ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Chris Pronger hangs around the crease,
his 6-foot-6 frame and wide wingspan protecting the Anaheim Ducks'
goal. On the boards, Scott Niedermayer taps the puck away from an
Ottawa forward and flips it up the ice.
The Ducks' defense smothered the Senators, including keeping
them from scoring on a five-on-three while Pronger was in the
penalty box, during their 1-0 victory Wednesday night. As in their
opening victory in the Stanley Cup finals, killing off the two-man
advantage was a key in the game.
Anaheim, which limited the Senators to 20 shots in a 3-2 victory
in Game 1, was even stingier in Game 2, allowing only 16.
The Ducks got off 31 shots at Ottawa's Ray Emery, who played
flawlessly until Samuel Pahlsson slid the puck between his pads and
into the net with 4:19 remaining in the game.
Pronger and Niedermayer, the Ducks' marquee defensemen who each
have won a Norris Trophy and are finalists this year, obviously
have a lot to do with the fact the Ducks are up 2-0, needing two
wins to capture the team's first Stanley Cup.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere didn't have to make many difficult saves
against the Senators on his way to the sixth career playoff
shutout. But he did make a fine stop in the closing moments, when
he blocked Jason Spezza's close-range shot by being in perfect
butterfly position -- the puck went into his pads.
The Senators had the two-man advantage in the first period after
Shawn Thornton went off for charging at 12:31 and Pronger for
slashing at 13:24. But Giguere snuffed Ottawa's best chance when he
blocked a shot, then snared the puck out of the air.
The Ducks began shoring up their defense when they signed
Niedermayer on Aug. 4, 2005. They then added perhaps the final
piece of the puzzle when they acquired Pronger in a trade with
Edmonton last July.
The 33-year-old Niedermayer has three goals and seven assists in
17 games this postseason. He had 15 goals and 54 assists in 79
regular-season games to help Anaheim win the Pacific Division
title.
He has won three Stanley Cups, all with the New Jersey Devils,
including 2003, when they beat the Ducks -- and younger brother Rob
-- in Game 7 of the finals. The elder Niedermayer decided to come to
Anaheim and join his brother despite the Devils offering him more
money.
The 32-year-old Pronger is tied with forward Ryan Getzlaf for
the Ducks' scoring lead this postseason, despising serving a
one-game suspension. Pronger has three goals and 11 assists in 16
games.
He had 59 points, including 13 goals, in 66 games during the
regular season. He missed seven games with a broken toe, another
nine with a broken foot.
Pronger made it to the finals last year with Edmonton, which
lost to Carolina. He then asked to be traded and Anaheim snapped
him up.