"I was going to be on the ice, no question," he said.

The "choke label" may be put on the Ottawa Senators again. They did get to the final, but didn't play like they did in their 1st 3 series and lost in 5 games. "They had more depth than us in this series," Alfredsson said. "We didn't play our best. We tried to come back in the second period, but that didn't last. It seemed like they were better than us."

Congratulations to the 2007 Anaheim Ducks

No Pronger, No Problem

The short-handed Anaheim Ducks were looking to get a 3-1 series lead in the Stanley Cup Final yesterday.

But it didn't start out to well for them, as Chris Neil drew 2 penalties in the 1st 4 minutes of the game. But the Ducks killed them of. It looked like it would be tied going into the 2nd, but Daniel Alfredsson scored with 1 second left in the 1st to give the Sens the lead. Anaheim didn't give up though as they came out firing. Andy McDonald got 2 goals in 1 minute to give the Ducks the lead. But Ottawa's big guns came back as Heatley ended a scoring slump to tie up the game at 2. Early in the 3rd, Dustin Penner scored to give the lead back to Anaheim. Ottawa tried to tie it up, but ran into Giguere every time. The Ducks ended winning 3-2.

Ottawa blew a lead in the 2nd after McDonald scored 2 goals in 2 minute, and that 1 minute was the key to the game. They also let Anaheim get to them without Pronger in the lineup. "Again, it just proves the point that our players have found a way to reach back and give more when it's asked of them," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said.

The Senators, even though they lost still played a pretty good game. Dany Heatley scored to get out of a scoring slump, and Alfredsson kept his hot streak going. It was only a 2-1 rush and a bad minute that did them in. But obviously, it is the NHL, and something is wrong if you lose. "They made a little adjustment in the second period and we started forcing the play," Ottawa coach Bryan Murray said. "But other than that, there was no reason to play the way we did in the second period. We started breaking down. They got 2-on-1 chances. Guys that don't normally make these plays, they tried to make tonight and they got caught and it burned us."

When the 2nd period was ending, Daniel Alfredsson decided to shoot the puck... at Neidermayer. "I looked up at the clock and saw five or six seconds left, so I wanted to shoot the puck at the net," Alfredsson said. "I braced my stick and the puck kind of stopped sliding. Then it got caught up in my feet, so I just wanted to get rid of it. I didn't mean to hit him." It was the spark the Ducks needed to really get going. "You can probably figure out what I thought about how I acted after it happened but it doesn't do us any good to talk about it, really," Niedermayer said. "I wasn't happy, yeah, there's no need to get hit with the puck at that point. I'm not going to say any more than that."


A player that I think is being overshadowed by players like Selanne and Alfredsson for the Conn Smythe Trophy is J.S Giguere. He let in only 1 goal in a 1st period that saw the Ducks get out shot 13-2 and he saved the Ducks in the final minute of the game. Already, no matter what happens, Giguere should be the Conn Smythe Award winner.

Ottawa now has the go back to Anaheim for game 5. It will be tough to win with a well rested Pronger. But if Ottawa wins game 5, than I guarantee they will win game 6.

Pronger Gets a 1-Game Suspension

Today, Chris Pronger got disciplined for his elbow to the head in the game last night.

Pronger is to miss 1 game for his elbow, and he and the Anaheim Ducks staff are not happy.

'We'll take our one game,'' said Burke. ''That's Colin's job and it's a tough one and we'll take it." Pronger was also suspended for a game during the Western Conference final against Detroit, which makes him just the third player ever to be suspended twice during one post-season.

This a huge bonus for the Senators, who look to tie up the series on Monday. For the entire series, Pronger has had his way with the Sens, but will now not be able to contribute to the game.

But the suspensions are not entirely his fault. His 6,6 height makes it tough for him not to hit smaller players in the head.

''He doesn't go around trying to knock guys heads off,'' said defenceman Ric Jackman, who will see more ice time in Pronger's absence. ''It's unfortunate that it's happened twice in the Stanley Cup playoffs for us, but I wouldn't classify Chris as a dirty player. He plays hard. He's a competitor. Stuff like this happens.

Pronger talked about possibly changing his physical ways in the future. "I don't think I can, for me to be the type of player I can be," Pronger said. "Obviously, it's a fine line and getting finer every year, and we have to make subtle adjustments. But I don't think I can make wholesale changes and still be the type of player I can be."

Dean McCammond, who took the hit also talked about the Pronger suspension. "It wasn't incidental. It's not like that couldn't have been avoided," McAmmond said in the release. "I'm feeling pretty much the same as I was [Saturday], -- a little bit 'headachy,' not feeling quite right. I'm going to do everything I can, or as little as I can, to feel good [Monday]. I want to play, but at this point in time, I'm not sure right now."

Ottawa will now have a easier game to play on Monday. But the last time Pronger was suspended, the Ducks won the game without him. We'll see if the Ducks can do it again.

Senators Get Back in Series

Yesterday's game 3 of the Finals was unlike any of the other finals games we've seen this year.

Fired up by a Ottawa crowd who was watching their 1st Stanley Cup Final game in 80 years, the Sens looked to get back in the series. But it was the Ducks who scored 1st when Andy McDonald scored for Anaheim. But with 4 minutes left in the 1st, Chris Neil scored to tie it up. The game was tied up at 1 at the end of the 1st. After the teams exchanged goals at the beginning of the 2nd, Anaheim grabbed a 1-goal lead off the stick of Ryan Getzlaf. But the Sens came back scoring goals 2 minutes apart to take the lead. Then, in the 3rd, Anton Volchenkov scored to give the Senators a 2-goal lead. Anaheim wouldn't come back from that as the Senators won game 3 5-3.

This was a very different style of game than what we saw in Anaheim. The goalies didn't play particularly well, and the forwards actually scored! One thing that the teams did have in common from games 1 and 2 was the physical play. The hits kept on coming, and a huge scrum occurred after a questionable hit.

'We can play physical and we can play with the puck,'' said Alfredsson. ''We can handle any situation. It was a character game because we came back a few times.''

Chris Pronger was also heard again as he laid a hard elbow on Dean McCammond in the 3rd. "He's known for that. Hopefully they'll call something on it," Neil said.

"It was an elbow to the head," Murray added. "I don't want to say too much because I'll get accused of complaining."

Randy Carlyle, coach of the Ducks talked about his team's lack of discipline in the 3rd period. "Obviously, the frustration level showed in our group into the third period," Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle said. "But we have to take responsibility for our actions and we played nowhere near our capabilities. And discipline was an issue."

The key to this game was the 5-5 scoring. Coming into this game, all of the Sens goals in the series had come on the powerplay, but scored 4 this game. Ottawa will have to keep it up to tie up the series on Monday

Chris Pronger Cheap shot

May's Must See Moments

5: Colangelo Named Executive of the Year - The Raptors GM Bryan Colangelo was named the NBA's Executive of the Year for the '06-07 season. During the off-season, he signed Anthony Parker and Jorge Garbajosa, traded for T.J Ford, Rasho Nesterovic and Kris Humphries, re-signed Chris Bosh and drafted Andrea Bargnani. Colangelo's latest move was signing reigning NBA Coach of the Year Sam Mitchell to a contract extension. This was the 2nd time he has received this award as he won it 2 years ago in Phoenix.

4: Tocchet Pleads Guilty to Gambling Charges - Former NHL player and assistant coach of the Phoenix Coyotes plead guilty to multiple gambling charges at the end of the month Tocchet will probably avoid jail time for being a 1st time offender and the door is apparently open for him to come back to the NHL.

3: Captain Crosby - Sid the Kid was named captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins a couple days ago. Last year, he served as an assistant captain for the Pens. He also led the league in points with 120 of them and got the Penguins a playoff berth as an elite team. This is the 1st time the Penguins have had a captain that wasn't Mario Lemieux in a long time. This past year, the Penguins went without a captain to honor Lemieux's achievements throughout his career.

2: NBA Draft Lottery - For the 1st time in a long while, the Raptors weren't gunning for a high draft spot. Instead, it was the Grizzles, Celtics and Bucks going for the #1 spot. They all lost out as all of them got picks from 4-6. The 3 teams that were left for the final 3 picks were Atlanta, Seattle and Portland. Portland had the worst odds to win the NO.1 pick as they only had a 5.3% chance of getting the 1st overall pick. But the Trailblazers beat the odds getting the 1st pick in the 2007 NBA Draft.

1: Stanley Cup Final - The Stanley Cup Final began a few days ago with the Ducks and Sens battling it out. The Ducks took the 1st 2 games of the series, and Ottawa now finds themselves in a big hole. Their NO.1 line really needs to step it up.

Game 1

82 games. 15+ playoff games, and now, it all comes down to this series. The Stanley Cup Finals. The Senators and Ducks were playing in game 1 yesterday.

The Sens started out great getting the 1st goal 1:38 into the 1st. But Andy McDonald tied up the game about 10 minutes later off an amazing shot to the top-corner. The 1st period ended with the game tied 1-1. The only goal of the 2nd was scored by Wade Redden off a bad giveaway. But in the 3rd, the Ducks made a comeback. 1st, Ryan Getzlaf scored on a backhand to tie it up. And then, with 3 minutes left in the game, Travis Moen scored to give the Ducks the lead. Ottawa wouldn't come back from that as the Ducks took game 1 of the Stanley Cup Finals.

The key to this game was obviously hitting. The Ducks gave Ottawa a pounding anytime they could. Another key to this game was the shots. Anaheim fired 32 shots at Emery, while Ottawa only got 20.

If Ottawa is going to win this series, they are going to have to get tougher. They can't get pushed around all the time and not fight back. And if they can't do that, than Anaheim will sweep this series.

Who Will Win It All?

Here is the rundown of the Stanley Cup Finals, and who I think will eventually take home the cup.

Senators Reasons They Can Win

The Senators are finally having the post-season that the fans having been waiting for for ever. Unless you are 80+ than you haven't been alive to see Ottawa win the cup. A big reason they can win is Alfredsson. He is playing the best hockey of his career, and is the front-runner for the Conn Smythe. They also have a top line of Heatley, Spezza and Alfresson. Secondary scoring also is not an issue, as Mike Fisher leads a very good 2nd line. Chris Neil and other grinders lead the 3rd and 4th lines. They are also great on the defensive side. They have a solid defence that includes Wade Redden and the playoffs leading shot blocker, Anton Volchenkov. And finally, Ray Emery has been the best goal-tender in the playoffs putting up incredible numbers against great teams.

For the Senators to win the series, they must get the job done in regulation. In O.T, the Ducks are nearly perfect as they only have 1 loss in extra time. They also need to be more physical. The Ducks are without a doubt the most physical team in the league, so Ottawa will have to grind to win.

Ducks Reasons They Can Win

The Ducks' great teams over past years have never won the cup. But now they get another chance to do it. Their offence is full of veterans and young guys. They have Teemu Selanne, who is playing in his 1st final firing at all cylinders and is the Ducks 3rd leading scorer. They also have young guys like Corey Perry and Ryan Getzlaf, who are both having great a playoffs season statistically. Their defence is unlike any other team in the league. With Chris Pronger, Scott Neidermayer and Francois Beauchemin, they are amazing defensively. They also have J.S Giguere, who has found the groove he had in 2003.

For the Ducks to win, they need to keep up the physical play and take it to Ottawa's young goalie. If they can take some games to O.T, than they will win most of them. They will need to work to get the cup.

Who Will Win the Cup?


I think that the Senators will win in 6 games. Right now, no one can even come close to the play that Ottawa is at right now. They will beat the Ducks at home to grab the cup.

Ducks Move On to Face Senators

The Anaheim Ducks yesterday were looking to put away the Detroit Red Wings to get to the Stanley Cup Finals. They did.

Through out most of the game, the Ducks dominated as they grabbed a 3-goal lead heading into the 3rd. But the Red Wings wouldn't give up. After the teams exchanged goals, the Wings scored 2straight to get within 1. But even with a late powerplay, the Red Wings couldn't get the tying goal.

This will be the Ducks 2nd trip to the Finals in 4 years. They will the Senators, whose head coach played a big part in creating the Ducks.

Bryan Murray was the GM of the Ducks a few years ago. He was the main person in bringing in such players as Ryan Getzlaf, and Corey Perry.

It will be a great final, as it seems this is the time to win it for each team. Will Ottawa finally bring a cup to Canada and break Ottawa's "curse". Or will the Ducks win it and bring a cup to Teemu Selanne. It will be a very interesting final to watch.

Not Quacking

The Anaheim Ducks had a tied series going into today's game against the Red Wings. They were looking to make it a 3-2 lead for them going into game 6.

After a scoreless 1st, the Wings got the 1st goal of the game off the stick of Andreas Lilja. They then held on to that 1-goal lead for the rest of the 2nd and most of the 3rd. But a 1-goal lead isn't good enough when facing the Ducks. With a powerplay and an empty-net, Neidermayer scored with about a minute left in the game to tie it.

In O.T, Teemu Selanne scored off one of the worst plays in a overtime in NHL history.

Lijla, who scored earlier in the game for the Red Wings, gave the puck way in front of his own net right to Selanne.

It was Selanne's 1st O.T playoff goal since 1994, and he couldn't have picked a better time to score one.

The Ducks can now clinch the series on home ice on Tuesday. Right now, there firing at all cylinders, and they will be pretty tough to stop if they keep it up.

Tied Up At 2

Yesterday, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks were facing the Red Wings in a essential must win. One problem. They didn't have Chris Pronger who was serving a 1-game suspension for his hit on Tomas Holmstrom.

Even without one of the top defence man in the league, the Ducks played great. Remember this name: Ric Jackman. He was the player who took Pronger's spot in the lineup.

With the game tied 1-1 in the 1st, Jackman scored his 1st ever playoff goal in just his 3rd post-season game to give the Ducks the lead. Teemu Selanne then broke a 4-game scoring drought to give the Ducks a 3-goal lead. But after a 2-goal 2nd by the Wings, it was a tie game heading into the 3rd. In that 3rdperiod, Ryan Getzlaf scored to give the Ducks the lead again. Then, with the net empty, Rob Niedermayer scored to clinch the game for the Ducks.

The key to the game was all the Ducks players getting out of slumps. Selanne, who had been publicly criticized throughout this series for not scoring popped in an early one to really give the Ducks a boost. And Ryan Getzlaf, who is playing some of the best hockey of his young career contributed to the game and got out of his own scoring drought.

For game number 5, the Ducks will have Chris Pronger back and will be able to get within 1 game of the Stanley Cup Final if they win Sunday.