 |
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|||||||||||||||
|
Stanley Cup Finals Notebook Rucchin enjoying playoff run after tough couple of yearsPosted: Saturday June 07, 2003 8:43 PMUpdated: Sunday June 08, 2003 1:25 AM ANAHEIM, Calif. (AP) -- Quietly, Steve Rucchin has been an inspiration, a study in perseverance, for the Mighty Ducks.
Last June, he suffered a tremendous personal loss when his brother, Larry, died of cancer at 35. After scoring two game-winners earlier in the playoffs, Rucchin scored twice in the first period Saturday night to start Anaheim rolling to a 5-2 win over New Jersey and into Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. "The last couple of years have been tough, definitely," Rucchin said of his and the Ducks' struggles. "This more than makes up for it. You can't dream of anything more than a chance to win the Stanley Cup in Game 7. It doesn't get much better than that." Rucchin and Paul Kariya have been with the Ducks the longest. Both made their NHL debuts for Anaheim on Jan. 20, 1995, during the franchise's second year in the league. "I'm happy to be able to share this opportunity with some guys who have been here a while," Rucchin said. "It means a lot, for some of the downs we've had as an organization, to get this chance and get some respect in the league." Staying in the cupboardThe Stanley Cup was tucked away in a room at the Pond in case the New Jersey Devils won. It stayed there. It wasn't the first time the Cup was in the arena. It also made an appearance on Jan. 21, 2000, when it was put on display behind section 214 on the plaza level concourse. The Ducks tied Colorado 3-3 that night, as Paul Kariya had a goal and two assists -- just as he did in Game 6 against the Devils. NHL rules that Stevens' hit on Kariya was cleanThe violent hit by New Jersey's Scott Stevens on Paul Kariya in the third period of Game 6 was a clean shot, NHL executive vice president Colin Campbell said after reviewing the play. "There were two factors I looked at in reviewing the hit. One, the hit was a legal hockey hit, as Stevens struck Kariya with his shoulder," Campbell said in a statement. "Two, in reviewing the hit frame by frame, it was clear that the hit occurred less than one second after Kariya made the pass." The Mighty Ducks' star lay motionless on the ice for about 41/2 minutes before getting up and skating to the bench. He came back to score his first goal of the finals some 61/2 minutes after returning to the ice. Good news for NieuwyNew Jersey's Joe Nieuwendyk, who hasn't played in the Cup finals because of an injury during the Eastern Conference finals, isn't sure whether he will play in Game 7, but he will still get his name on the Cup if the Devils win. He won it in 1989 with Calgary and in 1999 with Dallas and is trying to become the sixth player to win the Cup three different teams since the NHL assumed control of the trophy in 1927. That list includes Gord Pettinger (N.Y. Rangers, Detroit, Boston), Al Arbour (Detroit, Chicago, Toronto), Larry Hillman (Detroit, Toronto, Montreal), Claude Lemieux (Montreal, New Jersey, Colorado), and Mike Keane (Montreal, Colorado and Dallas). On the reboundThe Devils' Pat Burns will try to become the fifth coach to win a Stanley Cup in his second try after losing in his first trip to the finals. The list includes Jack Adams (Detroit), Dick Irvin (Toronto, Chicago), Glen Sather (Edmonton) and Bob Johnson (Calgary, Pittsburgh). Brodeur has experienced both sides of Stanley CupMarty Brodeur knows about winning the Stanley Cup -- and about losing it. "We have been through this before, but some of our teammates haven't," the New Jersey goaltender said. "That's where guys on the winning side and on the losing side are able to talk to them and make sure they know what's at stake. "This is huge for your career and life. It's going to change everything for everybody if we come through. You don't want to miss the boat." Brodeur has played on both the Devils' Stanley Cup championship teams, and also was their goalie in 2001, when they led the Colorado Avalanche 3-2 in the finals but lost 4-0 in Game 6 in New Jersey and 3-1 in Game 7 at Denver. Wild and clumsyThe Mighty Ducks' mascot, Wild Wing, has had some adventurous times since the team entered the NHL as an expansion franchise in 1993. On the opening night of the 1995-96 season, Wild Wing got his skate stuck in a trampoline as he tried to jump through a wall of flame, and he fell on the fire-spouting device. Later that season, he was left dangling while making an entrance on a guide wire that got stuck. The next year, the accident-prone fowl missed a couple of games when his image was revamped to more closely resemble the character in the Disney animated series. Fans were told he had reported to camp overweight and was suspended until he could lose a few pounds. When he returned, Wild Wing had beefed up and was sporting a goalie's mask. Who is the MVG?Goaltenders have won the Conn Smythe Trophy 12 times, most of any position. Centers have earned the Stanley Cup finals MVP award 11 times, with defensemen getting it eight times and left wings at the bottom of the list with two times. Patrick Roy, the goalie who just retired, is the only player to win the trophy three times. Another goalie, Bernie Parent, won it twice, as did centers Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux, and defenseman Bobby Orr. Bob Gainey and Mark Messier are the only left wings to get the finals MVP award. Confident heading back homeWith Game 7 in New Jersey, the Devils should be feeling confident. They're 11-1 at home in the playoffs this year, and eight of the last nine home teams in Game 7 of the Stanley Cup have won. Burns to tie record for most Game 7s coachedNew Jersey coach Pat Burns will tie Scotty Bowman and Mike Keenan with nine Game 7 appearances in the playoffs, the most by a head coach. Devils captain Scott Stevens will tie Patrick Roy for 13 appearances in Game 7s in the postseason.
|
|
|||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
