EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey, 27 May 2003 — The story of the 2003 Stanley Cup final between the New Jersey Devils and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks could begin and end with the goaltenders Martin Brodeur and Jean-Sebastien Giguere.
“Whichever goalie plays better, that team will win,” predicted Mighty Duck Petr Sykora who knows something of Brodeur’s magic, having played for the Devils for seven seasons before being traded in the off-season. Brodeur, who has been nominated for the Hart Trophy as the NHL’s most valuable player in the regular season as well as the Vezina Trophy for top netminder, said he expected a “great battle” today in New Jersey. “The two teams that are there are there because they are team-oriented and it should be exciting hockey.”
Some suggest Giguere, cast off by Calgary three years ago but whose star has risen so dramatically this year, will win playoff MVP regardless of whether the underdog Ducks win. Giguere’s numbers are impressive. His .960 save percentage is among the best in modern day NHL playoff history. He is 12-2 with a 1.22 goals against average. But those numbers are only slightly more daunting than the 1.62 goals against average and .937 save percentage Brodeur brings to the final.
It is the third Stanley Cup appearance in four years for the Devils and only a handful of their players have not won the trophy before. Only two Ducks, Fredrik Olausson and Sykora, have reached hockey’s summit.
Many predict that lack of playoff experience will be the deciding factor, as it was when the Devils turned aside a potent Ottawa team in seven games in the Eastern Conference final. But the Ducks tied with the Devils in winning 24 one-goal games during the regular season and have followed that with 10 one-goal wins in the playoffs.
“We haven’t won nothing,” the Devils’ outspoken coach Pat Burns said on the eve of his second trip to the final.
His opponent this time around is another rookie, Mike Babcock, a former minor pro coach. Both coaches will have to try to coax scoring out of squads whose best players have not been their best point-producers.
The Devils, led by defensive specialists John Madden and Jamie Langenbrunner (15 points apiece), may be without playoff veteran Joe Nieuwendyk, who listened to most of game seven in the East final with tears streaming down his face after having to come off through injury. Anaheim’s top scorers, Adam Oates and Mike Leclerc, are tied for 17th in playoff scoring with 10 points.
