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Ducks eliminate Canucks behind Scott Niedermayer

May 4, 2007 - 7:38 AM ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) -- With a little help from his brother, Scott Niedermayer booked the Anaheim Ducks' second straight trip to the Western Conference finals.

Niedermayer scored 4 1/2 minutes into the second overtime, giving the Ducks a 2-1 victory Thursday over the Vancouver Canucks and a four-games-to-one triumph in their conference semifinal series.

Anaheim, which advanced to the conference finals for the third time in four seasons, awaits the winner of the semifinal series between Detroit and San Jose. The Red Wings and Sharks currently are even at two games apiece.

"We didn't know how good this team could be," Anaheim's Teemu Selanne said. "That's why last year was so important. Now, we know what it takes. We have a better team this year than last year."

"We definitely don't want too much rest," Ducks center Rob Niedermayer added. "I think after a tough series like this, we have a few tired legs out there. It will be nice for a few guys, especially those who played a lot of minutes, to get a little rest."

With grinders Brad May and Shawn Thornton working tirelessly to keep the puck in the offensive zone, Vancouver finally appeared ready to break up ice. But with his head down, rookie Jannik Hansen was steamrolled by Rob Niedermayer along the left wing boards, allowing the puck to slide toward the blue line.

"I don't think that guy saw me at all," Rob Niedermayer said. "The puck just came to him and I just kind of stepped up on him."

At the left point, Scott Niedermayer wristed a shot that sneaked past goaltender Roberto Luongo and just inside the right goalpost, sending the Ducks and the capacity crowd at the Honda Center into a frenzy.

"Brad May had the puck in the corner, he was working it," Scott Niedermayer said. "It squirted out from one of their guys and my brother came in and made a big hit, and (Hansen) wasn't able to get the puck. It came to me and I just put a wrist shot to the front of the net. Either (Luongo) didn't see it or something happened."

In a rare instance, Luongo was not prepared for the shot, instead attempting to draw the referee's attention with hopes of a penalty being called on Rob Niedermayer for his hit.

"I thought there was an elbow, so I looked at the ref for one split second, and when I turned my head, the puck was coming at me," Luongo said. "I couldn't get a piece of it. Scotty is a real smart player. He probably saw me look away and he got off the shot really quick. I was off-balance. I absolutely made a mistake."

"Obviously, if he sees it, or if it's a normal play, he's going to make that save," Scott Niedermayer said.

It was the 20th career playoff goal for Scott Niedermayer, who earlier in the week was named a finalist for the Norris Trophy along with teammate Chris Pronger and Detroit's Nicklas Lidstrom. The trio has combined to win the award six times.

Not really known for his physical play, Rob Niedermayer drew praise from his teammates for the crucial check.

"Rob can do everything," Selanne said. "He's the full package. Obviously, Scott gets more of the spotlight, but Rob has accepted his role on the team."

"He just killed one guy there," Giguere added. "Guys kept working hard and (were) positive. It shows that we have a lot of character."

Luongo did his best to extend Vancouver's season, making 56 saves - including 21 in the second period. However, the Hart and Vezina Trophy finalist had an equipment problem just before the start of the first overtime, forcing backup Dany Sabourin to start the extra session and make five saves in just over 3 1/2 minutes of action.

"I felt this was one of the best games that I've played," Luongo said. "I was reading the puck really well. It's probably the best that I've felt."

"He's world class. He's the best," Canucks left wing Markus Naslund said. "He kept us in the game tonight, especially in the first two periods. ... When a goalie plays like he did, he can keep his team in it."

Luongo even was complimented by his counterpart.

"Roberto played a great game and gave them a chance," Giguere said. "Sometimes when you're in a zone like that, there's no way to explain it. It seems like nothing is going to go in. ... He never quit and he gave them a chance to stay alive."

Giguere made 26 saves in improving his lifetime postseason overtime record to 10-1 for Anaheim, which improved to 5-1 at home in this year's playoffs.

In Stanley Cup Playoff history, a team has come back to win a series after trailing, three games to one, just 20 times. The Canucks accomplished the feat on three different occasions but were unable to do so against the Ducks, who recorded a franchise-record 63 shots on goal Thursday.

"We got beat by a better team, it's as simple as that," Canucks coach Alain Vigneault said. "The games were tight, but overall, they had more speed. They were better than we were. ... If it wasn't for Luongo playing his best game of the year, the game is over after the first period. That's the way it is."

Vancouver has not advanced beyond the conference semifinals since 1994. Part of the reason for this year's failure was the inept production from its power-play unit, which went 1-for-29 (3.4 percent) in the series after scoring just three times on 38 opportunities against Dallas in the conference quarterfinals.

"It's tough," said Canucks center Henrik Sedin, who failed to record a point in the series. "We haven't been able to score in the playoffs. It's been tough to not be able to produce. That's our job. If we got a few goals here and there, we could have easily won this series."

"It was really good," Ducks center Samuel Pahlsson said of his team's penalty-killing unit. "I think we frustrated them, and it won us a couple games."

After outshooting the Canucks, 17-6, in the opening period, the Ducks finally broke through against Luongo early in the middle session, with a little help from Vancouver's captain.

From the right corner, Travis Moen skated to the net and made several attempts to jam the puck past Luongo. Trying to prevent another shot, Naslund pushed Moen, who fell into the goaltender.

The puck squirted out to the low slot, and Pahlsson, a Selke Trophy finalist, fired it into the net 14 seconds into the period for a 1-0 lead.

"Rob and Travis won a couple of battles down low," Pahlsson said. "They got it to the net and I came in a little late and found a rebound."

Anaheim, which had a 22-7 shot advantage in the second, was unable to protect the one-goal bulge in the third. After defenseman Joe DiPenta turned over the puck along the left wing boards, Josh Green unleashed a shot that Giguere turned aside.

The rebound came right to Alex Burrows, who fired it past the netminder with 8:57 remaining to forge a tie.

"We scored that goal and it gave us life," Vancouver's Brendan Morrison said.