Game 5 in Anaheim, start approx 2100h Eastern.
Started with Peca / Torres / Pisani - looks like Fernando goes back to third line.
Some early pressure by the Oilers, but a faceoff win sprung Selanne who almost set up for a great chance - Smith managed to cut off the pass.. Hemsky's back with Smyth and Horcoff.
Giguere let out a big rebound, but nobody was there to find the empty net - Smyth got another big rebound from a backhander. But the Ducks came back and Greene took a tripping penalty - kind of not his fault, but still, he tripped him. Ducks set up and had a near chance at the corner.
Oilers are doing a good job keeping the Ducks to the outside - MacDonald did the right thing and attacked low, almost stuffed it in. Getzlaf made a nice setup from behind the red line - but the puck was cleared and Edmonton killed the penalty - back to 5 on 5 with 4 minutes gone.
Marchant did a nice job keeping Hemsky to the outside, but couldn't get the puck from him, finally Hemsky deked him and Pronger got a shot, which Giguere stopped easily.
Spacek was trying to set up behind the Oilers net, and Staios accidentally kicked the puck off his stick. Edmonton cleared the zone, puck went behind the Ducks net, and Moreau almost hooked down Beauchemin (?) and knocked the net off instead.
Lupul's line set up against Stoll's line (Samsonov on LW, Dvorak on RW) but couldn't do much. Giguere almost gave the puck away behind the net to Smyth with nobody in front - then made nice tricksy to send it the other way and out of danger.
Rob Niedermayer got knocked down in front of the net - he had been all alone and had a good chance except the puck wasn't right on his stick, then Spacek hooked him down and second Ducks PP.
Right off the faceoff, Selanne had a good shot and Roloson smothered the rebound - pulled it under his leg and made a snowman. Next faceoff, Ducks won and the puck went back to the line - Beauchemin made a quick seeing eye shot, and it beat Roloson over his shoulder - looks like it hit Pronger maybe.
MacT came right back with Murray's line, couldn't do much but they got an offensive zone faceoff. Bergeron gave the puck to Penner at centre ice, he had a good chance, and shortly after so did Selanne. Edmonton's on their heels - not the way they needed to start the game.
Perry had a good rush, but Bergeron played him perfectly and forced him behind the net, then slammed him into the boards. The puck came dangerously out front, but the Oilers (Greene?) made a good clear and the Ducks got called for a hand pass.
Edmonton coughed the puck up the middle - Smith tried to pass it to Murray who wasn't expecting it, I don't think, and the Ducks pounced - good shot, Roloson made a good save and rebound recovery. The Oilers look a bit tentative - again, they're not hitting much and not using their speed at all. Friesen had a great chance though. Edmonton's trying to pass up through the middle - forget about it.
Torres made a nice move to get around the Ducks blueliners, Giguere made a good save, Peca pounced on the rebound and Giguere made another stop, then Giggy's stick was dropped by the side of the net and the pass came out and hit it. Now, Pisani's in the box for interference. Third Ducks PP and we're only 14 minutes in.
Anaheim did absolutely nothing on the PP - one shot and it wasn't dangerous. Carlyle's playing Rob Niedermayer on the second unit, I think.
Shortly after the PP expired, Edmonton got set up and Selanne broke his stick; Bergeron had a good chance and Horcoff couldn't quite get the rebound, then Pahlsson took a penalty hooking Hemsky as he was also trying to get on the rebound. So far Edmonton's been outshot 11-7.
Spacek tried to pass across to Pronger and Rob Niedermayer got a stick on it - I think I'd prefer to see MacTavish change things up a bit and go with Stoll / Hemsky / Pronger playing the perimeter again. Anaheim's doing a pretty decent PK job themselves. Edmonton took a too many men penalty - what's this, the third in two games? Brutal.
Giguere tried to run a pick on Moreau behind his net, and got slammed to the ice for his trouble - puck came into Edmonton's end anyway and Selanne got all set up with tons of time, but Roloson made the stop. Anaheim's not having much luck setting up again after Edmonton cleared the puck - they regained the zone but are being forced to the outside again. It's funny, if Anaheim's PP was as good as their 5 on 5 play they'd have blown the doors off the series a long time ago. First period ends 1-0 with 10s left on the Ducks PP.
Torres came out of the box and started flying around, he smoked Penner who apparently didn't like it much and took a slashing penalty to put the Oilers on the PP early on. Spacek flubbed a one-timer and almost gave it away, but they recovered. I guess MacTavish didn't hear my pleas. Spacek wound up with a good chance in front of the net, his quick shot wasn't quick enough though, and Giguere managed to make a great save. Nothing else doing on that power play.
Looks like Dvorak's on the fourth line - he and Murray and Moreau had some good cycling going behind the net, and Moreau came out from behind the net, got a shot, picked up his own rebound, and flipped it over Giguere, then got buried - his first goal of the playoffs. (I find that very surprising - usually he's a go-to hardcore guy, but Peca's taken that role over the last couple of series. Hrm, but later: his first playoff goal since 1997.)
Edmonton goes back on the PK, but you wouldn't really know it because Cole and Neale chose to spend the entire PP chatting with Wayne Gretzky. Great, good to hear from you Gretz, but your team's out and Edmonton and Anaheim are in. Go back to your baseball team, and talk to Scott Oake or whatshisname during a break in the play. Anaheim took a too many men penalty, and Gretzky's still talking. Ah, they invited him to leave. Anaheim had some chances on their PP, now we'll see if Edmonton can get anything going.
Somebody please explain to me just how a Duck can be all alone in his own zone with the puck when he's on the PK, and then make a pass out to somebody else who wasn't covered either?
The PP didn't do anything, but they had some good pressure going, lots of fast puck cycling, and Torres made an insane redirect in front of Giguere on a Bergeron snapshot, and Giguere was left to dig the puck out - 2-1 Edmonton, their first lead in what, 4 periods? Dvorak was on the ice, good to see him get involved in front of Giguere.
Some Ducks pressure led to a shot on goal and the Ducks crashed the crease - whistle went and Todd Marchant was still whacking at the puck for a full second or so - eventually Roloson wound up on his back in the net with a Duck on him, Marchant wound up in a headlock, and there was lots of other scrumming too. Marchant had hit Roloson twice previously - but somehow the only penalty was to Matt Greene, who was the guy who put Dustin Penner in the net with Roloson.
Scott Niedermayer flew right in, put the puck in front, and Penner almost knocked it in, but no goal. Ducks had a few more rushes, but couldn't do much, although Pisani and Moreau got caught up-ice at one point and they gave up a 3 on 2, but the Oilers dmen played it perfectly.
Torres is playing much better this game than last - he's hitting and skating hard. Dvorak's skating but not doing much else - he's had a shot, and was in front for the goal, but... I dunno, I think the Oilers would be better off with Winchester in his place. Samsonov took a huge hit from Kunitz, but got right back up again.
Hemsky made a beauty move and almost set up Horcoff in front, then the puck went back, Edmonton came in on another rush and Smyth almost set up Horcoff. Puck went back again, and Marchant took a delayed goalie interference penalty - third time's the charm? He almost took Roloson's head off, got up jawing (apologizing, I hope) and slammed his stick against the net as Rolo ignored him and beetled for the bench.
Staios had a pretty good shot, took a while to set up so Giguere had time to move across, but Smyth was right there and Giggy had to be good to ensure no rebound. Rob Niedermayer had a chance shorthanded, then the Oilers rush and Hemsky almost set up Horcoff (that's getting old, I want to type "Hemsky set up Horcoff on a beauty pass, what a shot, sigh). Still 2-1, but Edmonton's playing better and better this game.
Pronger took a hooking penalty on Marchant - not sure why, looks like he just got tangled up. Anaheim had a pretty good chance off the faceoff, but the puck went up into the netting. Off the next faceoff, they had another dandy chance, but ran out of time, and that's the second.
Roloson made a stop at the RHS of the net, and the puck went behind and across to LHS - an Oiler dman made a great effort to stop a Duck there as he wrestled with the puck. Penner took a goalie interference penalty - kind of a weak one, Roloson was outside the crease and he didn't really bump him all that hard, but maybe they're just trying to cut down on the crease-crashing in the third.
On the 4 on 4, Marchant forced Bergeron to cough it up, got the puck to Rob Niedermayer, who just couldn't quite beat Roloson as Marchant bayed at the ceiling in dismay. Then a short Edmonton power play. Lots of passing around, Hemsky almost set up Smyth but he wasn't expecting it, and finally - finally! - Hemsky sent Samsonov in, who couldn't stuff it by Giguere. Faceoff, puck went to Pronger, who smoked it off the post at about 95mph. (Giguere's just happy it was the post that stopped it and not him.) Moreau was in front, puck came to him, but he couldn't quite stuff it by. Puck came back into Edmonton's end, Staios got nailed, much to the crowd's pleasure, but the Oilers went in. Lots of back and forth, Peca wound up with a decent shot. 5 minutes into the third, the game's getting really good. Hemsky stripped Niedermayer of the puck but couldn't quite get his stick on it afterwards.
Finally, lots of back and forthing, and Samsonov tripped up a Duck as he was about to go in alone on Roloson. Wow, I agreed with Neale: that was a good penalty to take. Hopefully the Oilers keep the Ducks looking like a junior B team on their PP to vindicate him. Lots of cycling by the Ducks, but they can't get a shot through - finally did with 20 seconds left, but they couldn't get the rebound. Moreau fired it down at the end of the PK and that was that.
Heart-in-mouth at 10:25 remaining: Ducks had a great chance but couldn't capitalize. Dvorak looking a bit rusty - he had a good rush but lost the puck, and it came back the other way, some good chances for Anaheim and Samsonov's going off again.
Some beauty chances for the Ducks in the first half of the PP, but then the Oilers cleared the puck and changed, and Giguere tried to send the power play in and iced the puck instead. 1 second left on the Ducks PP, and Penner took a lazy hooking call against Horcoff near the Oilers blueline. Edmonton had a few good shots, but not much doing.
Back to 5 on 5, end to end action, particularly some frantic scrambling in Edmonton's end. With Roloson down and out, no Duck could quite get a handle on the puck and the opportunity passed.
*Another* too many men penalty for the Oilers - can't anybody on the bench count? 3 minutes and lots of change left, but the Oilers got the first couple of chances, as Moreau busted in one on one. Eventually the Ducks set up, but the Oilers were able to clear and kill a bunch more time. 2:47 left and the Ducks pull Giguere - 6 on 4 and the Oilers net is all purple and white. Spacek and Staios are the Oilers dmen - Roloson made a stop and now the Oilers have a chance to change up. Faceoff in Edmonton's zone, Anaheim calls a timeout - smart move? Lets them set up, but gives the Oilers lots of rest. I guess Carlyle knew the same thing I did, that Pronger was likely going out - yeah, there he is. Giguere staying on the bench - Ducks won the faceoff, and Pronger cleared... over the glass. 6 on 3, can't say that I've ever seen that before.
First penalty expired, 6 on 4 now, Edmonton cleared it twice, and we're at a minute and a half left in the game and just over a minute left in the Pronger penalty. Faceoff outside the Oilers blueline, Edmonton won but Staios couldn't hit the empty net. Ducks chance, Edmonton cleared again, a minute left. Ducks are crashing the net like mad. Teemu Selanne looks just dead, but he's staying out. Ryan Smyth shot the puck backhand from the red line, and hit the outside of the post - hopefully that won't be the difference. Some more scrambling, Horcoff made a diving clear, and that's that. Edmonton's going to the Stanley Cup.
CBC cut to the Whyte Ave shot, and they had a shot of a girl in a tanktop rubbing her boobs against some guy's head. That's a new one on me too - not witnessing a boob rub, but the CBC showing it.
MacTavish: "We never do things the easy way." Hah! Eliot Friedman: "Did you ever worry that Roloson was losing his composure?" MacTavish: "*eyeroll* *laugh* Oh come on!" MacT's great. The Oilers were quick to get their Conference champs hats on, that must kind of suck for the Ducks to have to shake hands with that. Selanne and Roloson had a few things to say to each other.
Well, Edmonton will be playing either Buffalo or Carolina - at least a few games are going to end at sensible times, I hope.