Tuesday, May 6, 2003 | 9:03 a.m.
SUN WIRE SERVICES
Excuse the Mighty Ducks if they weren't sure this was real.
Sandis Ozolinsh scored with 1:06 remaining to put the Ducks in the Western Conference final for the first time in franchise history with a 4-3 victory against the Dallas Stars on Monday.
The Ducks became the first team to beat the top two seeds after eliminating No. 1 seed Dallas in Game 6 in front of a sellout crowd at the Pond. They swept defending Stanley Cup champion and No. 2 seed Detroit in the first round.
"We have to pinch ourselves a little bit," Ducks right winger Steve Thomas said. "I don't know where (the Ducks' resiliency is) coming from. But we find a way."
They had to after the Stars tied the game Monday with a late goal after having one disallowed moments before.
Dallas scored what appeared to be the tying goal with 7:58 left in the third period. But Stu Barnes' goal was disallowed after video review. According to the replay, Stars center Pierre Turgeon pushed Ducks defenseman Kurt Sauer into the goal, dislodging it before Barnes' shot went in.
Dallas had a power play less than a minute later and got another puck past Ducks goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere. Brenden Morrow redirected Sergei Zubov's shot off his skate with 5:11 remaining. The goal stood after review.
Including Monday's game, the Ducks are 8-1 in one-goal games in the playoffs.
"The plan was to find a way to win and get the job done," Ducks coach Mike Babcock said. "This is beyond our wildest dreams."
The Ducks found a way when Ozolinsh put in a rebound from Mike Leclerc's shot.
The Stars never were out of the game or the series but had to win three consecutive games after going down three games to one. The Ducks hadn't lost three in a row since the beginning of January.
But the Stars never went away.
"It was a roller-coaster ride in the third, for sure," said Ducks captain Paul Kariya, who has been through nine of the past 10 years of the Ducks' futility.
Peter Schaefer got the Senators going less than three minutes in, and Mike Fisher also scored in the first period. Daniel Alfredsson and Bryan Smolinski added second-period goals to make it a rout. Wade Redden had two assists, and Patrick Lalime was sturdy in making 18 saves.
The visiting Senators dispatched the Flyers from the playoffs for the second consecutive year, this time in six games.
Ottawa, which needed only five games to beat the New York Islanders in the first round, will face New Jersey for the right to go to the Stanley Cup final.
Richard Park, Jason Marshall, Andrew Brunette and Wes Walz also scored for the Wild, who set a franchise record for goals in a game.
Minnesota still trails 3-2 in the series heading home for Game 6 Wednesday night. Game 7, if necessary, would be back in Vancouver on Thursday.
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