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Stepping from the shadows Goaltending will be key, but unlikely heroes will emergePosted: Saturday May 24, 2003 6:35 PM
The most striking element of this Stanley Cup finals matchup is the number of similarities between the two teams. From trades to tactics to touchy-feely stories, the Devils and the Mighty Ducks share a staggering array of likenesses. As far as I can tell, there are only a couple of differences between the two teams. First of all, the Ducks are a surprise representative of the Western Conference, having won just one playoff series in their 10-year team history before this postseason. The Devils, on the other hand, are making their third Stanley Cup finals appearance in the past four seasons. With two championships to their credit since 1995, they are the standard bearers of the Eastern Conference over the past decade. The other aspect that sets these teams apart has to do with the importance placed on publicity. In New Jersey, the Devils operate in relative anonymity given their success. Part of that is the proximity to the Big Apple, but most of the obscurity issues have to do with general manager Lou Lamoriello's secretive "our business is our business alone" approach. He seems to disdain the very notion of selling or promoting the Devils in any form or fashion beyond his team's impressive on-ice accomplishments. Meanwhile, the Ducks were a marketing vehicle before they were even an entity in the NHL. Their unusual and cartoonish moniker came directly from the Disney movies of the same name. It worked initially, as the fans in Orange County flocked to the Pond in sellout numbers for the first three-plus seasons and merchandise sales boomed everywhere. But as the team struggled, attendance plummeted and fan interest quickly waned. Enter general manager Bryan Murray. Part of his business plan acknowledged the importance of reviving the local verve for the team. He accurately assessed that winning now was vital. And that's where the 2002-03 sagas of these two franchises converge. Lamoriello was looking to change the mix of his team, while Murray was looking to overhaul the chemistry of his. The two made a big deal in July, with the Ducks acquiring Petr Sykora in exchange for Jeff Friesen and Oleg Tverdovsky. At the same time, Murray made a major monetary commitment to aging free-agent center Adam Oates -- a move that, according to captain Paul Kariya, signaled the immediacy and seriousness of Murray’s intent. All in all, Murray's revitalized roster has 12 players who played elsewhere a season ago. Aside from the offseason trade between these two clubs that began a transformation for the Mighty Ducks and a tweaking for the Devils, here is the glossary of other similarities: Looking at these points one-by-one, the coaching styles of Pat Burns of the Devils and Mike Babcock of the Ducks share common principles. Both are adamant when it comes to getting matchups. Babcock admitted that he adopted Burns' strategy of sticking to matchup game-planning -- even on the road -- when Burns did just that to Babcock during the only regular-season meeting between these two teams in Anaheim on Jan. 24. Throughout the playoffs, both men have made sure that their defensive stopper is on the ice every time the opposition's key offensive performer takes a shift. In this series, that means Kariya and Sykora likely will see a steady diet of Scott Stevens on the blueline and John Madden up front. Likewise, Babcock will insist that defenseman Keith Carney and Steve Rucchin's line marks the Joe Nieuwendyk trio -- if Nieuwendyk is healthy enough to be a factor -- or the Scott Gomez-Patrik Elias combination, if they rediscover their elusive offensive touch. One intriguing possibility has the Madden line out against the Rucchin line since both have been not only the top defensive lines for their teams, but they have also been dependable offensive producers. That point alone tells you what you need to know about these teams -- both coaches espouse defense first, with the offense largely flowing from the effort expended on the other side of the puck. As a result, both Burns and Babcock trade on the details within the game, namely line changes and faceoffs. The Ducks were the top team in the circle this season, led by Oates and Rucchin. The Devils were a top-five team as well, led by Madden and Nieuwendyk, again underscoring the need for a healthy Nieuwendyk. What gives all this defensive posturing credence is the goaltending at each end. Martin Brodeur has long been the lynchpin to the Devils' success, while Jean-Sebastien Giguere has burst on the playoff scene this year. Giguere's performance has ranged from staggering to steady, as he tries to become the first goaltender since Patrick Roy in 1986 to win it all in his first postseason appearance. He is likely to have more traffic to contend with versus the Devils than at any time during the first three rounds, but he will not see the volume of shots he faced in the early rounds. In both cases, the goaltending backstops league-leading penalty killing. Brodeur and Giguere's excellence allows both teams to look for offense while short-handed. Such a situation might prove the difference when it comes to special teams, as both power plays have operated with sporadic results in the playoffs. A short-handed goal by either side is nearly as likely as a power-play marker. As far as the Niedermayers go, specifically, it is a nice story that they are the first brothers to oppose each other in the finals since the Reardon brothers in 1946. Generally, though, comparing Scott's two Cups and three previous Cup appearances to Rob's lone appearance in 1996 as a member of the Florida Panthers is representative of the experience gap between the two teams. Will that chasm prove the difference? Not likely. As with the brothers -- Scott the smooth-skating rearguard who plays a seamless game at both ends of the rink, and Rob, the defensively capable, versatile forward -- the players on both sides have embraced their respective roles and performed accordingly. All of which promises a close, hard-fought Stanley Cup finals -- one in which goaltending will be central, as usual -- but given the team emphasis of each, look for heroes to emerge from the unlikeliest of sources in these lineups. Darren Eliot, a former NHL goaltender, is a hockey analyst for SI.com. Eliot will provide Stanley Cup Playoffs commentary throughout the postseason, and he is also broadcasting the Stanley Cup Finals for NHL Radio. |
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