New Jersey squeezes through Game 7 for Stanley Cup shot

OTTAWA -- Jeff Friesen rescued the New Jersey Devils when it looked like they couldn't hold on any longer.

Friesen got behind the Ottawa defense, took a brilliant pass from Grant Marshall and scored with 2:14 left Friday night, sending the Devils into the Stanley Cup finals with a 3-2 victory in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference finals.

The Devils led the series 3-1 before dropping consecutive games for the first time in the postseason. That got the Presidents' Trophy-winning Senators into a deciding game few thought would occur.

Ottawa took an early lead when Magnus Arvedson scored 3:33 in, but Jamie Langenbrunner scored goals 1:54 apart to put New Jersey in front.

Radek Bonk tied it for the Senators in the opening minutes of the third period, and Ottawa pressed hard for the go-ahead goal that suddenly ended up in their own net.

Marshall got a pass from the left circle between the legs of Ottawa defenseman Wade Redden and onto the stick of Friesen, who was all alone in front and got a shot by Patrick Lalime to silence a frenzied crowd that felt destiny was in their team's hands.

Instead, the Devils are the Eastern Conference champions for the third time in four years. They will face the Anaheim Mighty Ducks for the Stanley Cup with Game 1 in New Jersey on Tuesday night.

Friesen also scored the game-winning goals in Games 2 and 4 of this series.

It was a bitter ending for the Senators, who overcame bankruptcy, late pay checks and a checkered playoff history in a stirring season.

Ottawa was the NHL's top team in the regular season with 113 points, and seemed poised to reach the Stanley Cup finals for the first time in its 11-year history. The Senators won Game 5 at home, the first time they ever avoided elimination, and they took Game 6 on the road on Wednesday night.

Legions of fans, including Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien, packed the Corel Centre and were sent into a frenzy when Arvedson scored his first playoff goal. It seemed to bode well for the Senators, who were 7-0 when scoring first this postseason and 36-2-3 when leading after 20 minutes.

Before this year, the Senators had never won a playoff series in which they were the higher seed. They dispatched the New York Islanders and Philadelphia Flyers in the first two rounds before meeting the well-rested Devils.

New Jersey was in danger of losing a series it led 3-1 for the first time. Instead the Devils raised their record to 5-6 in Game 7s.

Ottawa hoped to be the first Canadian team to reach the Stanley Cup finals since Vancouver in 1994.

Friesen was nearly a goat earlier in the third when his turnover started a rush the other way.

Hossa brought the puck into the Devils zone and moved it to Bonk atop the left circle for a drive that beat Brodeur through the pads at 1:53.

Ottawa had the jump from the latter stages of the second period through the first half of the third, when the Senators gave New Jersey its first two power plays 2:24 apart.

New Jersey's defense nearly did in Brodeur with six minutes left. Colin White nearly put the puck in his own net as he lost control was skating back toward Brodeur. Scott Niedermayer turned it over twice in front, but Brodeur covered.

The Devils sagged back on defense in the final five minutes of the second, trying to hold on. They did, even killing off a penalty that spanned the second and third periods, until Bonk beat Brodeur.

Langenbrunner tied it 3:52 into the second and then put the Devils in front at 5:46. He was the Devils' biggest offensive force in their first two rounds against Boston and Tampa Bay -- both five-game victories -- when he scored seven goals.

Ottawa took a 1-0 lead soon after Lalime stopped Joe Nieuwendyk's shot off a rebound and extended a New Jersey flurry.

Arvedson scored his first of the playoffs after getting 16 goals in the regular season. He hadn't scored in 23 games -- dating to March 22.

Notes: Nieuwendyk, injured in overtime of Game 6, was back on the ice but only played three shifts before leaving with an undisclosed injury. ... Langenbrunner had four two-goal games in the regular season, including one against Anaheim. ... The Senators are 0-3 in Game 7s. The previous two were on the road. ... New Jersey held a 27-26 shots advantage. Both teams were 0-for-2 on the power play.