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McDonald a man on a mission in Game 4 win
Shawn P. Roarke NHL.com Senior Writer
Jun 5, 2007, 1:05 AM EDT
Ducks center Andy McDonald (L) celebrates the first of his two second period goals in Anaheim's 3-2 Game 4 victory over the Ottawa Senators. KANATA, Ont. -- The Anaheim Ducks didn't need suspended defenseman Chris Pronger in Monday's Game 4 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Top-line center Andy McDonald -- playing with normal running mate Teemu Selanne on one side and a revolving cast of wingers on the other -- proved to be enough for Anaheim to tame a rambunctious Ottawa side playing before a rabid crowd at Scotiabank Place.
McDonald figured in all three goals, scoring two on back-to-back shots in the second period, as the Ducks clawed their way to a gritty 3-2 victory that gives Anaheim a three-games-to-one stranglehold to carry with it on the long, cross-continent plane ride back to California for Wednesday's Game 5.
Only one team in the history of the Stanley Cup Final has fought back from a three-games-to-one deficit.
The win also marked the second time in three weeks that Anaheim has won a crucial game without its best defenseman, and arguably best player, in street clothes because of supplemental discipline. Sunday, Chris Pronger was banned after delivering an elbow to the head of Ottawa's Dean McAmmond in the third period of Game 3. In the last round, Pronger was banished for Game 4 against Detroit after hitting Tomas Holmstrom with another head shot.
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More NHL.com features Monday, McDonald made sure Pronger would not further regret his latest indiscretion.
"(McDonald was) huge," said Scott Niedermayer, the Anaheim captain. "I mean, obviously, you know, you need to score goals to win a hockey game. What you need is different lines at different times. We've had that up to this point. Obviously, that line for us tonight was the difference."
After Ottawa scored a heart-breaking goal with three-tenths of a second remaining in the first period to take a 1-0, McDonald took over the show.
Midway through the second he tied the game by willing a puck past Ray Emery after taking a sweet centering pass from Todd Marchant, who saw considerable first-line time because of the injury to Chris Kunitz. McDonald's shot, as he skated across the slot, appeared to tick off Emery's paddle and find it's way into the net.
As workmanlike as the first goal was, McDonald's second proved to be a work of art. Rob Niedermayer threaded a perfect cross-ice pass to McDonald, who gained the blue line before turning defenseman Anton Volchenkov inside-out with an unbelievable deke. With Volchenkow sprawling to the ice after biting on the deke, McDonald had the time and space to beat Emery with a well-placed backhand.
Both goals featured the puck patience and on-ice vision that have made him the perfect fit for Selanne, who had 48 regular-season goals this season.
"That's not an easy play to be as patient as he was in both those situations," said coach Randy Carlyle. "Those are big-league plays. That's a hockey player stepping up, playing desperate and executing at a very high level for his teammates.
"There was nobody happier than any one of our players on the bench when he did that – on both occasions."
The center, who missed the 2003 Stanley Cup Final run by Anaheim because of a concussion, finished a night to remember in the fifth minute of the third period when he jump-started the play that led to the winning goal.
After figuring in on all three Ducks' goals in Game 4, McDonald now has 12 points in this postseason.The Ducks were eager to change when McDonald got the puck in his own end. Taking his time, he found Selanne cutting across the middle and hit him with a two-line pass.
"(Defenseman) Ric Jackman made a nice play in our zone," said McDonald, who now has 12 points in this postseason run. "They were forechecking pretty hard and he made a nice, soft pass to me. I just kind of waited as they had two guys come in. I just chipped it out. Actually, I was going to the bench and I looked back and I saw Dustin put the puck in the net."
Here's what McDonald missed on his skate to the bench for the line change.
His pass ticked off Selanne's stick and into the skates of Dustin Penner, who had just replaced Brad May. Penner gained control of the puck and, after a near-collision with Selanne, fed the puck back to the Finnish winger. Selanne drove wide and took both Volchenkov and Ray Emery with him, which left Penner with a yawning net when the give-and-go play was completed by Selanne.
When it was all over, McDonald sat stoically at the podium for the post-game press conference. There was no hint of a smile, no emotion at all visible, in fact. For McDonald, things are far from done.
The Ducks are happily ready to welcome Pronger back into their fold for Wednesday's Game 5. Now, they have three games left to earn one all-important, franchise-defining win. That is all that concerns McDonald, he says.
"We're going to enjoy it here probably for the next couple of minutes," said McDonald. "But the game is over and we have to get ready for the next game. I think the key will be the first period for us. (Tonight) we came out and we didn't have a strong first period.
"Hopefully, we can use our fans in our building to be a little bit extra motivated for that next game. So, I'll just enjoy it here for the next 10 minutes and then I will start preparing for the next one." --