It’s that time of year when the NHL competes for the oldest trophy in North American sports. The Stanley Cup playoffs are in full swing and the Ducks of Anaheim have a major battle on their hands.
Even though it’s the land of sun, sand and surf, Southern California sports fans have a reason to head indoors and cool off on the ice. In what is only their 5th appearance in the playoffs, the Ducks have made it to the final round of the 2007 Western Conference Championships.
Incorporated as an NHL team in 1993, the Ducks have made it to the Stanley Cup finals just once, in 2003, but were shut down by the New Jersey Devils. As they try to make it to the finals again this year, it seems they have their work cut out for them. Going up against 10 time Stanley Cup champions, the Detroit Red Wings, the Ducks struggle in their fight to win their second conference title and move on to the finals.
Coming off an on the road win against the Wings, tying the series 1-1 in overtime, it seemed the Ducks were heading into May 15th’s game three with momentum on their side. However, this was not the case as the Wings handed the Ducks a crushing blow, shutting them out at 5-0.
Even though they lost the first game of the series and won by the skin of their teeth in the second, the blowout in game three came as a surprise. So what happened? Sportswriters speculated it was the shake up in the Wings’ offensive line, the 29 saves by Wings’ goalie Dominik Hasek or even the numerous penalties the Ducks drew.
Whatever the reason, the Ducks played in front of their 29th consecutive sellout crowd, but sadly disappointed fans who paid anywhere from $71-$550 for tickets. The seemingly devoted fans tried to rally the crowd, as well as their team in the third period, but made a mass exodus after the Wings finished Anaheim off with their 5th goal. Ducks fans apparently couldn’t take it anymore and left their team to wind down the clock to a mostly empty stadium, save for the fairly large Detroit contingent.
Even though game three was a complete wash for Anaheim, the Ducks aren’t dead in the water just yet. The puck drops at 6:00 pm during game four at the Honda Center on Thursday, May 17 and then it’s off to Detroit on Sunday for game five at noon.
The Ducks need to take at least one of these games to keep their heads above water or their quest for Lord Stanley could be over by week’s end. If a win is produced in the next two games, they come back home to play game six on Tuesday May 22nd. If not, then the Ducks must take their new uniforms (no more purple) and newly shortened name (they dropped Disney reference ‘Mighty’ from their name) and look to next year for another shot at The Cup.
The winner of the Western Conference Championships will face either the Buffalo Sabres or Ottawa Senators at the Stanley Cup Finals.
www.anaheimducks.com
