Ducks draw first blood in finals vs. Senators

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Travis Moen helped shut down Ottawa's big three, then scored a goal that trio would have been proud of.

Moen, part of Anaheim's primary checking unit, took a pass in the slot from Rob Niedermayer and snapped the puck past Ray Emery with 2:51 left, giving the Ducks a 3-2 victory over the Senators in the Stanley Cup finals opener Monday night.

Moen's fifth of the playoffs came after Ryan Getzlaf's tying goal 11:25 earlier erased the 2-1 lead Ottawa carried into the third period.

In the first matchup of the teams this season, Moen, along with Niedermayer and Samuel Pahlsson, held Ottawa's top line of Daniel Alfredsson, Jason Spezza and Dany Heatley to two assists and handed the Senators their first series-opening loss in these playoffs.

Mike Fisher staked Ottawa to a 1-0 lead in the first period with a power-play goal, and defenseman Wade Redden also scored on the man advantage in the second.

Andy McDonald scored in the first period for the Ducks, who will look to take a 2-0 lead at home Wednesday night.

The Senators looked ready to win their first Stanley Cup finals game since the franchise was reborn in 1992, but the Ducks fought back and stole it away. Ottawa lost only one game in each of its other three playoff series and now faces its first deficit.

Jean-Sebastien Giguere made 18 saves to improve to 10-3 in the playoffs. Getzlaf's goal put the Ducks in a great position : Anaheim is 13-0 in the playoffs when scoring at least twice.

Then Moen put them right where they want to be -- ahead in the finals.

Even after grabbing an early lead, Ottawa goalie Ray Emery and the rest of the Senators showed a bit of rust in the first period following an eight-day layoff.

After leaving juicy rebounds and looking a bit unsteady in his crease, Emery bounced back in the second period, stopping all 10 Anaheim shots, including one he grabbed out of the air as it threatened to bound past him.

Redden broke a 1-1 tie in the middle frame, making up for losing the puck in the opening period that led to McDonald's tying goal.

It was nearly enough to give the Senators a win in their first venture out of the Eastern time zone since March. Ottawa fell to 7-2 on the road in the playoffs.