WEBBED FEAT DUCKS DOMINATE OTTAWA TO WIN SERIES IN FIVE GAMES AND CLAIM CALIFORNIA'S FIRST-EVER STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONSHIP.

Byline: ELLIOTT TEAFORD

Staff Writer

ANAHEIM -- Fireworks exploded in the rafters, streamers and confetti fell on a roaring sellout crowd and an orange and black Stanley Cup championship banner was unfurled after the final horn sounded Wednesday night.

The Ducks were mighty at last.

It seemed like the party might last all night after the Ducks overpowered the Ottawa Senators 6-2 in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Finals at the Honda Center.

Thousands of fans lingered in the arena for hours celebrating the team's first title.

Travis Moen had two goals, and Andy McDonald, Rob Niedermayer, Francois Beauchemin and Corey Perry also scored for the Ducks, who eliminated Ottawa, 4-1, to claim the first Stanley Cup for a California team in NHL history.

Defenseman Scott Niedermayer won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the playoffs, underscoring his lunch-pail effort in helping the Ducks to defensively overpower Minnesota, Vancouver, Detroit and Ottawa en route to the Cup.

Niedermayer accepted the Cup from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman, gave it a loving kiss, took a few strides and handed it off to his younger brother, Rob.

It was Scott's fourth Cup victory, but Rob's first.

"It's special," Scott said. "You can only dream of passing it to your brother."

Jean-Sebastien Giguere needed to make only 11 saves to claim the Cup that eluded him and Rob when they helped to lead the Ducks to the Finals in 2003 only to lose in seven games to Scott and the NewJersey Devils.

"It's a dream come true for everyone," Giguere said. "From Day 1 (in training camp last September), we knew we had a team capable of going all the way."

Samuel Pahlsson continued his dogged pursuit of Ottawa's top forwards, just as he and linemates Moen and Rob Niedermayer had against the Wild, Canucks and Red Wings in the earlier rounds.

"It's a team game," said Pahlsson, who merited consideration as the Conn Smythe winner. "We had to do our part out there. Obviously, the defensemen and our goalie were so good behind us. We didn't let (the Senators) get to play their game."

McDonald gave the Ducks a 1-0 lead with a power-play goal 3:41 into the game, whipping a quick shot from the right faceoff circle through the legs of Ray Emery.

Rob Niedermayer added an even-strength goal for a 2-0 lead at 17:41, gliding along right wing before slipping a point-blank backhander through Emery's legs.

Billed as the league's next great young goalie after leading the Senators through the first three rounds of the playoffs, Emery never lived up to the hype in the Finals.

Meanwhile, Giguere was solid enough to win despite giving up two goals to Daniel Alfredsson during the second period.

The first goal, which trimmed the Ducks' lead to 2-1, deflected off of a diving Perry.

The second, which got Ottawa within 3-2, was a shorthanded goal.

In between Alfredsson's 13th and 14th goals, Ottawa defenseman Chris Phillips lost control of the puck near his own net and accidentally tapped it past Emery as he tried to regain possession. Moen was credited with the goal.

Beauchemin restored the Ducks' two-goal lead 50 seconds later with a wicked slap shot off a drop pass from McDonald along left wing as the power play continued.

Not long after Moen's second goal gave the Ducks a 5-2 lead, a standing-room-only crowd of 17,372 began to chant, "We want the Cup, we want the Cup."

It would soon be theirs, but not before a nervous moment when Ottawa's Antoine Vermette was awarded a penalty shot at 7:23. He never got a shot away as the puck rolled off his stick as he tried to slip a backhander past Giguere, however.

Many of the fans were already standing and screaming when a loose puck trickled into the slot and Perry blasted it into the net to account for the final goal. The final three minutes of the game were one extended standing ovation.

"I can't think of a better way to do this than in front of our home fans," winger Teemu Selanne said after winning the Cup for the first time after a 15-year pursuit. "I am so proud of my teammates. We have been like a family, like brothers."

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CAPTION(S):

3 photos, 7 boxes

Photo:

(1 -- color) Ryan Getzlaf and the rest of the Ducks can get their shoutouts, now that they are Stanley Cup champions after beating Ottawa in five games.

Mark Avery/Associated Press

(2 -- color) Scott Niedermayer, right, won the Conn Smythe Trophy, and can celebrate with brother Rob.

Jim McIsaac/Getty Images

(3) From left, Anaheim's Chris Pronger, rob Niedermayer and Samuel Pahlsson celebrate.

Sean Hiller/Staff Photographer

Box:

(1) COOL!

(2) DUCKS WIN BEST-OF-7 SERIES 4-1

(3) HERO

(4) GOAT

(5) THEY SAID IT

(6) PERIOD BY PERIOD

(7) STANLEY CUP CHAMPIONS