East Rutherford, NJ (My Sportsbook) - The
New Jersey Devils try to take a two games to none lead tonight when they host the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals at the Meadowlands.
New Jersey, in the Finals for the third time in four years, opened the series with a 3-0 victory on Tuesday. After scoring three of New Jersey's four game- winning goals in the Eastern Conference finals, Jeff Friesen broke the ice with a second-period tally and later added an empty-netter -- his seventh marker of the postseason -- to seal the win. Grant Marshall also scored for the Devils, and Martin Brodeur needed to make just 16 saves for his fifth shutout of these playoffs.
Friesen's opening goal was crucial on many levels. Not only did it give the Devils a lead, but it erased any chance that Jean-Sebastien Giguere, who had almost become a mythical figure in the first three rounds, would creep into their heads as he did with Minnesota in the West finals. In the first period, and very early in the second, the young netminder appeared to be in "a zone" yet again, as he thwarted several New Jersey scoring chances and showed little rust from a 10-day layoff.
However, shortly after stopping a Devil barrage, Giguere was not able to block a laser-guided Friesen shot 1:45 into the middle frame. After taking a pass from Sergei Brylin in the left faceoff circle, Friesen found a low, stickside opening and hit it to force the first Meadowlands eruption of night.
Friesen was acquired from Anaheim last summer, along with defenseman Oleg Tverdovsky, in a seven-player deal that cost New Jersey former A-liner Petr Sykora. After finishing second on the team with 23 goals in the regular season he was looked upon to be a catalyst in the playoffs, and he has become just that.
"He's played pretty well all year long," said Devils coach Pat Burns, who is in the Finals for the first time since 1989. "I don't think he turned on a button or pushed a switch that made him score goals. He just has the opportunities and when he has the opportunities, he puts them away."
In addition to getting to Giguere at the offensive end, the Devils played their traditional stifling brand of defense. Aided by some Duck sluggishness that may have stemmed from their lengthy break between sets, Brodeur had few serious chances against him during the course of the night and cruised to his first-ever blanking in the Finals.
"In all fairness to [the Ducks], you could see they had a little bit of rust on the blades," said Burns. "As the game got on, they got a little better. I think we started backing off a little bit, maybe due to tiredness, but we have to be better as the game goes on. They're going to get better as the series goes on."
The Ducks, however, weren't ready to make excuses for their less than stellar performance.
"We weren't skating," said Anaheim forward Rob Niedermayer. "They were skating well and putting pressure on us. It wasn't anything to do with the layoff."
Anaheim now trails for the first time this postseason after suffering only its third loss of the spring. The Ducks are 0-2 all-time when losing a series opener, falling both times to Detroit (1997 and '99).
New Jersey, meanwhile, has won a series 11 of the 16 instances they have taken Game 1. Since the best-of-seven format was introduced in the Finals in 1939, the club winning the opener has won 50-of-64 times.
The Devils improved to 9-1 at home this postseason, while the Ducks fell to 6-2 on the road.
On the injury front, both Joe Nieuwendyk (hip) and Turner Stevenson (groin) are not expected to be in the Devils' lineup this evening. In Nieuwendyk's absence, Burns created a second line with Friesen and Brian Gionta on the wings and Brylin at center for Game 1, and the trio was terrific.
Game 3 will be played Saturday night at the Pond in Anaheim.
