The Anaheim Ducks are within a win of their first Stanley Cup championship.

McDonald scored two goals in the second period, then shook free of hard-hitting Chris Neil and assisted on Dustin Penner's winner in the third, giving Anaheim a 3-2 victory over the Ottawa Senators tonight.

The Ducks will carry a 3-1 series advantage back home to Anaheim, where they are 7-0 in clinching games, including 3-0 this year. But this one is different, and it all became possible because of the Ducks' first road win in the finals in six chances over two series.

"We're going to enjoy this for 10 minutes and begin preparation for the next one; that's where your mind-set has to go," Ducks coach Randy Carlyle said.

Anaheim is 5-0 in the finals on home ice and can secure Southern California's first Stanley Cup title as early as Wednesday night.

Only the 1942 Toronto Maple Leafs, who rallied from a 3-0 deficit, have come back from such a hole in the finals to win in 28 such situations.

Anaheim moved into position despite a miserable first period in which it was outshot 13-2 without Pronger, a Norris Trophy finalist who served a one-game suspension for an elbow to the head of Ottawa's Dean McAmmond in Game 3 on Saturday.

"Anytime you lose a player like Chris Pronger you need somebody to step forward, and I think our group did that," Carlyle said.

General manager Brian Burke was incensed Sunday that Pronger was suspended while Neil wasn't, claiming the only difference was McAmmond was injured and McDonald wasn't when Neil charged and landed a high, hard hit in Game 3.

This time, Neil missed the Ducks forward and instead crashed himself into the boards. That was enough to allow McDonald to get the puck up ice to Teemu Selanne.

Skating alongside Penner, with only Senators defenseman Anton Volchenkov back, Selanne moved the puck across to Penner for a shot that beat Ray Emery 4:07 into the third to snap a 2-2 tie. It was his first goal in 12 games and came during a line change.