Mighty Ducks 3 Red Wings 2 OT
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Jean-Sebastien Giguere could hardly believe it. Giguere again was outstanding in goal, and Steve Rucchin scored 6:53 into overtime Wednesday night as the Anaheim Mighty Ducks beat the Detroit Red Wings 3-2 to sweep the defending Stanley Cup champions out of the playoffs. "If you would have asked me at the beginning of the series about a sweep, I would have said, `No,''' said Giguere, who stopped 32 shots in the Game 4 victory. In his first NHL playoffs, Giguere faced 171 shots and had 165 saves in the Western Conference series, a 1.24 goals-against average against the high-scoring Red Wings. The Ducks might have to wait as long as a week before beginning the second round against Dallas, St. Louis or Vancouver. Anaheim's sweep of the Red Wings was payback: The Ducks' only two previous appearances, Detroit beat them in four games, in the second round in 1997 and the first round in 1999. "They are a great team, and it's a good feeling to finally beat them,'' said Paul Kariya, who scored a first-period goal that tied the game 1-1. Jason Krog scored with 15:25 left in the third period to give the Ducks the lead, but Sergei Fedorov's goal with 2:15 left in regulation sent the game into overtime. Anaheim won the first game of the series 2-1 in triple overtime, and each of the four victories was by one goal. With new coach Dave Lewis, a former assistant, and new goalie Curtis Joseph, the Red Wings became only the second defending Stanley Cup champions to be swept the following year in a four-game opening series. In 1952, Detroit upset the 1951 champion Toronto Maple Leafs and went on to win the Cup. "We just did not get it done, not one game,'' Lewis said. "Their team played hard. One guy (Giguere) did not beat us; he was the difference, but their team beat us.'' The Red Wings' Darren McCarty said, "We just couldn't get that goal when we needed it. We're just all in shock.'' Rucchin scored his first goal of the series with a one-timer from 10 feet after defenseman Keith Carney centered the puck from behind the net. "The hockey gods reward the hardest workers and Rucchin worked the hardest this series and he deserved the goal,'' Anaheim rookie coach Mike Babcock said. Rucchin credited Carney for setting up the winning goal. "It was just a great play by Keith Carney all the way,'' Rucchin said. "It was a perfect pass.'' Carney said, "The puck was on the side of the net and I saw it just sitting there. I had a lot of time. I saw the scramble in front and just wanted to throw it out, and Rucchin was there.'' Detroit's Joseph gave up three goals on 27 shots. Fedorov's first goal of the series and 50th of his playoff career came on a deflection, with the puck bouncing off Niclas Havelid and into the net past Giguere. The Anaheim goalie also had almost no chance on Detroit's other score, by Henrik Zetterberg on a two-man breakaway at 13:23 of the first period. The goals were the second of the series for both Krog and Kariya. Grog scored the tying goal late in the Ducks' 3-2 win in Game 2. Kariya had the winner in Anaheim's 2-1, triple-overtime victory in the opening game. Zetterberg gave the Red Wings a short-lived 1-0 lead at 13:23 of the opening period, but Kariya tied it just 1:45 later, beating Joseph at close range. Adam Oates controlled the puck near the red line, skated into the Ducks' zone and made a perfect pass to Kariya, who broke behind the defense and beat Joseph high on the stick side from close range at 15:08 of the opening period. Brett Hull set up Zetterberg's goal, stealing the puck near the top of the left circle, quickly skating toward the right post, then feeding Zetterberg with a tap across the crease. Zetterberg flipped the puck into the upper leftcorner of the net for his first goal of the series.
April 15th 2003
Mighty Ducks 2 Red Wings 1
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- The upstart Anaheim Mighty Ducks have the
defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings in deep trouble.
Jean-Sebastien Giguere stopped 36 shots and Samuel Pahlsson and
Stanislav Chistov scored as the Mighty Ducks beat the Red Wings 2-1
Monday night to take a 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven Western
Conference series.
Last year, the Red Wings came from a 2-0 deficit vs. Vancouver in the
first round to the next four games and go to their third Stanley Cup
title in six years.
Detroit faces a considerably tougher challenge now -- only two other
teams have come back to win series when down 3-0.
Swept by Detroit in their only two previous trips to the postseason,
the Ducks need a victory at home in Game 4 on Wednesday night to
sweep the Red Wings.
The 25-year-old Giguere, in his first NHL postseason, lost his
shutout when Tomas Holmstrom chipped in his own rebound with 6:16
left after the Anaheim goalie had stopped 33 shots.
Giguere saved 97 shots to help the Ducks win the first two games. He
had 63 saves alone in the Ducks' 2-1 triple overtime win in Game 1.
In the second game, they scored two late goals for a 3-2 victory in
Detroit.
Holmstrom's goal, his first of the series, came when Nicklas Lidstrom
flipped a pass to him from the middle of the Anaheim zone. Holmstrom,
near the crease, controlled the puck, took a shot that Giguere
deflected, then lofted the rebound back over the goalie's shoulder.
The goal came six seconds after Pahlsson received a holding-the-stick
penalty.
But that was it for the Red Wings, who outshot the Ducks for the
third game in a row, this time 37-26.
Chistov scored with 18:16 remaining to give Anaheim a 2-0 margin
after Detroit goalie Curtis Joseph came out of the net to clear a
loose puck near the bottom of the left circle. Chistov beat Joseph to
the puck, circled behind the net, and poked a shot that hit Detroit
rookie Henrik Zetterberg's skate and went into the goal as Joseph
slid across the crease trying to get back into position.
The goal was Chistov's second of the playoffs.
After a scoreless first period, Pahlsson gave Anaheim the lead with
his first goal of the postseason, 2:31 into the second period.
Pahlsson, skating in the left circle with defender Dmitri Bykov
frantically trying to wrap him up from behind, took a half swing at
the puck and it sailed over Joseph's right shoulder.
A minute after Pahlsson's goal, Mathieu Dandenault appeared to tie
the game with a slap shot from the left circle. But an instant before
Dandenault got the shot off, the Red Wings were whistled for too many
men on the ice.
Giguere stopped 11 shots in the first period, including a 12-footer
by Brett Hull the Anaheim goal slapped away with his glove.
Giguere had a close call with 16 seconds left in the period when
Brendan Shanahan banged a slap shot off the crossbar during a Detroit
power play.
Joseph had 10 first-period saves, including spearing Petr Sykora's
slap shot with his glove.
The Ducks, who came into the league as an expansion franchise in
1993, are making their third postseason appearance. They lost four
straight to Detroit in the second round in 1997, then also didn't win
a game against the Red Wingsduring the first round in 1999.
April 13th 2003
Mighty Ducks 3 Red Wings 2
DETROIT (AP) - The Detroit Red Wings are in playoff trouble - again.
Stanislav Chistov, Jason Krog and Steve Thomas scored as the Anaheim
Mighty Ducks rallied to beat the defending Stanley Cup champion Red
Wings 3-2 Saturday to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.
Last year, before Detroit won its third title in six seasons, it
dropped the first two games of the first round at home to Vancouver
before winning four straight to advance. "Just because we did it last
year doesn't mean we're going to do it this year," said Detroit
winger Brendan Shanahan. "But we've got that experience to draw on."
Game 3 is Monday night in Anaheim.
If the Red Wings are able to win four of five against Anaheim, they
will be just the third NHL team to come back from a 2-0 deficit in a
best-of-seven series in consecutive years. The New York Islanders did
it during the 1975 and 1976 playoffs and Pittsburgh pulled off the
feat in 1991 and 1992.
The Mighty Ducks were still in their sweat-drenched uniforms by the
time they were reminded of how Detroit rallied in the same situation
last season.
"Even though we're up two games, I have so much respect for that
team," said Thomas, who scored the winner with 4:14 left. "It's
important to keep composure and to stay on an even keel right now."
While Hockeytown is stunned, the Mighty Ducks are not. They don't
even think they've played well.
"I don't know why we haven't played like we can play," Anaheim coach
Mike Babcock said. "It's like we're so cautious, we're so worried
about them instead of skating and playing the game."
Detroit was ahead 2-1 in the second period on goals by Jason Woolley
and Luc Robitaille after solving Jean-Sebastien Giguere and appeared
set to tie the series, but Krog tied the game with 6:26 left and
Thomas followed 2:12 later with his game-winner.
When Thomas' slapshot from the left circle beat Curtis Joseph - who
made 20 saves - the sold-out crowd fell into stunned silence.
"There's no question in my mind that he is not going to sleep
tonight," Thomas said.
As the Red Wings skated off the ice, they were booed briefly.
Red Wings owner Mike Ilitch stands to lose a lot of money on his $68-
million team if the revenue he's counting on from the playoffs
disappears with an early Detroit exit. The Red Wings could be
eliminated before playing another home game but Ilitch insisted he's
not worried.
"I have confidence in my guys," Ilitch said as he walked toward his
car.
Detroit captain Steve Yzerman said the Red Wings don't deserve to be
down 2-0.
"I think we played reasonably well in spite of losing," Yzerman said.
Babcock, a rookie NHL head coach, agreed.
"They outplayed us in both games," Babcock said.
Anaheim took a 1-0 lead 7:17 in on its third shot.
Chistov's goal came from an improbable angle. From the bottom of the
right circle, his shot went across Joseph's chest and trickled into
the net just below his right arm.
Woolley tied it 1-1 early in the second period, and Robitaille put
the Red Wings ahead at 6:39.
The Mighty Ducks tied it 2-2 in the third period, two seconds after
failing to score on their seventh power play of the series. Chris
Chelios' giveaway led to the winner when Rob Niedermayer intercepted
a clearing pass and made a short pass to Thomas.
Woolley's goal was the first against Giguere in 121 minutes 17
seconds - the equivalent of more than two games. Giguere had stopped
74 straight shots.
Giguere made 34 saves Saturday, one game after stopping 63 shots - an
NHL record for a first post-season game, since shots on individual
goalies began being recorded during the 1976-77 season. He made 20
saves in the first overtime, more than any goaltender faced in an
extra playoff period since the league expanded for the 1967-68 season.
April 11th 2003
Mighty Ducks 2 Red Wings 1 3OT
Detroit tried throwing the octopi out for good luck, but it wasn't
enough. The Mighty Ducks will return to their home ice having won at
least the first match on the road against the defending Stanley Cup
champs and are looking down a path growing ever brighter.
Jean Sebastien Giguere set a playoff debut record of 63 saves in the
2-1 victory over the Red Wings at the Joe Thursday night. Paul Kariya
scored the game winning goal in the third overtime when he picked up
a rebound in the slot and fired home a wrist shot.
Brendan Shanahan scored the games opening goal just 4:15 into the
game, a powerplay goal. His one-timer from the lower left circle came
on a cross-crease pass from Tomas Holmstrom, who received a pass from
Igor Larionov along the right boards.
Giguere, 25, set the saves record thanks in part to making 20 stops
in the first overtime, another record. No goalie had faced 20 shots
in an extra period since the NHL expanded during the 1967-68 season.
"I was nervous before the game, but I used that nervousness to get me
going," Giguere said. "I turned those emotions into a positive thing.
It was a lot of fun. It was a great experience for me, and a lot of
the guys..."
Detroit is making its 13th straight playoff appearance and 52nd
overall in 77 years. The Mighty Ducks, who began play in 1993, are in
the postseason for the third time.
The other times Anaheim was in the playoffs, it was swept by Detroit:
in the first round in 1999, the second round in 1997. But the Mighty
Ducks pushed Detroit to six overtime periods in '97 -- and the only
team that could sweep this year's series is Anaheim.
The first ten minutes of overtime saw the Red Wings make eight shots
on goal before they thought they had won the game off of a Luc
Robitaille ricochet. But a video replay concluded that the shot
bounced off the crossbar and the post even though the goal light went
on.
Playoffs 2003
April 5th 2003
Mighty Ducks 3 Colorado 4 OT
ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Milan Hejduk scored with 10 seconds left in
overtime and the Colorado Avalanche barely remained in contention for
an unprecedented ninth straight division title with a 4-3 victory
over the Anaheim Mighty Ducks on Friday night.
Hejduk, who also scored an earlier goal, now leads the NHL with 49
goals -- one ahead of Vancouver's Markus Naslund.
Hejduk ended it when he cruised down the slot and redirected
defenseman Rob Blake's centering pass from the top of the right
circle. It was the 23rd goal in 29 games for Hejduk.
Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote also scored for the Avalanche, who need
a win in Sunday's regular-season finale against St. Louis -- and a
loss by the Vancouver Canucks against Los Angeles -- to capture the
Northeast Division crown.
Forsberg, trying to become the first player in franchise history to
win the league's scoring title, increased his point total to 103 with
his 28th goal and trails Naslund by one point in the race for the Art
Ross Trophy.
Anaheim's Steve Thomas had two goals, along with his 500th NHL
assist. Niklas Havelid also scored for the playoff-bound Mighty
Ducks, who completed the most successful regular season in their 10-
year history with 95 points and a 40-27-9-6 record. Last season,
Anaheim finished last in the Pacific Division and 13th in the Western
Conference at 29-42-8-3.
Hejduk scored his first goal just 72 seconds after the opening
faceoff, carrying the puck into the Anaheim zone and scoring on a 30-
foot wrist shot from the slot as Anaheim goaltender Jean-Sebastien
Giguere fanned on it with his stick.
Colorado goalie Patrick Roy extended his own NHL-record victory total
to 550 with 19 saves.
It was franchise-record seventh overtime victory for the Avalanche.
Kariya's loyalty rewarded
It had seemingly become an annual rite of spring. Hockey pundits
around
North
America writing and talking about how Paul Kariya should be freed
from
the
hockey prison that Anaheim had become. Sports Illustrated even
weighed
in on the
topic last season when it became quite clear that the Anaheim Mighty
Ducks
weren't going to qualify for the playoffs for a third consecutive
year.
But no matter how many times the questions were asked Kariya didn't
waiver. He
began his career with the Ducks and he said he would like to finish
it
with the
Ducks. If there were ever any private doubts, the winger didn't make
them
public. He was one loyal Duck, perhaps, many thought, to a fault.
Even earlier this season there were some rumblings out of Canada that
Kariya
needed a change of scenery to reinvigorate his career. Instead,
Kariya
has
helped reinvigorate the Ducks, who are completing their most
successful
regular
season in franchise history.
"We had some tough years," Kariya admitted after the Ducks clinched
their first
postseason berth in four years. "But I knew we going to come around
and
were
going in the right direction when Brian (Murray) took over and made
the
moves
that he made to get our team better."
Murray replaced Pierre Gauthier as the Ducks' general manager last
summer, and
with the blessing of the ownership made it clear that Anaheim was
tired
of being
considered a bunch of lame ducks. Murray, whose gamble on little-
known
coach
Mike Babcock has paid off, was the first GM out of the blocks last
July
when he
signed Adam Oates as a free agent. Murray added another veteran
winner
in
Fredrik Olausson, outbid other teams for rookie defenseman Kurt Sauer
and made
bold move by dealing the unhappy pair of Oleg Tverdovsky and Jeff
Friessen to
New Jersey for Petr Sykora and three prospects, two of whom he has
since used to
acquire Rob Niedermayer at the trading deadline.
"That just confirmed what I have been saying and I know we are
definitely headed
in the right direction," said Kariya, who mentioned the Murray's
in-season deals
for Sandis Ozolinsh, Lance Ward, Niedermayer and Steve Thomas as more
proof that
the franchise truly cares about winning."
That's not to say there weren't times that the Ducks looked like
anything but
winners, especially after they traded Teemu Selanne late in the 2000-
01
season.
"Last year was a horrible year for both for our team and myself
personally,"
Kariya said when asked about low point during his career in Anaheim.
With virtually no other offensive players to support him, Kariya
suffered
through his worst full season. He scored 32 goals, but had only 25
assists as
the Ducks finished next to last goal scoring and 13th in the Western
Conference
standings.
But as beaten down as Kariya might have seemed, he also said that he
got a big
emotional boost last year when he played on Canada's gold-medal
winning
team in
the Olympics.
"It was nice to have the Olympic experience and taste winning again,"
he said.
"I came back from that and I remember talking with Brian (Murray, who
was the
Ducks' coach last season), I said 'that is all there is in hockey.
You win or you lose and I want to be remembered as a winner. That's
winning the
Stanley Cup and I want to do it here.' "
Kariya truly believed things could, and would, get better in Anaheim,
and no, he
didn't want to go elsewhere to prove he was a winner.
"My focus has always been on winning here," he said. "That hasn't
changed and I
don't imagine it changing.
"Winning wherever is great. A guy like Ray Bourque played 20 years
with
one team
and won (the Stanley Cup) in Colorado. That's terrific. But for
myself
it would
be more meaningful to help your team come from the bottom to the top,
like Steve
Yzerman did with Detroit or Joe Sakic with Quebec and Colorado.
That's
the way
I'd like to do it and that's where my focus is."
And with that in mind and some much better talent around him, Kariya
has picked
up his play considerably from last season. While he likely will fail
to
score 30
goals in a full season for the first time in his career, he has 54
assists to go
along with 25 goals heading into Tuesday's game. Kariya had only 59
assists in
the last seasons combined. It's the fourth time he has surpassed 50
assists in
season and the first time since he had a career-high 62 in the 1998-
99
season,
the last time the Ducks went to the playoffs. He has 38 points
(10-28=38) in his
last 34 games despite having scored only one goal in his last 13.
But more importantly, the team has shown it can win even when Kariya
isn't
scoring goals and it has shattered the previous franchise bests in
wins
(36) and
points (85) with a 39-26-9-5 record and 92 points heading into final
three games
of the regular season.
April 3rd 2003
Mighty Ducks 1 Dallas 2
DALLAS (AP) -- With Mike Modano injured and out of the game, Jason
Arnott and Derian Hatcher scored third-period goals to lead the
Dallas Stars past the Anaheim Mighty Ducks 2-1 in a potential first-
round playoff preview Wednesday night.
Modano, the Stars' leading scorer with 28 goals and 56 assists, left
in the second period with what the team called a lower-body injury.
Coach Dave Tippett said the injury wasn't serious, but didn't
elaborate.
Hatcher's eighth goal, a 25-foot wrist shot in the slot with 11:18
left, was the difference for the Stars, who remained the top team in
the Western Conference with 109 points and one game left.
The Stars will be the No. 1 or 2 seed when the playoffs begin next
week. Detroit has 106 points with two games left, and holds the
tiebreaker against Dallas.
Despite its first regulation loss in seven games, the Mighty Ducks
remained sixth in the Western Conference. Their franchise-record 94
points kept them a point ahead of Minnesota, a 3-0 loser at Columbus
on Wednesday night, and three in front of eighth-place Edmonton.
Modano appeared to be limping when he walked through the tunnel
toward the locker room. It was unclear if Modano had a leg injury or
possibly strained his back. He returned briefly before the end of the
second period, but was only on the ice for a moment before leaving
for good.
Modano, an All-Star starter for the first time this season, initially
left after being shoved awkwardly to the ice by Adam Oates after a
faceoff between the two early in the second period.
Hatcher got his game-winner by Martin Gerber, who got a piece of the
puck before it slid into the right post and trickled past the line.
Gerber stopped 29 shots.
Marty Turco stopped 26 of 27 shots and lowered his goals-against
average to 1.76, just below the NHL record of 1.77 set by Chicago's
Tony Esposito in 1971-72 and Toronto's Al Rollins in 1950-51. Turco
will break the record if he allows two goals or less in Sunday's
season finale against Nashville, if he plays.
Turco had three game-saving stops within a 28-second span late, the
first when Anaheim leading scorer Paul Kariya had a shot from right
in front with 5:43 left. Then, Petr Sykora had a rebound shot and got
another chance off his own deflection before Turco controlled the
puck.
The Stars tied it 1-1 with Arnott's power-play goal with 15:39 left,
just 26 seconds into the penalty. He redirected Sergei Zubov's from
the right point.
Anaheim's only goal was Sandis Ozolinsh's power-play goal 2:12 into
the second period, in the same sequence in which Modano was hurt.
Stars defenseman Lyle Odelein was called for cross-checking on the
same play Modano left the ice.
Dallas thought it tied the game in the second when Arnott slapped a
rebound past Gerber. But the whistle had already been blown because
of a penalty on the initial shot, when Ulf Dahlen shot falling down
after being hooked by Rob
April 2nd 2003
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) -- Steve Thomas scored his second goal with
52.6 seconds left in overtime, and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks extended
the Nashville Predators' franchise-worst winless streak to 13 games
with a 2-1 victory Tuesday night.
Nashville is 0-8-3-2 since its last victory on March 7 at Dallas and
0-4-3 in its last seven homes games. The Predators, who got their
goal from Scott Hartnell, finish the season with two road games.
Thomas broke the tie with Anaheim's only shot in overtime, taking a
pass from Rob Niedermayer in front of the goal and beating Tomas
Vokoun. Defenseman Ruslan Salei, playing for the first time since
March 5, also had an assist on the game-winning goal.
With the victory, the playoff-bound Mighty Ducks set a team record
with 42 points on the road, passing the 1993-94 squad. Anaheim has
earned at least one point in each of its past six games (5-0-0-1).
The Predators did almost everything possible to snap their winless
skid. They outshot the Mighty Ducks 15-3 through the first period and
40-31 for the game.
Scoring, not shooting, has been their problem throughout this slide.
Nashville took four shots in overtime and had a chance to win. But
former Mighty Ducks defenseman Jason York missed wide left off a shot
from the left post with 3:10 left.
Anaheim took a 1-0 lead with its sixth shot of the game, a penalty
shot by Thomas at 8:09 of the second period. York tripped Thomas on a
breakaway.
Thomas had no trouble beating Vokoun -- who skated out to meet him --
by shooting to the goalie's left for his 11th this season.
Vokoun tied a record for most penalty shots faced in a season in the
modern era with his fifth, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Curtis Joseph also faced five last season.
Nashville tied the game at 14:58 of the second. Denis Pederson won a
faceoff in the left circle and sent the puck trickling toward the
edge, and Hartnell scored on a one-timer that beat Jean-Sebastien
Giguere to the stick side forhis 12th.