Series Matchups
- STANLEY CUP FINAL
- Carolina vs Edmonton
- ROUND THREE
- Western Conference
- Anaheim vs Edmonton
- Eastern Conference
- Carolina vs Buffalo
- ROUND TWO
- Western Conference
- San Jose vs Edmonton
- Anaheim vs Colorado
- Eastern Conference
- Ottawa vs Buffalo
- Carolina vs New Jersey
- ROUND ONE
- Western Conference
- Detroit vs Edmonton
- Dallas vs Colorado
- Calgary vs Anaheim
- Nashville vs San Jose
- Eastern Conference
- Ottawa vs Tampa Bay
- Carolina vs Montreal
- New Jersey vs NY Rangers
- Buffalo vs Philadelphia
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VS |
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| Anaheim wins best-of-seven series 4-0 | ||
Anaheim (6)
Colorado (7)
Ducks easily oust Avalanche
Having snuffed the Calgary Flames and swept the Colorado Avalanche, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks look more and more like the team to beat in the NHL Western Conference. » FULL STORY
Past Stories
TEAM ANALYSIS
| Strengths | Weaknesses | Key Player | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anaheim Mighty Ducks |
Despite the increase in offensive production by the Ducks this season, the team's strength remains its defence. Anaheim was the seventh stingiest team in goals allowed this season and limited Calgary to 16 in their seven-game series. The addition of Scott Niedermayer has also dramatically improved an already solid defensive unit. The 32-year-old, a playoff veteran, has five points in the post-season and will be a vital part of Anaheim's special teams against Colorado. |
The Ducks have no scoring depth to complement Teemu Selanne and Andy McDonald, which could hurt them. After that duo, only one forward, Joffrey Lupul, scored more than 20 goals. The Ducks don't generate a lot of offence and only scored 17 goals in seven games against the Flames. If the NHL playoffs have demonstrated anything over the years, it's that one-line teams like the Ducks don't advance very far. |
Ilja Bryzgalov: The 25-year-old rookie has been a revelation to the Ducks as he outplayed Calgary's star goaltender Miikka Kiprusoff in two of the three playoff games he started. Bryzgalov replaced the injured and ineffective Jean-Sebastien Giguere twice in the first round and only allowed three goals, including a shutout performance in Game 7. Bryzgalov was so impressive that Calgary coach Darryl Sutter called the young Russian the best goaltender in the series. |
| Colorado Avalanche |
Colorado won three of its four games against Dallas in overtime, including two on the road. The impressive part about the Avalanche's upset of the Stars was the team's ability to come back in regulation time in two of those games before winning in the extra period. The team's comfort level in overtime will be a great asset as the games against Anaheim should continue to be close. |
The team's penchant for allowing goals this season didn't improve in the five games against the Stars. Colorado ranked last in goals allowed (251) of the eight Western Conference teams that qualified for the post-season, and its defence looked shaky in the opening round. The Avalanche allowed 15 goals in five games against Dallas and need to limit their turnovers if they hope to get past the defensive-minded Ducks. |
José Theodore: Theodore remains the biggest wild card of any player heading into the second round. The former Montreal standout has dazzled fans in the past with his playoff performances and has the ability to carry a team on his shoulders. Though Theodore has frustrated teammates with his erratic play over the last two seasons, Colorado GM Pierre Lacroix is banking on his 29-year-old to continue his solid play from the Dallas series into Colorado's matchup with Anaheim. |
STATISTICS
| ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS GOALIES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | GA | SV% | GAA | ||||
| Jean-Sebastien Giguere | 6 | 3 | 3 | 18 | .864 | 3.40 | |||
| Ilya Bryzgalov | 11 | 6 | 4 | 16 | .944 | 1.46 | |||
| ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS TOP SCORERS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | GW | |
| Teemu Selanne | 16 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 1 | 2 |
| Todd Marchant | 16 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 14 | 14 | 0 | 0 |
| Joffrey Lupul | 16 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 9 | 31 | 1 | 1 |
| Scott Niedermayer | 16 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 1 | 14 | 1 | 1 |
| Dustin Penner | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 0 |
| ANAHEIM MIGHTY DUCKS INJURIES | ||
|---|---|---|
| No Injuries were reported. |
| COLORADO AVALANCHE GOALIES | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | W | L | GA | SV% | GAA | ||||
| Jose Theodore | 9 | 4 | 5 | 29 | .902 | 3.04 | |||
| Peter Budaj | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |||
| COLORADO AVALANCHE TOP SCORERS | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | G | A | P | +/- | PIM | PP | GW | |
| Joe Sakic | 9 | 4 | 5 | 9 | -1 | 6 | 1 | 1 |
| Andrew Brunette | 9 | 3 | 6 | 9 | -2 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Milan Hejduk | 9 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Alex Tanguay | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 12 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Dowd | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 20 | 0 | 0 |
| COLORADO AVALANCHE INJURIES | ||
|---|---|---|
| Steve Konowalchuk | groin | day-to-day |
| Marek Svatos | shoulder | out for season |
| Ossi Vaananen | ankle | indefinitely |
Goalie statistics: GP=Games played, W=Wins, L=Losses, GA=Goals against, SV=Saves, SH=Shutouts, SV%=Save percentage, GAA=Goals-against average
Player statistics: GP=Games played, G=Goals, A=Assists, P=Points, +/-=Plus/Minus, PIM=Penalty Minutes, PP= Power-play goals, GW=Game-winning goals
Team statistics: GF=Goals for, GA=Goals against, PP= Power-play efficiency, PK= Penalty-killing efficiency. NB: Team statistics are from the 82-game regular season. Ranking is out of 30 teams.
Trivia
Think you're a Cup expert? Go ahead and test your knowledge of the Stanley Cup final.
Game 7 Galleries
All the excitement, on and off the ice, from Game 7 of the Cup final.
The Instigator
Charlie Teljeur's cartoon skewers the playoffs. If it's happening on the ice, The Instigator will shoot at it.