Getting defensive

More 1-0 type games can be expected in Ducks-Wild series

Talk about defying logic. The Mighty Ducks win the first game of a playoff series on the road in multiple overtimes for the third time. They do it largely on the effort of goaltender Jean Sebastian Giguere, who is beyond superlatives right now. They survive, no, make that thrive, despite getting just three shots on goal from their defensemen and putting the top-ranked Wild power play on the ice five times.

Despite being outplayed by the Wild, the Ducks did do some things right, not the least of which was dominate in the faceoff circle. Granted, they didn’t parlay that advantage into many scoring chances, but it did provide moments of puck possession. And obviously, the penalty killing was excellent overall, going 5-for-5, aided at times by the work of Giguere. The line of Stanislav Chistov-Sami Pahlsson-Steve Thomas proved the most consistent trio for the Ducks throughout, while the Mike Leclerc-Adam Oates-Petr Sykora combination -- particularly Sykora -- got stronger offensively as the game went along.

Interestingly, the coaches -- Mike Babcock of the Mighty Ducks and Jacques Lemaire of the Wild -- were happy with the matchups from the outset. Both are stubborn sticklers when it comes to line matching and personnel deployment, but in this one, the Wild pitted their top line against the Ducks top line from start to finish. Each side provided further coverage from the backline with Minnesota putting defenseman Willie Mitchell on the ice when Paul Kariya was out there and Anaheim countering with Keith Carney when Marian Gaborik took a shift.

Ultimately, this matchup defined this game and foreshadows the series. It used to be that whenever teams pitted their top offensive lines against one another, something was going to give -- one side would break through. Not in this one. The reason is that the mindset is one of defense first, at all costs. At even strength, both units are so intent on stopping the other that creativity on the attack becomes almost an afterthought. How else do you explain the paltry sum of 10 shots on goal combined by the top two forward units in 88 minutes of hockey? Earlier in his career, Kariya routinely would fire that many shots on goal by himself, blazing through the neutral zone and blasting away.

Not anymore. Instead, these mirror image teams are prepared to wage a staring contest and wait for the other to finally blink. This time, the Wild did, but not before yet another eye-opening performance in goal by Giguere. Looking ahead, we know the Wild won’t change much and they don’t need to. They played well enough to win. The Mighty Ducks can take solace in the fact that they can and most likely will play much better in Game 2. That has to be reassuring with a 1-0 series lead.

But don’t expect fireworks -- just tireless work on the defensive side of the puck by everyone, including those lighting it up offensively.

Three Stars

First star: Giguere: In a word, fantastic.

Second star: At the other end, Manny Fernandez was excellent in his own right, although he didn’t face the number of quality chances that Giguere did.

Third star: Sykora was the one offensive player that got untracked and looked better at the end of the game than at the beginning. He scored the game-winner and led all shooters with eight shots on goal -- a total that will yield goals for an offensive player.

Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, is a hockey analyst for SI.com. Eliot will provide Stanley Cup Playoffs commentary throughout the postseason and is also broadcasting games for NHL Radio.

 

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