Anaheim Ducks Five Great Playoff Moments: The Heroes of Playoffs Past
Anaheim Ducks: Stanley Cup Champions
June 6, 2007, is a day that Anaheim Ducks fans will never forget. Being in the Stanley Cup finals four years prior on a surprise run, led by J.S. Giguere, and forever remembered by the game 6 return of Paul Kariya, Ducks fans were ecstatic that they didn’t have to wait entirely long for their franchise to return to the grand stage. They got there by knocking off Minnesota and Vancouver before knocking out a familiar foe in Detroit, a team they beat in the first round in the ’03 Cup run. They went up against another Canadian team in the Ottawa Senators who knocked out the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Finals.
The Ducks won the first two games, then won game 4 in comeback fashion, putting my beloved franchise within one win of accomplishing something that we only thought that would happen only in the movies. With that in mind, the Ducks soared out in front with goals from Rob Niedermayer and Andy McDonald put the Ducks up early heading into the first intermission.
Daniel Alfredsson tried to carry the Senators back into the game by scoring twice in the second period. However, a miscue by the late Ray Emery gave the Ducks a three-two lead. Then Francois Beauchemin blasted a rocket past Ray Emery to give the Ducks a four-two lead, and everyone wearing the black and gold jerseys, fans and players alike, were thinking one thing: twenty minutes from eternal greatness.
Heading into the third period, the Ducks knew that twenty minutes stood in their way of accomplishing a dream that all MDA fans were hoping for. Heading into the third period, the Ducks had a four-two lead and they didn’t let up, as Travis Moen scored another goal set up by Scott Niedermayer and suddenly, the Ducks were up five-two. The final nail in the coffin came from Corey Perry with three minutes remaining. From there on, everyone started the countdown and when the final horn sounded, all the joy in the Honda Center was released, as the Ducks players celebrated on the ice.
The best moment was when Scott Niedermayer handed the Stanley Cup to Rob Niedermayer, his younger brother. Though people wanted Teemu to get it first, which would’ve been fine with me, the fact that Scott was on the ’03 New Jersey Devils team that beat the Mighty Ducks to win the Cup, to me was the only reason why he got to skate with the cup after him. When Teemu did get his chance, it was a crowning moment as a legend was able to say he won the Stanley Cup.