It's here at last!!! Ummm, well, we have to wait until Monday.

Ottawa vs. Anaheim. Who will win? I need to think about it a bit...

It's the worst nightmare for fans of the Edmonton Oilers... Chris Pronger and the Anaheim Ducks playing for the Stanley Cup against Mike Comrie and the Ottawa Senators.

Since the Oilers joined the NHL in 1979, there have been three men that have arguably been the most hated.

1. Peter Pocklington
- Former owner who traded away Wayne Gretzky for virtually nothing. He then nearly sold the team to Les Alexander, a businessman from Houston that wanted to move the team down South.

2. Mike Comrie
- The local boy whom everyone had high expectations. The son of the man who created "The Brick", a player who we all thought would be our next big star and lead us to the promised land. Instead, something happened... an alleged affair involving Tommy Salo's wife, contract holdout, and disparaging comments towards fans of the Edmonton Oilers... he was then shipped to Philadelphia for Jeff Woywitka (Defenceman from Vermilion, AB), 1st Round Pick in 2004 (Rob Schremp) and 3rd Round Pick in 2005 (Dan Syvret)

That trade helped pave the way for the Oilers acquiring their first big all-star type player in franchise history (they've never traded for such a talented player before)... the Oilers sent Jeff Woywitka, along with Eric Brewer and Doug Lynch to the St. Louis Blues for Chris Pronger...

3. Chris Pronger
- He was a guy that drastically turned the Oilers from a playoff team to a Stanley Cup contender. He solidifed the blueline and the fans treated him with the upmost respect. While we'll never know the truth, the bottom line is that his wife was unhappy in Edmonton and basically forced him to demand a trade. Not only was this revealed shortly after the Oilers lost in Game Seven of the Stanley Cup Finals, but he fled to Mexico and failed to address the fans or media...instead leaving his agent to do all the "dirty work". It was seen as a slap in the face to the Oilers organization, City of Edmonton and fans of the Copper and Blue from Coast to Coast... and he's since surpassed both Pocklington and Comrie to become the most hated former Oiler of all time.

Pronger vs Comrie...

I just cant bring myself to cheer for Pronger

So GO SENS GO and bring the Stanley Cup back to Canada for the first time since 1993!!!

Really pulling for Ottawa. I've always rooted for them, since they came back in the league....
Any other year, I would probably be pulling for Anaheim....Just glad it ain't Detroit!

You just can't help yourself,can you?!Well,it sure won't be the Black Hawks any time soon!

Ottawa vs. Anaheim! A network executive's dream come true!

This is the sports equivalent of a tree falling in the woods. Too bad too. The NHL needs a big market matchup more than any other sport right now. But the NHL has dug it's own grave with over-expansion (especially into miniscule markets) and the strike/lockout.

At this point a big-market matchup wouldn't help. It will take many years of brilliant marketing, rules stability, etc. for the NHL to ever gain a decent rating on a major network, if it's even possible.

Well I'm not saying a big market matchup would be a cure-all for the NHL's many woes. But the media coverage alone for a Rangers-Red Wings or Bruins-Blackhawks series would go a long way towards getting the league back closer to the mainstream. It will never claim it's spot as a major sport again but it could be more than a blip on the radar. But another couple of potential years of teams from Columbus, Nashville, Tampa Bay and Carolina (regardless of how profitable some of these franchises may be) will keep the NHL with a lower profile than Men in Hats or Milli Vanilli.

I think it would be good for hockey for the Stanley Cup to go back north of the board. Go Sens!!

I'm not sure it would be that much better if Ottawa wins. Canada will feel good, but the league is so down that I don't think it could be hurt any worse if the team from the non-traditional hockey market wins again.

And I've decided to jump on Ottawa. The only two wrong picks I've made in the postseason were due to picking against Ottawa, so against some of my better judgment (such as, Anaheim has better goaltending) I'm going with the Senators in 6.

Wake up, everyone! The finals are finally starting!

T minus 5 hours until I am parked in my seat waiting for the big event to start! GOOOO DUCKS!

Expect to hear the Pond rocking this afternoon as the faithful scream loud and root on our team.

I'm not sure what tickets are selling for in Canada, but down here they are outrageous. In the nosebleeds they are selling for 200-300 per ticket..Yikes! I paid $69.50 each.

I'd rather sleep.

Great game tonight as the Ducks' physical play took a toll on the Sens tonight. Spezza, Heatly and Alfredson were nowhere to be found and discovered what most of the West has known all year, our checking line is the best in the NHL.

I expect to see a much different Ottawa team on Wednesday and an even better Ducks team. Now if we can stay out of the box and play 5 on 5, we'll be fine. I doubt the Refs will let that happen as they continue with their massive disparity in penalties against the Ducks. Another 5 on 3 against? I mean come on now, this is getting right down crazy. What was with the linesmen? Drop the friggin puck already!!

3 more wins to the Cup, but it's going to get even tougher next game.

Go Ducks!

I wonder how much Ottawa's lack of offense was due to the 8-day break. If the answer is "not much at all," 12 out of 13 people will be shocked by the final result of this series.

If Anaheim plays a much more physical game, it almost stands to reason that they're going to take more penalties just by default because of that aggressiveness. They need to play a little smarter or be more successful at penalty-killing.

The hockey season lasts way too long. I know its all about the money but by the time the weather gets as warm as it is these days I'm not really interested in hockey anymore. Thank God the Maple Leafs understand this and always manage to lose by the time it gets warm enough to hit the golf course.

Go Senators who I will half heartedly cheer for.

Well the score doesn't tell the story on game 2 of the finals. The Ducks outplayed, out hit and score the winning goal late in the 3rd period.

2 games down and 2 to go. Man, those two wins are going to be tough to get, so get one one the road boys and bring home Stanley to So Cal!

Go Ducks!

ps..Sammy, R. Nieds and Moen are absolutely possessed! I knew those guys were good, but this is about as good as it gets. Keep it going guys!

When a team has won the first two games at home, they've gone on to win the Cup 29 of 30 times. Ottawa is in serious trouble. Only 16 shots tonight.

I missed the game because I forgot to set the DVR to record it while I was at the Phillies game. So the Versus ratings (0.72 cable rating, viewed in only 523,000 households in the USA) are in even more trouble. At least the rest of the games will be on NBC.

The game two ratings were even worse: 0.6 cable rating, only 446,000 households.

Nielsen ratings shows the audience for the first two games (572,000 and 540,000) on RDS is up 20% from last year's Edmonton-Carolina final. CBC has a slight decrease with an average of 2.5 millions.

In the news article, it is said the US viewership is way down from last year and Bettman said he was satisfied with the numbers, another proof he says anything.

Bettman's an idiot if he's satisfied with the ratings (down something like 20 percent from last year).

Tonight's game was more entertaining than the first two; that and the fact that the games are on NBC the rest of the way may help the ratings. Ottawa got some offense tonight and gave themselves a chance to make it a series now.

Chris Pronger should be facing another suspension for his elbow to the head of Ottawa's Dean McAmmond. I just wish the NHL would outlaw blows to the head entirely, but I'm not holding my breath (see above re: Bettman, idiot).

Most newspapers in U.S. hockey markets aren't even bothering to send any writers to the finals. Sad.

The Sens Come Back Strong In Game 3; I thought Ottawa was ready to tank in Games 1 and 2 of the Stanley Cup finals in Anaheim, then fell behind again three times in Game 3 at home. But the Sens dug deep and might make a series of it with that 5-3 win. Game 4 on Monday night will certainly be interesting.

Heres hoping they don't quack.

Ok - I'm SORRY - Ok - I have really been very good about not making pun of Anaheim lately; you have o allow me an occasional lapse...

R

For Chris Pronger's dirty hit in the Detroit series he got a one-game suspension.

Now, with last night, he's a repeat offender -- just about 3 weeks apart. So he got...a one-game suspension.

More proof the NHL is a joke.

Ducks general manager Brian Burke said he would accept the Pronger suspension; he was livid over a Chris Neil hit to Ducks forward Andy McDonald. Burke said there should have been a second hearing on Sunday.

"We're not a dirty team, we're a physical team," Burke said. "There's a big difference." - AP

Tell it to Dean McAmmond.

R

But if you're a Scott Nichol... or Jordin Tootoo... (just using two examples from Nashville - there are plenty others on other teams)... you're gonna get five or so for the FIRST offense. But the "stars"... ah, here's a slap on the wrist for you. That's what ticks me off.

I'm beginning to think like JIP. The NHL this post season has been absolutely crazy with all the calls they've been making. No one knows what is a penalty and what isn't.

I saw Pronger's first suspension and I didn't think it warranted anything. I didn't see the 2nd hit, but I understand it was pretty blantant and he gets just one game? I'm a big Ducks fan so I'll take the one game, but come on. If the guy just got a one game suspendiong, you're going to give him just one game again?

Now on the the refs, I mean when did soccer kicks become legal? How many times has that same play been NO GOAL and yet in the finals when the Sens need a tying goal, the entire Canadian refs decide now it is a goal? Argh! I'm so sick of the entire refs and their bias against the Ducks is sickening. Somehow we've given up a 5 on 3 almost every game and we can't get any on the return? We check someone and get called, Niel checks from behind on Nieds and almost takes out McDonald and NO CALLS? Those who don't think the Canadians refs don't have a favorite team need to take off the rose colored classes.

Mark me down as a second with JIP. This post season the NHL is a BIG JOKE!

Ottawa responded like they had to in game 3 to keep the series alive and with the help of the NHL were able to do so. They deserved to win that game no matter what, so I'm not taking anything away from them. Game 4 should be interesting and I expect a much more Ducks style of hockey as we've had mind cramps the entire playoffs and responded with our best efforts after bad losses. Time for our bottom half of our D to step it up again like they did in game 4 of the WCF and take one on the road.

Go Ducks!

I MISS the days of old when in the playoffs, a penalty only got called for something blatant. That way, at least, you take the officials out of the game. Of course, it doesn't matter when a penalty isn't called and the NHL decides after the fact to suspend a player.

I don't mind if a player is suspended for a play where a penalty wasn't called, if he deserved it. That's more of a comment on the officiating if they miss something like that.

The Ducks are a win away from the Cup. They were pretty well dominated tonight in the first period but only trailed 1-0 (that on a goal with 0.3 seconds left), but managed to win anyway.

Alfredsson suspension coming? Of course not, the NHL will now back peddle from their stance of "intent" and come up with some another reason for not taking action against the Sens and his "intent" to injure Neidermeyer. If they don't suspend him for his action, count this as another reason the NHL is fast becoming a JOKE.

That was pretty pathetic of a captain to do something like that and then back down when challenged. He knew if he tried to do anything he'd be eating his face for dinner. He is worse than Chelios if you ask me.

On to Wednesday for a chance to hoist the Stanley Cup at home and I'll be in my usual seat hoping that happens. It's going to be a tough game to win, but our fans are going to be loud and root our boys on!

Go Ducks.

ps..Emery is no Roloson, he should give up the diving.

The Anaheim Ducks are on the verge of history. Up three games to one in the Stanley Cup Finals, the Ducks are a win away from capturing their first ever championship in franchise history, and bringing Lord Stanley's Cup to the West Coast for the first time in 85 years.

But just why will the Ducks win the Stanley Cup? Some could say it's because of the heroics of Jean Sebastien Giguere. Others will point to Teemu Selanne, one of the greatest players in NHL history to have never won the Stanley Cup. Or how every line seems to be clicking at the right time. But I point to something else... something far more powerful...

Gordon Bombay.

You see, everyone doubted the Ducks once Chris Pronger was suspended for one game due to his elbow on Dean McAmmond. Add that to the fact that Game Four was played in Ottawa and it seemed everything was stacked against the Ducks. But that's when Coach Bombay steps in...

This franchise was created based on the Disney movie, "The Mighty Ducks", and there's no doubt in my mind that the Anaheim Ducks roster all stood up in their dressing room prior to the opening faceoff last night... repeating the Ducks Oath of Glory, created by Coach Bombay himself...

"Just when you think they're about to break apart... DUCKS FLY TOGETHER"

"And when the wind the wind blows hard and the sky is black... DUCKS FLY TOGETHER"

"And the the roosters are crowing and the cows are spinning circles in the pasture... DUCKS FLY TOGETHER"

"And when everyone says it can't be done... DUCKS FLY TOGETHER!"

They did indeed fly together last night... winning it for Chris Pronger and are now on the verge of glory.

Time for the Flying "V" - for Victory.

... on a side note, if/when Anaheim wins the Cup... how will it work? I mean...

Reporter: Now that you won the Stanley Cup what are you gonna do?

Teemu Selanne: I'm goin to Disneyland? You know it's like right across the street from here right?

*awkward pause*

Reporter: quack... QUACK... QUACK!!!

Reason why Sens lost last night.....

karma!

What in God's name was Alannis Morrisette doing singing the national anthems prior to game four!!!!

Constable Slewidge is an Ottawa institution for god's sake, and they pull him for that has been?!?????

Okay, multiple replies and ratings news...



I think "inspired by" might be a more accurate description. The team was started by Disney and named after the movie. Besides, when I see the name Bombay I think of Bewitched..."Calling Dr. Bombay, emergency, calling Dr. Bombay, come right away..." Plus, this team always reminds me of what is perhaps my favorite moment from that non-Disney, non-hockey movie Space Jam:

Daffy Duck: "Listen, how's this for a new team name--The Ducks!"
Bugs Bunny: "Please. What kind of Mickey Mouse organization would name their team The Ducks?"





Would you have preferred that other Canadian, Celine Dion? I kinda like Alanis. Did you see her video version of the Black Eyed Peas' "My Humps"? Utterly brilliant.

I turned it on a bit late and at first I only heard the voice while they were showing players, the crowd, etc. I thought it sounded like her. Then they put her on screen and I said "wait, is that her? She looks too prettied up."

And now, the non- news...

Game 3: 1.1 rating/2 share for game 3 -- the 1.1 rating ties a July 2005 "West Wing" rerun for the lowest-rated program on NBC in prime time. Ever. It was down 31 percent from last year's game 3.

Game 4: 1.9 rating/3 share -- somehow, only down 5 percent from last year's game 4.

Each rating point represents about 1,114,000 households.

Here's hoping that Ottawa can pull out a win tonight. I don't think a 5 game series would do this matchup justice.

In some ways it made sense to have Alannis Morrisette sing the national anthem since she did sing the anthem at the first ever game the Ottawa Senators played - so to me it was a nice touch and somehow appropriate that they would use her for at least one of the games in Ottawa on the occassion of them making the Stanley Cup finals for the first time. If i am not mistaken the Blue Jays did something similar. Anne Murray sang the national anthem at the first ever game the Jays played - so they invited her back to sing O Canada the first time the Jays ever hosted a World Series game. And I was glad to see that Alannis was humble enough to let the crowd sing a portion of O Canada on their own. I get the feeling many other 'star' singers would let their ego get in the way and sing right through.

Also my two cents worth on the TV ratings. Yes the NBC numbers sound awful - but to put the ratings into a more overall continent wide perspective - the bottom line is that between RDS (french), CBC and NBC more than 6 million viewers in North America watched Game 4. And that number may be low since people like me - who watched the NBC coverage in Canada - are not counted in those ratings at all. And if over 3 million in canada watched the CBC coverage I would suspect at least 200,000 or more were like me watching NBC's coverage. I like Emrick as a play-by-play guy and for some reason the HD picture and sound were better on NBC than CBC.

For comparison the 6,000,000+ is more than the 5.2 million people in North America who watched Game 5 of the Phoenix Suns - San Antonio Spurs game on TNT in the US and Sportsnet in Canada. And Game 3 of the Western Conference finals in the NBA only got a 3.1 rating on ABC and had fewer than 150,000 viewers in Canada.

So yes - the US numbers alone - not great. But continent wide - not that bad.

I think the better comparison would be with the NBA finals instead of a conference final or semifinal (in the SA-PHX case).

You watched NBC's coverage and not CBC? Why??????

Anyone who lives in Canada, outside of TO, will NEVER watch CBC hockey broadcasts because of announcers Bob Cole and Harry Neale. They’re die-hard Leaf-Jerkers and know absolutely NOTHING about any other team in the league. You’ll be lucky if they get half the player’s names right, and they usually seem to be watching another game (one involving Mats Sundin, no doubt). I’ve been watching the finals either on NBC (for curiosity’s sake), or on the ever-dependable RDS, en français, with Yvan Pednault and Réjean Houde. Now NBC has included f**king Don Cherry in their coverage; as far as I’m concerned, they can keep him!


After two periods, Anaheim is up by two goals and...Poised to Hoist Lord Stanley's Cup!

Looks like 3 guys on this poll-thread got it right!

I really should've stuck with my initial instinct and picked Anaheim. After 3 consecutive seven-game finals, this one was just utterly forgettable. (As was the entire season from start to finish, for this Flyers fan. )

Actually I don't mind CBC's Bob Cole as a play by play guy - but I hear him 40 times a year. As for Harry Neale - I like him too - but actually find he is better on Leaf local telecasts with Joe Bowen. They can be a hoot to listen too. Half of Neale's funny comments seem to go right over Bob Cole's head. And like I said I really enjoy Emrick as a play by play guy.

And again tonight for whatever reason the HD picture on NBC just seemed brighter and clearer than CBC's and the sound was significantly better. Especially in terms of catching the crowd noise much better than on CBC - which I think adds to the excitement of the telecast. Although with how one sided tonight's game was - that did not really help. I admit it - for fairly long stretches I was watching the Toronto FC soccer game against New York and a bit of the Jays game too.

Now its wait for next season. Leafs have re-signed Sundin and today re-signed Antropov who was one of their best players down the stretch. Apparently the Leafs are going to try to sign Ryan Smith. Leafs need to sign somebody like that if they seriously intend to contend at all next year. 40 years and waiting Stanley.

What a great game! Way to bring home the cup to sunny So. Cal for the first time! Today is just an amazing and awesome day and to be at the rink for the entire thing was unforgettable. Glad to see Teemu, Rob, Brad May, Todd Marchant and the others get their first taste of Stanley cup glory and I hope we get to see them back for a repeat. Not sure what Teemu's plans are, but I hope he comes back for one more year before calling it a career.

I didn't think there would be 8 goals scored on 31 shots tonight, but it's a good thing Emery was having an off night, in addition to being left all alone to defend himself.

This is going to be a great summer! We get to raise three banners next year with the Pacific Division, Western Conference and Stanley Cup all heading for the Honda Center raftors.

GOOO DUCKS!

Only celebrating Ducks fans could consider that game to be great. I was watching baseball much of the way from the second period on. With the shots at 18-13 clearly I didn't miss much while I switched back and forth.

Except for game 3, Ottawa was just pitiful in the entire series.

A little late, but congrats Todd!

A final note on the ratings:

Game 5: 1.8 rating/3 share, down 28 percent from last year's Game 5.

Games 3-5 on NBC averaged a 1.6 rating and a 3 share, down 20 percent from the same three games last year.

A joke.

Thanks! Tomorrow is the Duck's rally at the Honda Center for 2 hours. Hots dogs and soda are flowing free of charge and I'm sure there will be several thousand people in attendance. FSN is going to televise the event locally at 7:30pm.

Now the long summer (short by normal standards) starts and the hockey withdrawals will start after the high I'm off wears off. Next up is the draft and free agency, so we'll get a little fix soon.

Isn't there a championship parade? And..."several thousand" at a rally? That's as sad a commentary on the whole mess that is the NHL as I've seen.

There is not going to be a parade only a rally at the pond. Total in attendance was 15,000 fans which is a lot considering it was held outside the pond and there isn't much room on the south side to hold 15,000.

Why is 'several thousand' an embarrasment to the NHL? First you have to find a place to house more than that around these parts without shutting down any major streets through the city and a parade would require that. The arena is located in a business section of the city, so closing down the roads isn't a nice thing to do with the surrounding businesses. We have sold out our place for last last 34 games, so hockey is alive and well in the OC.

Go take a look at the Ducks website and see how many people are there, and that doesn't even show you the masses. You'll see that there wasn't anymore room to possibly handle anymore people. Our season ticket base is on schedule for 14,000 next year and that is pretty impressive considering where we live.

I believe that the last time the Bruins went to the playoffs 30,000+ people turned out; and yes the center of Boston was shut down - Bars and Restaurants did a BOOMING business that wasn't eclipsed until the R Sox came home in 2004 (Now THAT was a CELEBRATION!!!).

R

Any city worth its salt holds a parade. Roads are shut down and any business owners with brains either don't mind because it's such a special occasion, or they stay open and try to take advantage of the crowds to get extra business. In places that really care about sports in general and hockey in particular, a parade would be held and it would be attended by hundreds of thousands, if not a million-plus.

The Devils' "parades" (around their arena and/or rally in the parking lot)...the Dallas parade that had about 40,000...frankly, they're pathetic. Add Anaheim to the list.

Anaheim will never be a mecka for hockey, not now or ever. People need to stop comparing us to them, such as Philly and Boston, we won't ever be that. We simply don't have that support down here but have a solid core of fans who support the team year end and year out.

We got 15,000 for our rally and the Angels did 100,000 when they won in 2002 with their parade to Disneyland. With all things considered, 15,000 for a hockey rally is pretty impressive for this area. If you could only see the area in which the rally was held, you'd never guess 15,000 people could even fit in that area, hell can 500 cars fit there?

Free agency is upon us in a few short weeks and the entry draft is Saturday. Who is going to get way overpaid in this year's FA class? Rumor has J.S Giguere heading to the Kings, but that has been eliminated with Jiggy repeating he will never play for LA. Of course, when you have 7 million reasons to say yes, things always change.