Ottawa Senators were closer than you'd think in 2007 Stanley Cup final

Notably, the brash Emery shone in the third round against the Sabres. An athletic, aggressive netminder who was at his peak, one of Emery’s best and most crucial saves came in overtime of Game 2 of the series, when he denied Thomas Vanek a wraparound attempt with a quick stretch of his right pad.

The would-be series-tying goal found Emery’s pad, opening the door for Joe Corvo to score in the second overtime, putting the Sabres in a 2-0 series hole. Emery would go on to shut out the Sabres 1-0 in a razor-thin Game 3, before the Senators dropped Game 4 despite nearly digging themselves out of a 3-0 hole (they lost 4-3).

Fast-forward to Game 2 of the Cup showdown with the Ducks, which might have been Emery’s best. As Giguere shone at the other end, thwarting the Senators’ glorious chances to take the lead on a 5-on-3 power play, Emery made big saves of his own on Ryan Getzlaf, Corey Perry and Rob Niedermayer.

Emery would let in the only goal of the game with just over four minutes left, a screened shot from Samuel Pahlsson on the wing that would hold up as the winner.

In front of him, his team held up well, considering the beating they took in Game 1 while managing to take two leads. Drawing on the positives, the Senators returned to hockey-mad Ottawa.

Bowman to Murray: Ducks flying in the face of the rulebook

Game 3 set the stage for what would be a clearly energized Senators team, considering how close they came in the first two under hostile circumstances.

Before Game 2, Senators coach Bryan Murray had to bite his tongue about the officiating in the series thus far. The most penalized team during the regular season for their aggressive, physical style, the Ducks seemed determined to win at all physical cost, which was evident in their ascent to the final.

“They got their physical play from good dump-ins and not us holding anybody up. Their first man in got the hits,” he told the Ottawa Sun. “That was the main part. The other part is when people are standing around in front of the net trying to defend and they’re hammering away at our defencemen, as well as our goaltender. Those are two areas that concern me.”

Murray said he spoke with former Red Wings coach Scotty Bowman, who at the time was a special assistant to general manager Ken Holland, about the Ducks’ tactics. Murray said that Bowman warned him about the illegal obstruction the Ducks employed to send the Wings packing.

“I just talked to some of the Detroit people and they just told me this is the way it went (in the last series),” Murray also told the Sun. “I guess it should have been clear in my mind this is what’s going to happen and we’ll be allowed to do likewise.”

Clearly, a thinly-veiled shot at the zebras.

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