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Coming up short Ducks disappointed by their close call with CupPosted: Tuesday June 10, 2003 4:22 PMUpdated: Tuesday June 10, 2003 5:01 PM EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (Ticker) -- During 19 NHL seasons, Mighty Ducks winger Steve Thomas never has gotten closer to the Stanley Cup than he did Monday night. But after falling one win short, the soon-to-be 40-year-old was angry. "This is quite possibly the worst thing that's happened to me in my life," Thomas said. "You have the hopes to carry the Stanley Cup around at some point in your career. It just didn't happen for me this year. Who knows what's going to happen down the road, whether I get another chance at it or not." Moments later, however, Thomas softened his position. "As bitter as I am right now, you have to reflect on some of the great things that have happened," he said. "And more than anything, I think you learn what it takes to get to this point in the playoffs. It's a learning experience for a lot of guys in this locker room."
Seeded seventh in the Western Conference playoffs, Anaheim became the first team in NHL history to knock off the top two seeds in the first two rounds. After a stunning four-game sweep of the defending Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings, the Ducks eliminated the Dallas Stars. Then came a dominant four-game sweep of the Minnesota Wild during which Anaheim and goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere yielded just one goal. That performance carried Giguere to the Conn Smythe Trophy as postseason MVP. "I would give that one up to get the other one," he said, referring to the Stanley Cup. Giguere made a name for himself -- and established an identity for his team -- by reaching Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals. Before this year, the Ducks had won one playoff series, one more than their goalie. "I've learned a lot in the playoffs," said Giguere, who becomes a restricted free agent July 1. "You learn how aggressive you have to be, how much energy you have to give. The preparation leading to the playoffs is the key. You have to make sure you are well-prepared before you go into the playoffs, and I thought we did a great job being prepared." Credit for that goes to first-year coach Mike Babcock, who never wavered from the game plan he developed nine months ago. "What Mike has been from day one is very consistent," general manager Bryan Murray said during the Stanley Cup finals. "The way we started to play in training camp, the way he taught in training camp is the way we're [playing] now -- get involved a little bit, look after your own end, all those things are everyday events in our practice." Murray gave Babcock his first NHL job and Babcock nearly became the 14th rookie coach to win a Stanley Cup. "This is going to sink in," the 40-year-old Saskatchewn native said. "Right now, it's an empty feeling. I'm real proud of our guys who came in this year. And people who didn't know we were alive at the start of the year [know] we're alive now." At 40, Oates was the oldest player in the Anaheim locker room. And like Thomas, he still has not won a Stanley Cup. But he did not share his former junior teammate's bitterness. "When you have a chance to think about it, we accomplished a lot," Oates said. "The guys should be proud of that. ... I think the guys should walk out with their heads high because we got to the seventh game, and you had to do a lot to get here." After shutout losses in the first two games of the Stanley Cup Finals, the Ducks were dismissed by many as a fluke and likened to last year's runner-up, the Carolina Hurricanes. But they shook off the rust of a 10-day layoff and extended the battle-tested Devils to a seventh game. "You're inches away from what you've dreamed about and battled for and put it on the line for. It seems like a million miles away right now," left wing Dan Bylsma said. "It seems like there's no chance to get there right now and it hurts. It hurts bad." Once the pain ebbs, the Ducks must prove that unlike the Hurricanes, they are no one-year wonders. Murray already has learned one less from Carolina, which missed the playoffs the year after reaching the Stanley Cup Finals. "We have to get better, we want to get better, we're going to get better," he said. "We've got some kids that are ready to step in. We'll do a couple of things, hopefully, this summer to make us better. Hey, this league is pretty good right now." But he's confident the pieces are in place for sustained success. "We can't be [a fluke] because our defense is going to be better. Our goaltending is real good," Murray said. "We have three goaltenders that are very, very capable of playing in the National Hockey League. We'll be right there because we can compete every night without the puck. And that's key." While that thought came as small consolation for many in the Ducks' locker room Monday night, center Steve Rucchin has the perspective of someone who has spent his entire nine-year career with Anaheim. "As difficult as it is, we all realize what a great accomplishment we performed here. Nothing to be ashamed of," he said. "We came close, we couldn't do it, but we're very proud of ourselves. We had some guys in here who finally got noticed in the hockey world." © 2003 SportsTicker Enterprises, LP
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