The 2007 Stanley Cup Final was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 2006–07 season, and the culmination of the 2007 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Western Conference champion Anaheim Ducks and the Eastern Conference champion Ottawa Senators. It was the second appearance in the Finals for Anaheim since 2003 (known at the time as the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim), when they lost to the New Jersey Devils. It was the first appearance for the Senators since entering the NHL as an expansion team in 1992. Anaheim defeated Ottawa in five games and were awarded their first Stanley Cup, becoming the eleventh post-1967 expansion team to win the NHL championship trophy, and the first team from California to win the Stanley Cup.
This was the first Finals since 1999 in which both teams were seeking their first Stanley Cup and the last until 2018, the fifth straight Finals to feature a team vying for its first Stanley Cup, and the first time since the 1967 that a team from Ontario made it to the Finals.
Brothers Scott and Rob Niedermayer both played for the Ducks team, becoming the first set of brothers to win the Stanley Cup together since Duane and Brent Sutter accomplished the feat twice with the New York Islanders in 1982 and 1983.
Paths to the Finals
Anaheim Ducks Prior to the season, the Ducks had been the pick of many in the media to make it to the Final, and they did not disappoint. The second-seeded Anaheim Ducks defeated both the seventh seeded Minnesota Wild and third seeded Vancouver Canucks in five games before defeating their rivals in the top seeded Detroit Red Wings in six games in the Western Conference Final. The Ducks had the most penalties out of any team during the post-season and had one suspension going into the final, but had a top penalty-kill percentage. They were led by two Norris Trophy candidates captain Scott Niedermayer and Chris Pronger, the scoring touches of Andy McDonald, Teemu Selanne, Ryan Getzlaf, and the goaltending of Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The Ducks were looking to shut down Ottawa's offense with the checking line of Rob Niedermayer, Samuel Pahlsson and Travis Moen, and overall team defense.
Ottawa Senators The fourth-seeded Ottawa Senators defeated the fifth seeded Pittsburgh Penguins, and upset both the second seeded New Jersey Devils and the Presidents' Trophy winner Buffalo Sabres, all in five games apiece, en route to their first Eastern Conference championship. The Senators became the first team from Ontario to make the Finals since their archrival Toronto Maple Leafs did so in 1967. Ottawa was led by the top line of captain Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, and Jason Spezza, who combined for 23 goals in the first three rounds, and the goaltending of Ray Emery. Other Senators who played pivotal roles were forwards Mike Fisher and Dean McAmmond and defencemen Chris Phillips and Anton Volchenkov. The Senators were looking to work past Anaheim's defense with their speed and higher-scoring offense, although both teams played a similar style of responsible team defense.
Anaheim had home ice advantage for the series, as they finished the regular season with 110 points to Ottawa's 105. The attention leading into the finals was Ottawa being "Canada's Team" despite Anaheim having five more Canadian skaters than the Senators. Many fans were saying that the Stanley Cup needed to be brought back to Canada after a 14-year drought (up to that point, the last Canadian team to hoist the Stanley Cup was the 1993 Montreal Canadiens, who defeated the Los Angeles Kings).
Game summaries Only four players remained on the Ducks roster from 2003, including the Conn Smythe Trophy winner, Jean-Sebastien Giguere. The 2003 club's general manager, Bryan Murray, was now the Ottawa head coach.
Two Ottawa-area players were in the finals, playing for the Ducks.
The Senators and Ducks had never met in the playoffs before, and had not played each other since January 19, 2006, when the Ducks (then known as the Mighty Ducks) won 4–3 in overtime in Ottawa.
Historical facts This was the first time since the 1925 Victoria Cougars that a team from the west coast of North America won the Stanley Cup, and the first time an NHL team from the west coast had done so. The Ducks are the fourth west coast team to win the Cup, and the first from California.
Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson, from Sweden, was the first European-born-and-raised captain to lead his team to the finals. Previously, only Canadians or an American had captained teams in the finals. The Ducks were captained by a Canadian (Scott Niedermayer) and had more Canadian players than the Senators.
As of the end of the 2021 playoffs, the Senators remain the only Canadian team to represent the East in the finals since 1993 (the 2021 Montreal Canadiens did not represent the East in the 2021 Stanley Cup Final due to temporary abolishment of the conferences). These finals marked the third straight in which a Canadian franchise lost against a franchise based in the southern half of the United States (previous Canadian teams in the last few Stanley Cup Final were the 2004 Calgary Flames and the 2006 Edmonton Oilers, and not counting the 2004–05 NHL season lockout).
The series marked the first time that two teams from the early-'90s expansion era faced each other in the final. (Anaheim had started play in 1993, Ottawa in 1992)
It was the first finals since 1999 where neither finalist had won the Stanley Cup previously (the NHL does not recognize the championships of the original Ottawa Senators as part of the current franchise's history).
As well, this was the third season in a row that the Cup was won by a team winning its first Cup after Tampa Bay in 2004 and Carolina in 2006. It was also the 1st finals since the 2002 Stanley Cup Final, when Detroit defeated Carolina in 5 games, that didn't need a 7th game after New Jersey in 2003, Tampa Bay in 2004, and Carolina in 2006 all won in 7 games
The third game, in Ottawa on June 2, was attended by 91-year-old Russell Williams as a guest of the Senators. He had attended the last Finals game in Ottawa (April 13, 1927) versus the Boston Bruins in the old Ottawa Auditorium. His presence was a good-luck charm, as Ottawa won the game he attended.
Sens Mile
Much like the Red Mile in Calgary during the Flames' 2004 cup run and the Blue Mile in Edmonton during the Oilers' 2006 Cup run, Ottawa Senators fans took to the streets to celebrate their team's success. The idea to have a Sens Mile began as a grassroots campaign on Facebook by Ottawa residents before game four of the Ottawa-Buffalo Eastern Conference Finals series. Their idea was to use Elgin Street as a gathering place for Sens fans to celebrate after games won. Since Scotiabank Place (now Canadian Tire Centre) is located in suburban Ottawa, spontaneous celebration did not occur during the Senators' Cup run until that point, like it did in Calgary and Edmonton where the arenas are located more centrally.
When the Senators beat the Sabres in game five of the Eastern Conference Final, people flocked to Elgin Street in celebration.
For the Stanley Cup Final, large video screens were installed at Ottawa City Hall for fans to view. After the Senators won game three of the series, fans celebrated on Elgin Street once again, and Ottawa Police closed the street down.
Game one
The scene was festive at Honda Center in Anaheim with several Hollywood celebrities on hand, including former movie star and then California Governor, Arnold Schwarzenegger, who dropped the puck for the ceremonial face-off. As in their previous series, the Senators struck first. Mike Fisher started off the scoring in the series with a power-play goal 1:38 into the first period that travelled high in the air, landed behind Giguere and trickled over the line. Although Ottawa scored first, Anaheim took over play during the course of the period. The Ducks replied nine minutes later with a goal from Andy McDonald at even strength. Ottawa was unable to get even one shot on goal in the last eleven minutes of the first, and the period ended with the score tied 1–1. The shots were 8–3 for Anaheim. Early into the second, Wade Redden scored the only goal of the period, another power-play goal for Ottawa from the blue line, putting the Senators up 2–1. Play was even for the most part, as indicated by the 10–10 shot total of the period. The Ducks dominated most of the play in the third, tying the game 2–2 at five minutes into the third on a goal from Ryan Getzlaf, followed by a dramatic game-winning goal by Travis Moen with three minutes left in the third. The shots ended 32–20 in Anaheim's favour. In 2009, it was disclosed by Tom Molloy, hockey coach and friend of Dany Heatley, that Heatley was injured by a cross-check of Chris Pronger in this game. Heatley would continue to play for the rest of the series and the injury was kept secret. Heatley would score only one goal in the series.
Scoring summaryPeriodTeamGoalAssist(s)TimeScore1st OTT Mike Fisher (4) – pp Andrej Meszaros (5) and Mike Comrie (4) 01:38 1–0 OTT ANA Andy McDonald (6) Teemu Selanne (8) 10:55 1–12nd OTT Wade Redden (3) – pp Daniel Alfredsson (8) and Jason Spezza (14) 04:36 2–1 OTT3rd ANA Ryan Getzlaf (6) Corey Perry (6) and Ric Jackman (1) 05:44 2–2 ANA Travis Moen Rob Niedermayer (4) and Scott Niedermayer (7) 17:09 3–2 ANAPenalty summaryPeriodTeamPlayerPenaltyTimePIM1st ANA Scott Niedermayer High-sticking 00:53 2:00 OTT Dany Heatley Tripping 02:34 2:00 ANA Ric Jackman Roughing 14:14 2:002nd OTT Wade Redden Hooking 00:59 2:00 ANA Ryan Getzlaf Cross-checking 03:52 2:00 ANA Francois Beauchemin Tripping 06:34 2:00 ANA Samuel Pahlsson Slashing 06:59 2:003rd OTT Christoph Schubert Slashing 06:37 2:00 OTT Andrej Meszaros Interference 10:03 2:00 ANA Scott Niedermayer Hooking 13:08 2:00 ANA Chris Pronger Hooking 19:16 2:00 Shots by periodTeam123Total 3 10 7 20 8 10 14 32
Game two
Strong defence and goaltending from both sides kept scoring down to nothing until Samuel Pahlsson scored the game-winning goal for the Ducks 14:16 into the third period. Once again, Anaheim's checking line of Samuel Pahlsson, Travis Moen, and Rob Niedermayer managed to shut down and out-score the Ottawa top line of Daniel Alfredsson, Dany Heatley, and Jason Spezza. Anaheim again led the shot count with 31 shots to Ottawa's 16. Ray Emery recorded his third shutout of the postseason.
Scoring summaryPeriodTeamGoalAssist(s)TimeScore1stNone2ndNone3rd ANA Samuel Pahlsson (3) Unassisted 14:16 1–0 ANAPenalty summaryPeriodTeamPlayerPenaltyTimePIM1st OTT Mike Comrie Boarding 02:17 2:00 ANA Drew Miller Interference 05:40 2:00 OTT Anton Volchenkov Boarding 08:05 2:00 ANA Shawn Thornton Charging 12:31 2:00 ANA Chris Pronger Slashing 13:24 2:00 OTT Mike Fisher Roughing 18:07 2:002nd OTT Tom Preissing Tripping 18:04 2:00 ANA Andy McDonald Hooking 19:36 2:003rdNone Shots by periodTeam123Total 7 4 5 16 12 14 5 31
Game three
Play now switched to Ottawa, for the first Stanley Cup Final game in Ottawa in 80 years (as well as the first Finals game played in the province of Ontario for the first time in 40 years). The Senators hoped to regroup, being down 2–0, with two wins at home.
After an energetic crowd took over the singing of O Canada from Ontario Provincial Police Constable Lyndon Slewidge, the Senators came out tentative and Andy McDonald opened the scoring in game three to give Anaheim a 1–0 lead 5:39 into the first period. Ottawa replied 11 minutes later with a goal by Chris Neil.
Corey Perry scored to give Anaheim a 2–1 lead at 5:20 in the second; the lead was short-lived, as Mike Fisher scored 27 seconds later. Two minutes later, Ryan Getzlaf scored to once again give Anaheim a one-goal advantage. Ottawa then replied with a goal by Daniel Alfredsson.